Critical directions in applied linguistics can be understood in various ways. The term "critical" as it has been used in "critical applied linguistics," "critical discourse analysis," "critical literacy" and so forth, is now embedded as part of applied linguistic work, adding an overt focus on questions of power and inequality to discourse…

Argues that in seeking a healthy fusion of power, applied linguistics is in a position to discover the appropriate response to the dilemma of injecting ethical responsibility into the profession while dealing with the competition for power between marginalized groups and the establishment. (15 references) (Author/CK)