Director: Professor Mahmoud Arani

Linguists analyze language structure through the study of phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics, and pragmatics. Applied linguists put these analytical skills to use in a variety of fields, including language teaching.

The Applied Linguistics minor prepares students to understand and appreciate the complexities of language structure, acquisition, variation, and interaction as a basis for all human learning and communication. Students who complete this minor come to understand the properties common to all human languages, social and cultural dimensions of language, the differences between first and second language acquisition, and the specifics of English grammar.

Students in the AL minor can benefit from, and use, the minor in several ways: students majoring in a foreign language will better understand the linguistic and cultural challenges involved in language learning; students planning Study Abroad will have useful opportunities to work with international students from around the world as tutors and/or conversations partners; students preparing to teach may work with second language learners in the English Language Programs at Saint Michael’s College; and students planning any career that involves international communication will gain cross-cultural sensitivity to other users of English as a global language.