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TAP CHl KHOAHOC ĐHOGHN, NGOAI NGỬ T XXIII, số 2007 C R IT IC A L A P P L I E D L IN G U IS T IC S : C O N C E R N S A N D D O M A IN S Vo Dai Q uang'*' 1, I n t r o d u c t i o n • T h e roll* o f critical theory Cntical applic'd liníĩuistics is not y e l a term that has wkk* currencv W h at is Critical Applied Linguistics? Is it an approiich, a theor>' or a discipline? Simpiv put, it is a critical apprcMich to applied linguistics Such an understanding, however, leads to several fu rth er questions: W h a t is applied linguistics? W h a t is m e a n t bv V r i t i r a ĩ ’? Is critical ap plied linguistics moroly th e ad d itio n of a critical ap pro ach to app lied l i n ^ i s t i c s ? O r is il so m ethin g m ore? T h e se q u estio n s a r e still left open for d ifferen t in te rp re ta tio n s W ith a view to providing te n ta tiv e a n s w e rs to th e se q uestions, th is article is designed a s a sketch of of w h a t is m e a n t bv critical applied linguistics A n um ber of iniporlant concerns and (|uestion.s th a t (’a n bring us closer to an undersUinding of w h at is tak en to be critical applied linpjisLics will be raised These concerns have U) with: • C ritical ap|)Hod lin^iiĩíiics a s co n sta n t q u estio n in g of assu m p tio n s a • T h e imj)ort«inco of a n e lem o n l of self reflexivitv in critical work • T h e role p referred fu tu re s of ethically a rg u e d • A n undt»rstanding of critical ap plied linguistics as fa r inorp l h a n th e su m of its p arts C r i t ic a l a p p l i e d l i n g u is tic s c o n c e r n s A p p l i e d L in g u i s t i c s To s t a r t w ilh, to th e e x te n t t h a t critical app lied lingui.stics IS seen a s a critical approaoh to applied linguistics, it need s to o p e te with broad view of app lied linguistics Applied linguistics, how ever, h a s been a h a r d d o m a in to define T h e L o n g m a n D ictio n a ry o f A p p lie d L in g u istic s gives u s two derỉiiilionỉ> 'ih e Aluiỉy Ilf M^cuuil aui\ f o r e i ^ l a n ^ a g e le a rn in g an d te a c h in g ' a n d “th e stu d y of lan g u ag e an d linguistics in relatio n to p ractical probloms, such as lexicography, tra n s la tio n , speech pathoIog>% c l c / ‘ From th is point of’ view th e n WP h a v e two different dom ains, th e first to w ith second o r foreign lan g u ag e teach in g (but, not, signifurantlv, first la n g u a g e education), th e second to w ith lan g u ag e • rolatod problem s in v ario u s • T he scope a n d coverage of applied ling^aistics • T he notion of p x is a s a w av of going bevond a dirho ton iou s relatio n b e tw e e n th e o ry a n d p c tic e Different w avs of u n d e r s ta n d in g th e notion “criticaT’ • T he im p o rtan ce of re la tin g micro “ relatio n s of applied linguivstics to m acro relatio n s of society • T he n e e d for a critical form of social in q u iry (•)A&soc.Prof Or Scientific R esearch M a nagem ent OfTice C ollege of F oreign Lari9 uages • VNƯ 34 C n ỉicu ỉ ;ipplicJ linguhMcs: 35 ar(»avS in wliich lan g u ag e plavs a niajor role T h is first version of applied linguistics is by a n d large a resu lt liistoricallv of its em erg en ce from applying^ linguistic theory to contexts of s' in th e United S t a t e s in th e 1940s It is also worth ob serv in g t h a t th is focus on lanỄP-ỉage te a c h in g h a s also b een m assively o rie n te d toward teach in g English as a second language T h e second version is a rnoro recen t b ro a d e n in g of th e field, a lth o u g h it is c e rta in ly not accepted bv app lied linguists such a s W iddowson (1999), who co ntinu e to a rg u e th a t app lied linguistics m ed iate betw een lin g u istic theory a n d languagrc^ teachingIn addition, th e re is a fu rth e r (luestion as to w h e th e r we a r e dealing w ith t h e a p p lic a tio n of lin g u is tic s to app lied dom ains • w h a l Widdowson (1980) tombed linguistics applied - or w h e t h e r a p p lie d lin g u is tic s h a s a m ore a u to n o m o u s s ta tu s M a rk e e (1990) te rm e d th ese th e stro n g a n d th e weak v ersio ns ol applied linịruisiics, respectively As a B e a u g n d e (1997) anil M ark ee (1990) arg u e, it is th e socalled stroníỉ version • linguistics applied - t h a t h a s p red om in aled , from th e clnssic B ritish tra d itio n e n c a p s u la te d in Corder*s (1973) an d W iddowson’s (1980) work thro u g h to th e p arallel N orth A n ie rira n version e n c a p s u la te d in the second ianffuage acquisition s tu d ie s of w r ite rs such as K sh e n (1981) R ev e rsin g M ark ee’s (1990) labels, i would a rg u e t h a t th is m ig h t be more usefullv seen a s th e w eak version b ecau se it re n d e rs ap p lied linguistics T a p i hi K hou hm O H & ifiN Nịỉíkỉi TXĨOU Si> l 2iXƯ little more t h a n a n application of a p a r e n t d o m ain o f knowledge (linguistics) to d ifferen t contexts (m ainlv language teaching) T h e applied ling^iistica th a t critical applied linguistics deals w ith, bv c o n tra st, is a stro n g version m a rk e d by b r e a d th of coverage, interd iscip linarity , a n d a d eg ree of autonom y From this point of view, applied linguistics is an a r e a of w ork t h a t d eals w ith lang uag e u s e in professional setting, tran slatio n , speech pathology, literacy, a n d lan gu age education; a n d it is not m erely th e a p p lic a tio n o f lin g u is tic k n o w le d g e to su ch se ttin g s b u t is a sem i-autonom ous a n d in terd iscip lin ary d om ain of work t h a t d w s on b u t is not d e p e n d e n t on a r e a s such a s sociolog>s education, anthropology, c u ltu l studies, an d psychology C ritical applied linguistics a d d s m an y new d o m ain s to this Praxis A second concern of applied lin guistics in genoral, an d one th a t critical applied l i n ^ i s t i c s also needs to a d d ress, is th e distinction between th eo ry a n d practice T h e re is often a p rob lem atic ten dency to en gage in applied linguistic research an d th eo riz in g an d th e n to suggest pedagogical o r o th e r applications th a t a r e not g rou nd ed in p a rtic u la r contexts of practice T his is a common o rien tatio n in th e linguistics-applied-to-languageteach in g ap p ro ach to applied linguistics T h e re is also, on th e o th e r h and , a ten d en cy to d ism iss applied linguistic th eory a s no t a b o u t th e real world Ỉ w a n t to r e s is t both versions o f applied lin guistics in all it s contexts a s a V o D m Uuang My co n s ta n l reciprocal relation b e tw e e n theory a n d praclico, o r p referably, as ‘t h a t tinu ou s reflexive in te g tio n o f th o u g h t, desiro a n d action soiiiCtimes referred to a s ‘p rax is’ (Simon, 1992 : 49) D iscourse a n aly sis is a practice t h a t im plies a theory, a s a re se a rc h into second lan g u ag e acquisition, tra n s la tio n a n d teaching T h u s, we p refer to avoid th e theory-intO“practice direction a n d in ste a d see th ese a s m ore complexly in te rm in g le d T his is why it is possible to s u g g e st th at critical applied lin g u istics is a w ay of th in k in g an d doing a “co ntin u ou s reflexive in te g tio n o f th o u g h t, d esire a n d action." B ein g C ritical If th e scope a n d coverage of applied lin g u is tic s n e e d s c a re fu l c o n s id e tio n , so too does th e notion w h a t it m ean s to be critical or to critical work A p a rt from som e g eneral u se s of th e te rm such a s “D on't be so c r itic a r - one of th e m ost com m on u s e s is in th e s en se of critical th in k in g or literacy criticism C ritical th in k in g is used to describe a w ay of b rin g in g m ore rigorous a n a ly s is to problem solving or te x tu a l u n d e rstn n d in g , a w av of developing more critical d ista n c e a s it is so m etim es called T h is form o f “skilled critical q u estio n in g ’' (Brookfield, 1987 92), which h a s recen tly gained some curren cy in applied linguistics, can be bro ken dow n into a s e t of th in k in g skills, a set of ru le s for th in k in g t h a t can be t a u g h t to s tu d e n ts Sim ilarly, w hile th e s e n s e of critical re a d in g in literacy criticism u s u a lly a d d s a n a e sth e tic d im en sio n of te x tu a l ap p reciatio n , m an v vorsions of literacy crilicism havo a tle m p to d to c re a te th e s a m e s o rt o f “critical d is ta n c e ’ by developing “objective* inethoiis of te x tu a l analysis M uch work t h a t lỉí done in “critical th in k in g - a site in which one m ig h t cxpect s tu d e n ts to le a rn w avs of e v a lu a tin g th e “uses" of text a n d th e im p licatio ns of ta k in g u p one read in g position over a n o th e r • sim plv assu m e s a n objectivist view of know ledge and in s tr u c ts s tu d e n ts to e v a lu a te te x ts ’ “credibility'*, “purpose," a n d “bias”, a s if th e se were tra n s c e n d e n t qualities It is th is sen se of “criticar* t h a t h a s b een given som e space by m an y applied lin g u ists ( e g W iddowson, 1999) who a rg u e t h a t critical app lied linguistics should o p erate w ith th is form of critical d istan ce a n d objectivist ev aluation r a t h e r t h a n a more politicized version of critical applied linguistics A lthough th e re is of co urse m uch to be said for such a n ability to a n a ly z e an d criticize, th e r e a r e two o th e r maior t h e m e s in critical w ork t h a t s it in opposition to th is ap pro ach T h e first m ay accept th e possibility t h a t critical d ista n c e a n d objectivity a r e im p o rta n t a n d achievable b u t a rg u e s t h a t th e m ost significant a sp e c t of critical work is an e n g a g e m e n t w ith political c ritiq u es of social relations Such a position iĩiổistổ t h a t critical in q u iry can re m a in objective a n d is no less so becau se of its e n g a g e m e n t w ith social critique The second a r g u m e n t is o n e t h a t also insists on th e notion o f “critical” a s alw ays en g a g in g w ith q u estio n s of power an d in eq uality , bu t it differs from th e first in T ạp chi Khoii hoi O H Q G iiS N^iyựi tiịỉữ T XXỈỈt sỏ ỉ 2iX)7 37 C n tic iil applied hnguhlics: t e r m s of its rejection of an y possibilitv of crituĩal d is ta n c e o r objoclivity For th e m o m e n t let u s call th em iho modornist* em an cip ato ry position and th e postnioilern pn jb lem alizin g position (see T ab lu l) Tabic Ỉ rhreẹ A p p r o a c h e s to Critical Work Critical thinking Politics T h eo retical b ase G o als L iberalism H u m ii n js n i Q u e stio n in g ỉ^kỉlls E m an cip ato ry m od ern ism P r o b le m a lu in g practice N eo -M arx ism F em in ism P o s lc o l o n ia l is m , Qu4‘'.eic C ritical th e o n ' P o stslru c tu a h sm ĩdeolog>' c n t i q u e D i s c u r m v e m a p p i n g M icro a n d M acro R elation s W hichever of th ese two positions we t a k r , however, it is clear t h a t r a th e r t h a n b a l i n g critical applied lingiỉistics on a notion of teachal>l(* rritical th in k in g skills, o r critical dislanco from social an d political relation s, critical applied lin g u istics h a s Lways of re la tin g asp ects o f ap pliẹd linguistics lo b ro ad er social n jlf u r :il nnH pnlitirnl iloninin«5 Oĩìí* f \ f th e shortcom ing s o f work in applied lin guistics go nrrally h a s bo rn a tendency to o p p to Willi w h a t is e ls e w h e re called decontoxtualisecl conioxti; It is common to View a p p lie d lin g u is tic s a s ronce*rned w u h la n g u a g e in context, b u t the c o n c e p tu a liz a tio n of co n tex t is IVoíỊuently o n e th a t is lim ited to a n ovc'rloralized a n d u n d e rth e o riz e d viow of social relations O n e of th e k e y ch allen ges for crilical app lied liniiui.stics, tho re fo rr, is to find w ay s of ma|)])ing m icro a n d m acro relatio n s, w ays of u n d e r s ta n d in g a relatio n b etw een concepts of society, Tup i hi Khitd hoc DHQiiHN Nịiitui ỉtiỊiĩ T ỉữữlỉ iwJ 21H)7 ideology, global capitalism , colonialism, education, jjendor racism , sexuality, class an d classroom u tteran ces, tra n sla tio n s, conv(*rsioni5, genres, second lan g u ag e acquisition^ m edia texts W h e th e r it is crirical a])plied linguistics as a c ritiq u e of m a in s tre a m applied lingiiistic?*, or a s a form of critical text an aly sis, o r as an approach to u n d e r s ta n d in g iho politics of tra n sla tio n , or as an aliein p i lu u iid fisia iK l im p licatio ns of th e global sp read of Knglish a cciitral issue alw ays concerns how th e classroom , lexl o r conversation is re la te d to broadiM* social c u ltu l and p o litical ro la tio n s C ritica l S ocial Inquiry It is not enough, however, m erely to d raw connt»c(ions betw een microre la tio n s of lan g u ag e in context an d m arro -ro lalio n s of social inquiry R ather, such connections need to be d w n w ith in a critical ap p ro ach to social relations- T h a t is to say critical applied 38 V o p j i Quang lin^uiỉỉtics is concerned not mer(*ly w ilh re la tin g lan g u ag e co ntex ts 10 social contexts bu t r a th or does so from a point of view th a t views social re la tio n s as problematic A lthough a g r r a l deal of work in sociolinguistics, for exam ple, h a s ten d ed to m ap laỉiguage onto a r a t h e r s ta tic view of societv; critical áocioliiiguistics is concerned w ith a c ritiq u e of w ays in which lan g u ag e p e r p e t u a t e s in e q u ita b le social re la tio n s From th e point of view o f s tu d ie s of lan gu ag e an d gender, th e issu e is not m erely to describe how la n g u a g e is used difTerently along gen d ered lines b u t to u se such a n a n aly sis a s p a r i o f social critiq u e and tra n sfo rm a tio n A ce n tra l ele m e n t of critical app lied linguistics, therefore, is a wav of exploring la n g u a g e in social contexts t h a t goes bevond m ere correlations betw een lan g u ag e a n d society an d in ste a d raisp s more critical questions to w ith access, power, disparity, desire, differences, and resistan ce It also in s is ts on a historical undf^rstRnflinp o f hnw r#»iatinn«: c a m e to be th e w av th e y are C riticai Theory O n e way of ta k in g u p such qu estio ns h a s been th ro u g h th e w ork know n as C ritical Theory, a tra d itio n of work linked to F r a n k fu r t School a n d such th in k e rs as Adorno, H o rk h eim er, W alter B enjam in, Erich F rom m , H e rb e rt M arcuse and c u r re n tly J y rg e n H ab erm as A great deal o f critical ắocial theory, a t least in I h t W e s te rn tra d itio n , h a s d w n in v ario u s w av s on this rew orking o f M a rx ist th e o ry to include m ore complex u n d e r s ta n d in g s of, for oxaiDple W i i y s Hi w h ich concept of ideology t h e M a r x is t re la te s to psychoanalytic undorsianciings of subconsciou.s, how a s p e r ts of p o p u la r culture* a r e relaUul lo form s of political control, a n d how p a r tic u la r form s of poổitivisỉii a n d tio n a lism h av e come to d o m in a te o th e r possible w ays of th in k in g Al th e v(*rv least, th is bodv of work re m in d s us i h a t critical a p p lied linguiổtics needs a t some level to en g ag e w ith ih e long legacy of M arx ism , NeoM arxism and its m any c o u n te rg u m e n ts C ritical work in th is sen se h a s to engage w ith q u estio n s of in eq u ality , injustice, rig h ts, a n d w rongs Looking m ore b ro ad ly at th e im plications of th is line o f th in k in g , we m ig h t say t h a t “c r i t i c a r h e re m e a n s ta k in g social inecjualitv a n d social tra n sfo rm a tio n as c e n tra l to one s work M arc P o ste r (1989:3) suggest?^ t h a t ‘"critical th eory sp rin g s from an a s s u m p tio n t h a t we live a m id a w orld of p ain , t h a t m uch can bo d o n e to allev iate t h a t pain, a n d t h a t theory h a s a crucial rote to plav in t h a t process T a k in g up P o ster’s (1989) term s, critical ap plied l i n ^ i s t i c s is a n ap p ro ach to la n g u a g e -re la te d q u estio n s th at sp rin g from a n a s s u m p tio n th a t w e live am id a world of p a in a n d t h a t applied linguistics m av have a n im p o r ta n t role in e ith e r th e pro du ctio n or th e alleviation of som e of t h a t pain, B u t it is also a view t h a t in.sjsts n o t m erely o n th e alleviatio n of p ain b u t also the possibility of change P r o b le m a tizin g Givens W hile th e s en se of critical th in k in g a s discussed e a r lie r • a s e t o f th in k in g T up ih t K hou họi DHQCỈHN N ịị4hjì ỉiỊiử T >XJỈJ i 2iM>7 C 'riiK ^I upplicd Im g u islic 39 skills • a t t e m p t s alm o st bv definition to re m a in iso lated from political questions, from issu es of power, disp arity, difference, o r desire, th e sen se of “critical'’ t h a t is to be m a d e ce n tra l to critical ap plied l i n ^ i s t i c s Ìổ one th a t t a k e s th e s e a s t h e sine qu a non of our work C ritical a p p lied linguistics is not a b o u t developing a set of skills t h a t will m a k e th e in g of applied linguistics m ore politically accountable N ev erth eless, th e r e a r e quite divergent s tr a n d s w ith in critical tho ug ht As Dean (1994) su g g ests, th e version of critical thi'ory t h a t te n d s to critique ’’m odernist n a r r a tiv e s in te r m s of th e one-sided, pathological, a d v a n c e of technocratic or in s t r u m e n t a l re a so n th e y celeb rate” onlv 10 offer “a n a lte r n a tiv e , h ig h er version of ralion ality " in t h e i r place (D ean,1994: 3) A g r e a t (leal o f th e work cu rro n tlv being (iont' in critica l m ains re la te d to cT ilical a p p l i e d linguistics often falls into th is categ o ry of em an cip ato ry m odernism , dovoloping a critique of tu rn in g a skeptical eye tow ard as su m p tio n s, id eas t h a t h a v e bc'comc “n a tu r a liz e d ’", notions t h a t a r e no longer questioned D ean (1994:4) describes such p r a tic e a s “t h e re.stive p r o b le m a tiz a tio n of th e given" D raw in g on w ork in a re a s such as fem inism , an tira cism , postcolonialism postm odernism , or q u e e r theory, th is ap pro ach to th e critical seeks not so m uch th e stable g ro u n d o f a n a lte rn a tiv e t r u t h b u t r a th e r th e c o n s ta n t q u e stio n in g of all categories From th is point of view, critical applied linguistics is no t only a b o u t re la tin g micro • re la tio n s of applied linguistics to m acro - relatio n s of social a n d political power; n e ith e r is it onlv concerned w ith re la tin g such q u estio n s to a prior critical a n a ly s is of in equality, R a th e r, it is also concerned w ith q u estio n in g w h a t is m e a n t by and w h a l is m a in ta in e d by m a n y of th e everyd ay categories of applied linguistics: lan g u ag e learning, com m unication, difference, context, text, mH'.iul c u llu rc , uiicl p o lilic u l ro in ia lio iiu but offering only a v ersio n of a n a lte rn a tiv e t r u t h in its pliice T h is version of critical m od ern ism , w ith its em p h a sis on e m a n c ip a tio n a n d ratio n a lity , h a s a n u nib or of lim itatio n s In place o f C ritical Theory Dean (1994:4) goes o n to propose w h a t he calls a p ro b le m a tix in g practice This, he suggests, is a critica l practice because'* it is u n w illin g to accept th e taken-forg r a n te d c o m p o n e n ts of o u r reality and th e “oíTiciaĩ’ a c c o u n ts of how th e y cam e to be th e w av th e y a r e '\ T h u s, a crucial co m p on en t of critical w ork is alw ays T p ih i K hoư hoc D H Q G H N , «^/7 T XXỈỈỈ S iU 2(H)7 n ican in g Ira n y lu lio n , w ritin g literacy, a s se s sm e n t, an d so on Self- r e fl e x iv it y Such a p rob lem atizing s ta n c e leads to a n o th e r significant elem en t t h a t n eed s to be m ade p a r t of a n y critical applied linguistics If critica] applied lin g u istics n eed s to r e ta in a co n sta n t skep ticism , a c o n s ta n t q u e stio n in g of th e givens of applied linguistics, this p ro b le m a liz in g stance m u s t also he t u r n e d on itself T he notion o f “critica r' also n e e d s to imply a n a w a r e n e s s “of th e lim its of know ing” O n e of th e problem s w ith en iancip ato ry-m o dernism is its V o Dai (Juang 40 a s s u r ity a b o u t its own rig h tn ess, its belief t h a t a n a d e q u a te c ritiq u e of social a n d political ineq uality c an lead to a n a lte r n a tiv e reality A postm o dern p ro b lem alizing stance, how ever, n e e d s to m a in ta in a g r e a te r s en se of h u m ility an d difference a n d to ise q u e s tio n s a b o u t th e lim its of it s own know ing T h is selfreflexive position also s u g g e sts t h a t critical applied linguistics is not concerned with producmg itself as a new orthodoxy, with prescribing new models and procedures for doing applied linguistics Rather, it is concerned with raism g a host of new an d difficult questions about knowledge, politics, and ethics P referred Futures C ritical applied linguistics also n eed s to o p e te w ith some s o rt of vision of w h a t is preferable C ritical work h a s often b een criticized for doing little more t h a n criticize thin gs, for offering n o th in g b u t a b leak a n d pessim istic vision of social relation s V arious form s o f critical w ork pflrtir\i1pirly, in fturh aft edu catio n, h av e so u g h t to avoid th is tra p by a rtic u la tin g "‘u to p ian " visions of a lte r n a tiv e realities, by s tr e s s in g th e “tra n s fo rm a tiv e ” m ission o f critical work o r th e p o ten tial for ch an g e th ro u g h a w a re n e s s a n d emancipation While such goals a t least present a dừection for reconstruction, thev also echo w ith a r a th e r troubling modernist grandiosity P erhaps th e notion of preferred fu tu res offers us a slightly more restrained an d plural view of w here we m ight w ant to head Such p referred fu tu re s, however, n eed to b e g ro u n d ed in ethical a r g u m e n ts for why a lte rn a tiv e possibilities m ay be b etter For th is reason, e th ic s h a s to become a kev b u ild ing block for critical applied linguistics, alth o u g h , a s w ith mv later discussion of politics, th is is no t a n o rm a tiv e o r m oralistic code of practice b u t a recognition t h a t th ese a r e ethical concerns w ith which we n eed to deal A nd th is notio n su g g ests t h a t It is not only a la n g u a g e of critiq u e t h a t is being developed h e r e b u t r a t h e r a n ethics of com passion a n d a model of hope an d possibility C ritical Heterosis A pplied L inguistics as U sin g S t r e e t’s (1984) distinction b etw een a u to n o m o u s a n d ideological a p p ro a c h e s to literacy, R am p to n (1995b) a rg u e s t h a t a p p lie d linguistics in B ritain h a s s ta r te d to shift from its “au ton o m o us ” view of rese a rc h w ith connections to pedagogy, linguistics, a n d psychology to a m o re ‘‘ideological” model with connections to m ed ia s tu d ie s a n d a more g ro u nd ed u n d e r s ta n d in g of social processes C ritical ap plied linguistics o pens th e door for such change oven w ider by d w in g on yet a n o th e r ran g e of “o u tsid e” w ork (critical theory, f e m in is m , p o stco lon ialism , p o s ts tru c tu lism , a n tir a c is t pedagogy)’’ t h a t both ch allen ges a n d greatly e n rich es t h e possibilities for doing applied linguistics T h is m e a n s not only t h a t critical app lied linguistics im plies a h ybrid m odel of re se a rc h and p rax is but also t h a t i t g e n e te s so m ethin g t h a t is far m ore dynam ic T he notion of h e te ro sis h e re b y u n d ersto o d a s th e T ap c h i Khoa hoc D H Q C fiiS Nỹỉoựi T Sô 20(i7 41 CnMcal applied linguislics: creativ e exp an sion of possibilities re su ltin g from h y b n d ity P u t more sim plv, my p o in t hero is t h a t critical applied lin guistics is far more t h a n th e a d d itio n of a critical dim ension to app lied linguistics; th e r It opens up a w hole new a r r a v of q uestion s an d concerns, issu es such a s identity, sexuality, or th e reproduction of O th e rn e s s t h a t h av e h ith e rto not been considered a s co ncerns related 10 applied linguistics T h e notion of h etero sis helps deal with a final concern, th e q u estio n of n orm alivity It m ig ht be objected th a t w h at is being sk etch ed ou t h e re is a problem atically normative* approach: by defining w h a t is m a m bv critical and criiical app lied lin g u istic s An approach t h a t a lre a d y h n s a predefined political s ta n c e an d mode o f a n a ly s is is being set up T h e re is a c e rta in tension here: an overdefined version of critical applied linguistics t h a t d e m a n d s ad h e re n c e to a p a r tic u la r form of politics is a project t h a t is a lread y lim ited; b u t we also c a n n o t envision a version of critical app lied linguistics t h a t can accept any political viewpoint T he wav forward h e re is this: On th e one h a n d , we are a rg u in g t h a t critical applied linguistics m u s t necessarily lak e up certain positions a n d stances; its view of l a n ^ a g e can n o t be a n au to n o m o u s one t h a t b ack s a w a v from connecting la n g u a g e to b ro a d e r political concerns, a n d fu rth erm o re, its focus on such politics m u st be accountable to broader political a n d ethical visions t h a t put in eq u ality , oppression, a n d com passion to th e fore On ih e o th e r h a n d , we not w a n t to su gg est a n arro w a n d n o rm a tiv e vision of how th ose politics work T he notion of heterosis, however, Of)ens up th e possibility t h a t critical applied lin guistics is indeed no t a b o u t the m a p p in g of a fixed |)olitics o n to a s ta tic body of knowledge l)ut r a t h e r is a b o u t c re a tin g so m eth in g now T h e se critical app lied linguistics concerns are s u m m a riz e d in T able T a b le O i l i c a l A p p lie d L in g u is tic s C o n c e r n s In opposition 10 Centered on th e foilowing: m ainstream applied linguistics (ALx): ị i Critical applied linguistics (CALx) concerns ị The w báo n àv (lược tl)iél k ế dể, tro n g p h ạm vi mức độ có thế, ựiúp dem lại n h ữ n g híêu b iết c ãn b án vé Ngôn nỉfử học ửiig d ụ n g p h ê p h ân Bài báo b n VỂ n h n g v án clìính dề sau: • Yếu tỏ “phò phán'* (critical) tro n g Ngôn ng học ứn g tiụng: -N h ữ n g v ấn đ ế q u a n tâ m c ủ a Ngôn ng học ứ n g d ụ n g p h ê phán; • Các lình vực n g h iên cửu N gỏn n g học n g d ụ n g p ph án i u p ( ht KIhhj hiK' D//Cx;//N tiỉitl T K V ỈÌ sv / 2(Hf7 ... 42 V o Dai Quang Being critical Critical work engaged with social change Critical thinking as an apolitical set of skills Micro and macro relations Relating aspects of applied linguistics to... s critical linpuislics critical discourse a n a ly s is (CDA), critical lang uage awarene.^s, critical pedagogy, critical sociolinguistics, an d critical literacy Such a formu!»ition is unsatisfiictorv... ainstream applied linguistics (ALx): ị i Critical applied linguistics (CALx) concerns ị The w