Contemporary Topics in Applied Linguistics for Language Educators by Julieta Fernández and Chantelle Warner
Contemporary Topics in Applied Linguistics for Language Educators is a new free publication edited by Julieta Fernández and Chantelle Warner. This book, described as the "new handbook" on applied linguistics for language educators, brings the discourse within applied linguistics to the classroom. It offers an array of perspectives on contemporary discussions happening between researchers, in place of the historically one-sided textbook portrayal of linguistic understanding. As mentioned by Fernández, "...applied linguistics research is often positioned as less a space of inquiry and more a collection of empirically-grounded truisms (Fernández and Warner 2025)."
Beyond discussion of emerging linguistic ideas, the book emphasizes the need for frameworks that can be applied to a classroom setting. Fernandez and Warner include such frameworks, sharing how each chapter could be implemented to include students in the discussion. Each chapter, written by fellow scholars of applied linguistics, includes hands-on activities to facilitate interpretation, reflection, and application of the theory presented. Additionally, in contrast to earlier manuals and handbooks in applied linguistics, their book ensures a larger diversity of examples are provided (sourced from LCTLs, less commonly taught languages), beyond English and popular European languages.
Julieta Fernández is an Associate Professor in the Spanish and Portuguese Department, as well as a faculty member in the Interdisciplinary Ph.D. program in Second Language Acquisition and Teaching (SLAT), and a Technology Enhanced Language Learning (TELL) member. Her research focuses on the pragmatics of second language teaching and learning in the contexts of study abroad and in the home.
This volume is published open access as a University of Arizona Pressbook by the Center for Educational Resources in Culture, Language and Literacy (CERCLL); November 2025.