The field of Applied Linguistics and Discourse Studies is Carleton’s unique approach to the study of language, combining several research areas that have previously had separate academic traditions. Carleton’s program in ALDS is unique in allowing students to combine these areas into a single program.

• Applied Linguistics: in contrast to formal Linguistics with its focus on the structure of language, Applied Linguistics emphasizes language as a system of communication and a form of social action. Its areas of investigation include how languages are assessed, learned and taught.
• Discourse Studies: this field also emphasizes language as a tool for communication and action in professional and social contexts. Discourse Studies takes a “multi-modal” approach, examining how written, spoken and visual modes of communication interact in workplace and academic settings, as well as in the media and social networking.

Graduates with degrees in Applied Linguistics and Discourse Studies are well-placed – not simply because of their degrees but because of their training – to take jobs in language education, in government and business, in NGOs, and emerging technologies, both in Canada and abroad.

See what graduates in Applied Linguistics and Discourse Studies are doing with their degrees

Research Areas in Applied Linguistics and Discourse Studies

Our faculty members are active in the research of the following areas:

Area of Research	Faculty Member
Second and foreign language teaching (including TESL) Curriculum and methodology in second and foreign language teaching	Janna Fox, Randall Gess, Eva Kartchava, Trudy O’Brien, David Wood
Language testing and assessment	Janna Fox
Languages for Academic/Specific Purposes	Janna Fox, Guillaume Gentil, Trudy O’Brien,
Second language acquisition	Randall Gess, Eva Kartchava, Trudy O’Brien, David Wood
Formulaic language and phraseology	David Wood
Writing in academic, professional, and community contexts	Natasha Artemeva, Richard Darville, Guillaume Gentil, Jaffer Sheyholislami, Graham Smart
Second language writing and biliteracy	Guillaume Gentil
Discourse analysis Written, spoken and multimodal text Cross-cultural/intercultural Critical discourse analysis Computer-assisted/corpus-based Genre analysis Digital media	Natasha Artemeva, Richard Darville, Guillaume Gentil, Marie-Odile Junker, Trudy O’Brien, Jaffer Sheyholislami, Graham Smart
Language and identity	Ellen Cray, Guillaume Gentil, Jaffer Sheyholislami
Language policy and language preservation	Ellen Cray, Richard Darville, Marie-Odile Junker, Jaffer Sheyholislami