Includes bibliographical references, readings, and a glossary.

1. Applied linguistics -- The need for applied linguistics -- Examples and procedures -- The scope of applied linguistics -- Linguistics and applied linguistics: a difficult relationship

2. Prescribing and describing: popular and academic views of 'correctness' -- Children's language at home and school -- Description versus prescription -- An applied linguistics perspective

3. Languages in the contemporary world -- Languages and languages -- Attitudes to languages -- The languages of nations: boundaries and relationships -- The growth of English -- English and Englishes -- Native speakers -- English as a Lingua Franca (ELF)

4. English language teaching (ELT) -- Grammar-translation language teaching -- The direct method -- 'Natural' language learning -- The communicative approach

5. Language and communication -- Knowing a language -- Linguistic competence -- Communicative competence -- The influence of communicative competence

6. Context and culture -- Systemizing context: discourse analysis -- Culture -- Translation, culture, and context -- Own language: rights and understanding -- Teaching culture

7. Persuasion and poetics: rhetoric and resistance -- Literary stylistics -- Language and persuasion -- Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA)

8. Past, present, and future directions -- Early orientation -- Subsequent changes -- Second-Language Acquisition (SLA) -- Corpus linguistics -- Being applied -- Critical Applied Linguistics (CALx) -- 'Post-modern' applied linguistics -- A harder future: mediation

"This is a series of brief surveys intended for readers new to the formal study of language. Each book contains four parts: Survey: an up-to-date overview of the area concerned; Readings: short readings with study questions; References: a selection of annotated references; and Glossary: explanations of terms, cross-referenced to the Survey; This structure is designed to allow different groups of readers to focus on different parts of the book according to their interest and need. Applied linguistics addresses the most pressing and controversial areas of contemporary language use, including intercultural communication, political and commercial persuasion, the impact of new technologies, the growth of English, language in education, and foreign language teaching and learning. This clearly written introduction provides a concise but comprehensive overview of the main concerns of applied linguistics today." (Book Cover)