A corpus study of the conceptualization of learners in applied linguistics / Tan Ken Siang

• Main Author: Tan , Ken Siang
• Format: Thesis
• Published: 2021
• Subjects: P Philology. Linguistics
• Online Access: http://studentsrepo.um.edu.my/15330/1/Tan_Ken_Siang.pdf; http://studentsrepo.um.edu.my/15330/2/Tan_Ken_Siang.pdf; http://studentsrepo.um.edu.my/15330/

The differing views on language learners across the relevant literature have been observed. With the observed changes in ideology in looking at language learners, it would be good to investigate how the applied linguistic research community varies over time, mainly in conceptualizing learners as the focus of the disciplinary studies and discussions. Despite this interest, very little is known about how the change of views on learners has been portrayed in the Applied Linguistics field. How is the learner conceptualized in research articles in a period of 10 years of research in Applied Linguistics (from 1950-2016), and what are the changing views observed? Drawing on a corpus of 17.9 million words or 2655 articles taken from The Modern Language Journal, the study looks for answers to these questions to determine whether learners’ conceptualization has changed in Applied Linguistics over the past 60 years. This study presents and attempts to account for possible surprising variations and possible explanations for the observed variations during the period under study.