BAAL Applied Linguistics Fund

Engaging users in the research process and generating impact are important parts of the applied linguistics research agenda. The BAAL Applied Linguistics Fund supports members by offering up to £15,000 to carry out innovative activities which link research and impact/public engagement.

Applications are invited from any members of BAAL. In the case of joint applications, the lead applicant must be a member of BAAL. Funded activities can take place in the UK or overseas, from 1 August 2024 to 31 July 2025.

The fund will be available for a single activity or a series of connected activities that bring BAAL members (including students) together with research users (e.g. policy makers, teachers, companies, lawyers, police, community groups, health workers, charities) in innovative ways.

As a result of the feedback we received via our recent members’ survey, which pointed to the need for greater advocacy for and promotion of our discipline, we are encouraging applications related to one or more of the following:

  • Engagement with, and impact on, national and international debates related to language, language teaching and language use.
  • Successful lobbying of decision-makers on matters of concern to applied linguists.
  • The delivery and evaluation of an applied linguistic research project whose benefits are widely disseminated and clearly understood by the public.
  • The promotion/showcasing of applied linguistics as a valuable source of theory and methods for use in various contexts, including, for example: education, translation, language planning and policy, (mental) health, the heritage sector, and legal and law enforcement contexts.
  • Any other research designed to raise awareness of the role of applied linguistics in solving individual and societal problems in which language is believed to be part of the issue, and the evaluating of these solutions together with the people experiencing the problem.

In the previous round of funding, applicants were invited to design their projects with the following themes in mind: minority languages, sign languages, multilingualism, discrimination, language rights, and linguistic citizenship. A total of 12 applications were received and funding was provided to the following five projects: 

In the previous round of funding (2022-2023), a total of 12 applications were received and funding was provided to the following five projects:

  • Gonzalo Pérez Andrade (London Metropolitan University), Hannah King (London Metropolitan University & Birkbeck, University of London) & Soofia Amin (Kensington Primary School): Promoting multilingualism at school: How researcher and practitioner collaboration can support and inform the educator-student-community triad (awarded £2,984)
  • Ian Cushing (Edge Hill University) & Dan Clayton (English and Media Centre): Challenging language discrimination in schools: toward a typology of teacher-led resistance (awarded £1,855)
  • Natalie Braber (Nottingham Trent University) & John Bellamy (Manchester Metropolitan University): Ground-breaking language: the linguistic practices of mining communities as cultural heritage (awarded £2,963.71)
  • Becky Muradás-Taylor (York St John University): OurLOTE-York: Celebrating languages other than English used in the City of York (awarded £3,000)
  • Frank Monaghan, Philip Seargeant & Korina Giaxoglou (The Open University): Bearing witness to the Black presence in the linguistic landscape: Nubian Jak Community Trust blue and black plaques as sites for active citizenship (awarded £2,974)

Further examples of successful applications from previous rounds are available by following the link below to ‘past awardees’.

Please click here for information on eligibility and how to apply.

Past awardees

An interview with Guy Cook, Instigator of the scheme

British Association for Applied Linguistics (BAAL)