Work

Disability and second language learning: Implications for interdisciplinary research in applied linguistics

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: In this commentary contextualizing the complexities at the nexus of disability and applied linguistics (AL), the authors highlight the paucity of conscientious attention to disabled populations in AL research, explore the intricacies of choosing appropriate terminology to describe disability and disabled people, challenge scholars in the field to reflect on and make explicit their emic or etic positionality vis-à-vis disability in their research, and call researchers to consider researching with , rather than merely about , disabled second language learners. The authors (a) illustrate how a collection of emergent research studies illuminates critical considerations at this underresearched interdisciplinary intersection in the field, and (b) demonstrate, via example studies in other areas of AL, how scholars may choose to center the disabled second-language learning experience rather than relegate it to the far corners of the field.

Source: Studies in Second Language Acquisition

DOI: 10.1017/s0272263126101594

Authors: Caitlin Cornell, Robert Alan Randez

Institutions: Michigan State University, Northern Arizona University

Language: English

Topic: Disability Rights and Representation

Subfield: Safety Research

Field: Social Sciences

Domain: Social Sciences

SDG: Reduced inequalities

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $3,550