Diversity in Applied Linguistics

Abstract The diversity of research carried out under the name of applied linguistics can be seen as evidence of the vitality of the field, but the diversity seems primarily to relate to the range of disciplinary enquiry that it makes reference to. I argue that this disciplinary focus has the effect of distracting attention from what is claimed to be the defining purpose of applied linguistics, which is to engage with language problems that are actually experienced by language users and learners in the real world. If this claim is to be validated, it is the diversity of this experience that applied linguistic research needs to engage with, and so made relevant to the immediate realities of the contemporary world.