Languages and Applied Linguistics

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Greeting from the Department Chair

Welcome to the Department of Languages and Applied Linguistics (LAAL) at the University of California, Santa Cruz! Our mission in our teaching, research, and service is to advance our understanding of second language acquisition, bilingualism/multilingualism, language contact, and language learning from a wide range of perspectives.

We are committed to outstanding teaching and mentoring of students in twelve different languages, as well as in two interdisciplinary majors in Spanish Studies and in Applied Linguistics and Multilingualism. Our faculty are widely recognized for their research on the linguistic and communicative competence of the multilingual individual with an explicit orientation towards practical, everyday problems related to language and communication. Areas of specialization in the department include second language acquisition and teaching, heritage language acquisition, discourse analysis, intercultural communication, sociolinguistics and language contact, L2 pragmatics, bilingual and multilingual phonetics and phonology, language and cognition, computer-supported collaborative writing, and historical linguistics.

I invite you to learn more about our course offerings, the research projects of our faculty, and our departmental events. I also encourage you to consider the benefits of studying another language in today’s hyper-connected fast-paced world, such as having an advantage in today’s global economy, being able to communicate and interact with diverse communities around the world, gain cultural knowledge and perspective, improve your communication skills, and strengthen your cognitive abilities. In other words, consider how becoming proficient in another language can enrich your studies, give you access to a brighter future, and ultimately,open up a world of opportunities for you.

Mark Amengual
Professor and Chair
Department of Languages and Applied Linguistics