Deivis D. Pothin

The impact round table was led by Ros Mitchell and Guy Cook, Diane Larsen-Freeman and Jeanine Treffers-Daller as discussants.

Diane Larsen-Freeman talked about how complexity theory should be applied when researching/talking/disseminating/investigating the different areas in applied linguistics. According to her, problems are not solved in a linear way but rather in a multifaceted manner; issues are not solved in a top-down manner but by specialists getting together and talking about it.

Ros Mitchell presented some examples of pilot projects funded by the Research Excellence Framework. She also highlighted the impact of Tony Young’s research and development of the Dementia Toolkit for Effective Communication. Jeanine Treffers-Daller talked about the importance of drawing attention to the impact of research.

The audience discussion on what kind of research impact is valid in terms of funding (REF) was very interesting. Ros said that if a piece of research that only has impact within Academia wouldn’t be valid. However if, for example, a piece of research has an impact on a wider audience outside academia then it would be more easily accepted.

Finally, Guy Cook claimed that applied linguistics needs to participate more actively in public debates and policies, e.g. language and education, social use of language, etc.

category: Linguistics