Disability and second language learning

Implications for interdisciplinary research in applied linguistics

Bibliographic Data

ID21506284
AuthorsCaitlin Cornell (0000-0001-5323-6437, Michigan State University), Robert A Randez (0000-0001-6347-835X, Northern Arizona University)
Year2026
Volume48
Issue1
Pages4-18
Publication date2026-03-01
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueStudies in Second Language Acquisition (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0272-2631 • E-ISSN: 1470-1545
PublisherCambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1017/s0272263126101594
OpenAlexW7130642819
LanguageEN
References cited22

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

Applied linguistics · Disability studies · Emic and etic · Interdisciplinarity · Terminology · Hearing Impairment and Communication · Language Development and Disorders · Multilingual Education and Policy

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