Applied linguistics is an interdisciplinary academic field that identifies, investigates, and provides solutions to real-life problems related to language. Other disciplines that influenced its [Page 249]development include anthropology, education, communication, psychology, and sociology, but the field of theoretical linguistics has been the dominant influence. Applied linguists study a range of issues that affect people’s lives, for example, how language can function as cultural capital (a social resource) for people, how it often serves as a reason for discrimination in society, or how the brain processes language. The core of the field, though, is how humans can best teach and learn languages.

Because language learning is a central concern in the field, applied linguistics is closely affiliated with Teaching English as a Second Language (TESL/TESOL), Teaching English ...