LINGUIST List 10.7

Tue Jan 5 1999

Books: New Applied Linguistics Series from Longman

Editor for this issue: Scott Fults <scottlinguistlist.org>

Directory

1. Simon.Collinsawl.co.uk>, Interpreting as Interaction, Cecilia Wadensj
2. Simon.Collinsawl.co.uk>, Managing Evaluation and Innovation in Language Teaching
3. Simon.Collinsawl.co.uk>, Reading in a 2nd Language, Sandy Urquhart

 INTERPRETING AS INTERACTION
 CECILIA WADENSJ
 Researcher in the Department of Communication Studies at Linkping 
 University, Sweden.
 
 Paper 0-582-28910-6
 Cased 0-582-28910-6
 336 pages 1999
 Language in Social Life Series
 Longman
 
 ------------------------------
 
'Interpreting in Interaction' provides an account of
interpreter-mediated communication, exploring the responsibilities of
the interpreter and the expectations of both the interpreter and of
other participants involved in the interaction. The book examines ways
of understanding the distribution of responsibility of content and the
progression of talk in interpreter-mediated institutional face-to-face
encounters in the community interpreting context.
 
Bringing attention to discursive and social practices prominent in
modern society but largely unexplored in the existing literature, the
book describes and explains real-life interpreter-mediated
conversations as documented in various public institutions, such as
hospitals and police stations. The data show that the interpreter's
prescribed role as a non-participating, non-person does not -and
cannot - always hold true.
 
The book convincingly argues that this in one sense exceptional form
of communication can be used as a magnifying glass in the grounded
study of face-to-face institutional interaction more generally.
 
Cecilia Wadensj explains and applies a Bakhtinian dialogic theory of
language and mind, and offers an alternative understanding of the
interpreter's task, as one consisting of translating and
co-ordinating, and of the interpreter as an engaged actor solving
problems of translatability and problems of mutual understanding in
situated social interactions.
 
Teachers and students of translation and interpretation studies,
including sign language interpreting, applied linguistics and
sociolinguistics will welcome this text. Students and professionals
within law, medicine and education will also find the study useful to
help them understand the role of the interpreter within these
frameworks.
 
 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 
 
 Further information on the books published in this series, and the 
 table of contents for this title can be viewed at the Longman 
 Linguistics on-line catalogue at:
 
 http://www.awl-he.com/linguistics
 
 For a complete listing of our world-wide offices, please click below:
 
 http://www.awl-he.com/offices

 MANAGING EVALUATION AND INNOVATION IN LANGUAGE TEACHING
 Edited by PAULINE REA-DICKINS
 Head of the Language Testing and Evaluation Unit at the Centre for
 English Language Teacher Education, the University of Warwick, UK
 and KEVIN GERMAIN, Senior Lecturer in Applied Linguistics at St Mary's
 University College, Twickenham, UK
 
 Paper 0-582-30373-7
 320 pages 1999
 Applied Linguistics and Language Study Series
 Longman
 
 ---------------------------------------------
 
'Managing Evaluation and Innovation in Language Teaching' focuses on the 
connections to be made between evaluation and change in language education 
with a specific focus on English Language Teaching. The book demonstrates 
the central importance of evaluation in relation to language projects and 
programmes, the management of change and innovation, and in improving 
language teacher development. 
 
The introductory chapter provides an overview of the present trends in 
evaluation as well as offering examples of recent evaluation projects. 
Subsequent chapters identify contemporary issues in evaluation and their 
relevance to language teaching, covering a number of cultural and 
ethnographic studies in evaluation management in different world-wide 
contexts, as well as drawing insights from other related disciplines. The 
editors seek to draw attention to the possibilities of inter-disciplinary 
exchange to inform the reader of current practice, and highlight emerging 
issues in the expanding field of evaluation in language teaching, 
especially in ELT. 
 
The contemporary nature of the studies presented here will be relevant to 
both post graduate students following language education programmes as well 
as to professionals involved in language teaching. It will be of particular 
interest to those involved in the management of innovation and the 
evaluation of projects and programmes, such as curriculum developers, 
course directors of language studies, and professionals with a special 
responsibility for bringing about change in language teaching contexts.
 
 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 
 
 Further information on the books published in this series, and the
 table of contents for this title can be viewed at the Longman
 Linguistics on-line catalogue at:
 
 http://www.awl-he.com/linguistics
 
 For a complete listing of our world-wide offices, please click below:
 
 http://www.awl-he.com/offices

 READING IN A SECOND LANGUAGE
 SANDY URQUHART
 Department of English, College of St Mark and St John, Plymouth, UK
 CYRIL WEIR
 Centre for Applied Language Studies, University of Reading, UK
 
 Paper 0-582-29836-9
 368 pages 1999
 Applied Linguistics and Language Study Series
 Longman
 
 ---------------------------------------------
 
'Reading in a Second Language' sets the testing and teaching of reading 
against a theoretical background, discussing research from both applied 
linguistics and cognitive psychology. Where possible, it focuses on 
research into second language readers and distinguishes different kinds of 
reading, particularly expeditious as opposed to careful reading, and 
emphasizes the validity of each.
 
Sandy Urquhart and Cyril Weir relate testing and teaching, discussing 
similarities and differences, providing a comprehensive survey of both 
methods with the emphasis on those which have been substantiated or 
supported by research evidence. Finally, the book proposes specific 
research topics, and detailed advice on how to construct tests of language 
for academic purposes and suggestions for further research.
 
The book is intended for teachers, testers, advanced students and 
researchers into reading in a second language and will also be useful to 
teacher trainers, inservice trainees, experienced teachers and 
textbook writers.
 
 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 
 
 Further information on the books published in this series, and
 the table of contents for this title can be viewed at the Longman
 Linguistics on-line catalogue at:
 
 http://www.awl-he.com/linguistics
 
 For a complete listing of our world-wide offices, please click below:
 
 http://www.awl-he.com/offices

The following contributing LINGUIST publishers have made their backlists available on the World Wide Web:

1998 Contributors