Critical applied linguistics: A critical (re-)introduction. 2nd edn. Abingdon: Routledge, 2021. Pp. 220. Pb. £28

ABSTRACT

[...]Pennycook states that the purpose of the volume is not only to provide a comprehensive and collaborative overview of the ideological forces that shape CAL, but to advocate for changes to applied linguistics, namely, decolonization and the incorporation of ideas from the Global South. Pennycook takes the field of second language acquisition to task for viewing language as a cognitive phenomenon and removing it from its social context by ignoring factors of identity such as gender, class, and race, and in the end argues that language must be considered as embodied. [...]the seventh chapter briefly explores ways in which critical applied linguistics can be incorporated into education, research, and activism, especially via a means of critical pedagogy. [...]the ideal audience for this book is the linguist, language researcher, or instructor that has a curiosity or appetite for criticality, a keen interest in society and power, and a desire to change the status quo in the world of applied linguistics, as well as society.