David D. Perrodin
My dear fellow applied linguistics researcher friends, what better way to christen my blog at the start of a new year than to start at the beginning of my journey. Now come along with me as I share my thoughts, feelings, intimidations, and successes in pursuing a doctorate degree in applied linguistics. So, let’s begin….Once upon a time…. well, only about five years ago, I realized that I had reached the mid-point of my life, but I still wanted to continue my education. For over a year, I explored several Ph.D. programs in Thailand and other Asian and European countries. I surveyed programs in English Language Teaching or some derivative of ELT. I even personally visited some of the programs at universities in Thailand and Southeast Asia.When I was exploring these programs, I knew that I wanted to pursue a doctorate that would elevate me to new heights as an English teacher and researcher. I looked at research conducted by students from these programs and the expertise of the lecturers and student research advisors. Even though some of the research topics were interesting, the overall quality of the work was not that different from my research and writing level at that time. Then by chance, one of my former teaching associates, whom I had worked with several years prior, contacted me and told me that he had enrolled in an applied linguistics program at a university in Thailand. Now I am not here to promote any university nor any program, but upon doing my due diligence, I found out that this program was ranked as one of the best applied linguistics programs on this side of the world. Applied linguistics? What in the world is applied linguistics? Now I do not know about you, but although I had been teaching English for a few years, I did not understand what the field of applied linguistics encompassed. Like I mentioned earlier, I had spoken with several advisors and heads of programs, and I was not content with the restricted areas of research presented in each of these programs. I wanted my research to make a difference in how language was used to solve real-life problems. I did not have any interest in overly theoretical research. I wanted to do practical research that could change the lives of English language teachers and students. According to the Linguistic Society of America, applied linguistics is an interdisciplinary field of research that identifies and investigates solutions to real-life language-related problems or language-related concerns. Real-life language-related problems! Eureka! It was then that I knew I had found the program that would consume the next three years of my life… or so I thought. Stay tuned for the next episode of “From the Mind of a Developing Researcher” when I share what happened when I applied to the program and my impromptu meeting with the program’s head.
My Favorite Books
1. Coffin, C., Lillis, T., & O’Halloran, K. (2009). Applied Linguistics Methods: A Reader (1st ed.). Routledge.
2. Dörnyei, Z. (2007). Research Methods in Applied Linguistics (Oxford Applied Linguistics). Oxford University Press.
3. Paltridge, B., & Phakiti, A. (2015). Research Methods in Applied Linguistics: A Practical Resource (2nd ed.). Bloomsbury Academic.
Author’s facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/david.d.perrodin
