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Inaugural Institute in Applied Linguistics held at University Park By Kerry A. Newman
	Business, law, health care and government. Language affects each of these fields and continues to increase in significance as developing world economies, expanding information technologies and shifting populations change the face of the global community.   “Applied linguistics is concerned with language-related issues in the real world,” said Dr. James P. Lantolf, director of Penn State’s Center for Language Acquisition and professor of applied linguistics and Spanish at Penn State. “As the world opens up, language becomes more of a central concern for people.”   As a result of the rising importance of applied linguistics, Penn State held the first Summer Institute in Applied Linguistics at University Park campus. Sponsored by the College of the Liberal Arts and the Center for Language Acquisition, the goal was to create a community of learning where students and scholars of applied linguistics could engage in activities and discussions pertinent to their interests, research and the field, in general.   There were 150 graduate students representing more than 25 countries at the institute. Lantolf, one of the institute’s organizers, attributed the international representation to the growing worldwide concern with language-related issues in our daily lives. Included among these issues is the spread of English and the consequences of it becoming the global language of the 21st century.   “There is nothing else like it in the world, in terms of the scope and the quality of the international faculty that we have brought together here,” Lantolf said. He surmised that 60 percent of the attendees came from outside the United States.   “Applied linguistics, particularly as it relates to the teaching of English around the world, is really an international phenomenon,” he said. “In many ways, it’s [applied linguistics] stronger outside of the United States. It’s really an international discipline.”   The institute consisted of credit courses, workshops and weekly lectures. More than 30 renowned faculty members from across the world led the institute, including Monica Heller from the University of Toronto, who lectured about “The Commodification of Language and Identity in the New Economy.” Participants had the opportunity to earn up to 6 graduate credits by completing three courses in each of the two, two-week sessions. The credit courses covered a range of topics, including “Critical Pedagogies, Identity and Language Learning” and “Writing in Second Languages.”   Although Penn State funded the program, Lantolf and the program organizers garnered external support, too. They received two fellowships from the American Association for Applied Linguistics, and Cambridge University Press offered support by sponsoring the plenary lecture, “Developing Bilinguals: How Language Affects Cognition,” presented by Ellen Bialystok of York University.   Lantolf attributes the success of the program to the mix of activities that were offered, the expertise of the diverse faculty and the strength of the students who attended the institute.   “We wanted to have a variety of intellectual and academic opportunities for the students—not just the classroom,” he said. “It [the institute] brought tremendous visibility to the University as a major center of applied linguistics in the world.”   Based on feedback from participants and faculty, for future programs, Lantolf plans to add more courses, bring in more instructors and offer additional activities, such as moderated panel question-and-answer sessions and small group discussions. In addition, he hopes to develop more scholarships.   “We are going to consider other options and build on what we have,” he said.   Planning is under way to hold a second institute in 2005. For more information, contact James Lantolf by phone at 814-863-7038 or by e-mail at jpl7@psu.edu.
© 2002 Outreach Communications,   Outreach & Cooperative Extension,   The Pennsylvania State University phone: (814) 865-8108,   fax: (814) 863-2765,   e-mail: outreachnews@outreach.psu.edu