Literature review in applied linguistics

English Language Teaching in
the Twenty First Century
Issues and Challenges

Editor
Dr.T. Karunakaran

Kumaran Book House
Colombo – Chennai
2014


10
Literature Review in Applied Linguistics: A
Conceptual Framework
Md.Tahamid Ar Rabbi and Mian Md. Naushaad Kabir

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characteristics of literature review. It seeks to clarify the concept
of literature review, putting emphasis on what it actually means.
It then aims to narrow down its focus to the use of literature
review in applied linguistics. It is found that in writing literature
review a number of factors come into consideration. If it is a part
(as usually it is) of a broader research work in applied linguistics,
for example, its composition needs to be done in the context of
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of sources it presents and the procedure it follows in its pursuit
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has an organizational plan and it is conducted through some key
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literature reviewed, in a section of the research paper. Connected
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study attempts to elucidate in some detail all of the relevant factors
mentioned above in general, with a view to conceptualizing the
know-how of literature review in applied linguistics in particular.
Finally, it seeks to draw some pedagogical implications to chalk
out a suitable path for instruction on literature review in the
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discussion has been presented in reference to the practitioners in


Literature Review in Applied Linguistics: A Conceptual Framework

139

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social sciences in general.
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or problem is an essential part of the research work in which the
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area of investigation is an indispensable step to be followed in
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selection of available documents” from related literature and
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examination of a body of related literature in order to connect
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Literature review as part of a broader research work

Although a literature review can be a self-contained paper, that is, a
paper in itself, it usually constitutes a section of a broader research
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diagrammatically presents, therefore, seems worth-mentioning here.

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Kothari (2003) presents the step of literature review in two
boxes denoting ‘Review concepts’ and ‘Review previous research’.


140

English Language Teaching in the Twenty First Century: Issues and Challenges

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position shows that a literature review is not conducted in isolation
and that it connects with the steps preceding and following it.
Understanding how literature review dovetails with other steps
in the research process helps form a good plan.
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meaning of literature review is yet to be clear and comprehensive.
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homophonous but not homogeneous term- ‘Literary Review’. A
literature review, as opposed to what many novice learners may and
do think, is not a literary review evaluating a poem, or a play, or a
novel, and so on. In terms of literature review, ‘literature’ means the
pertinent sources one consults in order to investigate one’s research
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1992, p.216). It does not provide an account of all the published
works that relate to one’s research, but a review of the most relevant

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Rather, it is a concise, analytical and evaluative review of the
works. Furthermore, in literature review one needs to show how
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strengths it possesses and what ‘problems and potential pitfalls’
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Literature Review in Applied Linguistics: A Conceptual Framework

141

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explored.
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work
Research cannot be undertaken in isolation of the literature that
has already been written in the particular area the researcher is
dealing with. Literature review provides context for research by

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in this aspect that literature review proves invaluable. Islam (2008)
holds, “If the researcher is aware of earlier studies of his topic, he
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own work and to convince others that it is important” (p.63). It
not only helps the researcher to glean the ideas of others interested
in a particular topic but also lets him know about the results of
others’ studies. It also informs readers about the state of research
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142

English Language Teaching in the Twenty First Century: Issues and Challenges

studies on the topic and may suggest areas for further research on
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in any well-planned research work.
In article-length reports, literature can be a part of the
introduction (Dörnyei, 2007, p. 281) whereas in long reports, it
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functions of literature review:
“(a) it can act as the map of terrain‘, providing a comprehensive
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other documents describing the broader domain under

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background of the empirical investigation reported,
justifying the need for it, thus focusing primarily on works
that have a concrete bearing on the research design or the
interpretations of the results, (c) it can be used to mark out
the intellectual strand/position that the author is aligning
with and to generate trustworthiness in the audience by
showing that the author is knowledgeable in the area, and
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assignments (for example, dissertations and theses) it is also
to prove that the author has done his/her ‘homework’ and has
become familiar with a wide range of relevant theoretical and
research approaches”. (Dörnyei, 2007 pp. 281-282)

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be short or long depending on demands of the journals and their
priorities and length of words. Being in line with the instructions
of the APA guidelines, (APA, 2001, p. 16), he discourages the mere
exhaustive historical overview to be included in the literature
review. However, he later adds another function called ‘critical
analysis’ to the 4 functions mentioned earlier. By this, he means, the
presence of the author’s voice, not inclusion of so many citations
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also be a part of literature review when the actual work is short.
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the literature review chapter and the ‘method’ part.


Literature Review in Applied Linguistics: A Conceptual Framework

143

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serve the same purpose along with other purposes like drawing
similarities and setting the context of the study, claiming for
generalizability at the end of the study. Hence, in the latter kind
of study, literature review can be further added in the discussion
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as to suggest that literature review can be divided into many parts
and placed throughout the research report in a relevant manner
in mixed method reports. (Dörnyei, 2007, pp. 303- 304).
In applied linguistics, the placement of literature review
does not need to conform to any hard and fast boundary. In

sociolinguistics, for example, “there are no strict guidelines as to
whether the literature should be reviewed in a separate chapter,
a subsection of a chapter, or throughout the text. In fact, there is
a wide variety of ways dissertation authors in applied linguistics
incorporate the review of the literature into their work. In many
cases, two approaches seem to be used at the same time: while
there is a chapter or subsection entitled Literature Review, authors
also provide review of other work throughout the text, especially
in the introductory chapters” (Irwin in Feak et al

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literature review chapter, the second approach is in favour of
interspersing the review throughout the work rather than placing
it in an exclusive position. Indeed, it is up to the researcher to
decide which approach works best for his particular research work
in a particular length (e.g. article length, dissertation length). In
sociolinguistic study, for example, “articles generally treat the
literature review as part of the text, incorporating the current
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usually toward the beginning. If the article has separate sections,


144

English Language Teaching in the Twenty First Century: Issues and Challenges

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section” (Ibid).
As regards functions of literature review, the functions may be
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I am working on the literature review for my dissertation that
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I feel that my literature review will have a good mixture of the
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the literature review to accomplish a number of functions, such as
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stands in relation to many other studies on language and ethnicity,
and in order to show its relevance and novelty” (Ibid). Hence, the
functions stretch from contextual to relational and on to logical
ones, thus embracing a multiplicity of foci.
While talking about the design of an ELT thesis, Mohanraj
(2011) places literature review in the second chapter (p. 224).
He (2011, p. 226) mentions two forms of writing literature
review: discrete and integrated. He opines that discrete reviews
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the researcher’s purpose. According to the research focus, certain
ideas relevant to the studies can be emphasized and presented
before other less relevant ideas. Opinions of other authors from
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researcher and synthesized in this form. He emphasizes articles
over books.
A well written literature review thus sets the context of the
study, shows the author’s scholarship, makes links between the
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Literature Review in Applied Linguistics: A Conceptual Framework

145

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research design, what statistical measures to use and not to use,
how to interpret them etc.
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presented in the form of the following set of objectives of literature
review. Some of them might appear to be overlapping.
i. Conveying existing literature: One of the primary objectives

of literature review is to convey to readers what knowledge
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existing literature, for example, books, journals, dissertations
and other sources of information on the problem under
investigation.
ii.

Contextualizing the existing literature: Another objective is to
place the existing literature in the context of its contribution
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synthesize information in line with the concept that she or
he has set herself or himself for the research.

iii. Identifying gaps: No existing literature is perfect in the true
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exist in the literature. While placing the literature in the
context of his or her own research, the researcher will identify
the ‘gaps’ or ‘discrepancies’ in the literature that need to be
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which ones are inconclusive, what the shortcomings are, etc.
iv.

Avoiding unintentional duplication of well-established
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Kumar, 2002). Literature review helps to achieve this purpose
as well.


146

v.

English Language Teaching in the Twenty First Century: Issues and Challenges

Giving an understanding of methodology: Literature review
refers to the way a particular study is to be conducted. It is
aimed to help the researcher to know about the tools and
instruments which proved useful in previous studies.

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familiarize the researcher with the recommendations of
previous researchers for further research which they listed
in their studies.
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(see Baker, 2001: 136-142) reveals that earlier researches from
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of information is a must for any researcher who is planning to
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which road is to take and which road is to not take.
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To conduct literature review, the researcher needs to proceed
through 3 stages. It is to be noted that these stages are not always
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area and context of the review. It is also to be noted that they are
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It is essential in helping a researcher direct and frame his or her
reading. Although hundreds of sources of information may appear
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Literature Review in Applied Linguistics: A Conceptual Framework

147

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decide what else to read and what to ignore (Seliger & Shohamy,

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In order to do literature review the researcher needs to search for
the relevant literature. She or he needs to know what information
will be needed and where and how to get hands on it. In order to
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a. Types of sources in literature search

Sources are generally of two types: primary and secondary.
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author reports her or his own work directly in the form of research
articles, books, monographs, dissertations, etc” (Chandra & Kumar,
2002,p.176). Many journals in education publish reports of research.
Some publish articles on a wide range of educational topics while

others limit what they print to a particular specialization. Many
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Furthermore, many individual researchers report on their
recent works at professional meetings and conferences. Primary
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148

English Language Teaching in the Twenty First Century: Issues and Challenges

collects for that particular research. Primary sources give the
researchers a basis on which to make their own judgment of
the study they undertake.
4FDPOEBSZTPVSDFT In the secondary sources the authors summarize
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attempt to cover important studies in the forms of encyclopedias,
indexes, annotated bibliographies, etc. All of these secondary
sources are based on primary data or sources. Some of the most
commonly used secondary sources include Language and Language
Behaviour Abstracts (LLBA), Resources in Education (RIE), Current
Index to Journals in Education(CIJE), and Dissertation Abstracts
International (Chandra & Kumar, 2002, pp.180-185).
b. Formulation of search terms

Researchers need to formulate some search terms – words or
phrases they can use to locate sources. Such words or phrases

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the most important terms in the problem statement or research
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applied linguistics – “Do training sessions for novice language
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sessions merely conducted by an individual teacher trainer?”- is
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should be listed. Possibilities here might include- ‘team training’,
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researcher will list these terms alphabetically and then consult the
sources to see what pieces of information are listed under these
terms. She or he will then select the pieces of information for her
or his review that seems to bear on the research topic.
c. Ways to do literature search

Today there are two ways to do literature search - manually,
using the traditional paper-based approach, and electronically,


Literature Review in Applied Linguistics: A Conceptual Framework

149

by means of computer. To do manual search, the researcher has
to be familiar with the institutional library, the location of its
varied facilities, and the services it provides (Best & Kahn, 2003,
p.32). But the traditional card catalog system in the library has
been outdated. Many “libraries have computerized their holdings
and have placed terminals in various locations for the ease of
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electronically stored in their computers all of their materials.
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online search deserves a special attention here.
d. Online search

Online search of literature has a number of advantages. It is
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enables researchers to search using more than one descriptor at
a time. While doing online search, the researcher can follow some
guidelines in order to obtain information from available online
databases. As Seliger and Shohamy (1989) suggest,
When searching for references on a given topic, the researcher
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related to their topic. For example, in a search for references
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the relevant descriptors in the ЅFTBVSVT are likely to be age,
second language learning, informal learning, bilingualism,
school learning, and cognition.
(p.70)

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commonly used by language researchers is ERIC which contains
a large number of documents on a variety of topics related to
education. In addition to ERIC, Searching the World Wide Web
(WWW) can be considered in doing literature search. Some of
UIFJOGPSNBUJPOPOUIFXFCJTDMBTTJmFEJOUPJOEFYFT
XIJDIDBOCF


150

English Language Teaching in the Twenty First Century: Issues and Challenges

easily searched by going from one category to another. Moreover
several search engines that are similar in many respects to ERIC
database are available online. A search engine like Google can
TFBSDIGPSBOEmOEUIFJOEJWJEVBMQBHFTPGB8FCTJUFUIBUNBUDIFT
a researcher’s interest.
iii. Evaluation of literature

ЅFQMBDFBOEGVODUJPOPGFWBMVBUJPOJOMJUFSBUVSFSFWJFXJTTJHOJmDBOU
While doing literature review, the researcher is highly expected to
develop a good understanding of the related literature in order to

evaluate the relevant information or data obtained from literature
TFBSDI*USFRVJSFTIFSPSIJNUPSFBEBOESFSFBEDPNQMFYJEFBT
When the researchers compare works of several authors some of
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UIFZ
need to have an in-depth understanding of their works. It will
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XPSLTЅFZOFFEUPUBLFOPUFTPGOPUPOMZUIFJOGPSNBUJPOUIFZ
read, but also their own thoughts about the information. It will
help them draw their ideas together when they start writing their
literature review section. Literature review is done to judiciously
FYBNJOFUIFMJUFSBUVSFUIBUSFMBUFTUPUIFSFTFBSDIRVFTUJPO
SBUIFS
than just to give an account of the literature. Hence, the language
used in a literature review report gets evaluative and demonstrates
the researchers’ perspective of the literature in relation to the
SFTFBSDIRVFTUJPOЅFSFTFBSDIFSTOFFEUPIJHIMJHIUUIFTUSFOHUIT

weaknesses, and omissions of the literature (Best & Kahn, 2003;
/VOBO
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ideas or information are important for the review, and which are
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In addition, they are supposed to look for the major concepts,
conclusions, theories, arguments, etc. that underlie the literature.
In short, they need to engage in the mental processes of analyzing
and evaluating the literature. It will help them focus on how and
why the authors make certain points and prevent them from

merely summarizing what they say.


Literature Review in Applied Linguistics: A Conceptual Framework

151

8SJUJOHMJUFSBUVSFSFWJFXSFQPSU
"ЂFSSFBEJOHBOEFWBMVBUJOHUIFNBUFSJBMTDPMMFDUFE
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ЅFSFWJFXSFQPSUVTVBMMZ
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parts: ‘Introduction’, ‘Body’ and ‘Conclusion’. ‘Introduction’ states
UIFSFTFBSDIRVFTUJPOPSQSPCMFNBOECSJFnZPVUMJOFTUIFOBUVSF
of the problem. It also states what led the researcher to investigate
the problem and why it is an important problem to be investigated.
‘Body’ of the review reports on what others have found or thought
about the research problem. Related studies are usually discussed
together, grouped under subheadings. Major studies are discussed
in detail while minor ones are referred to in just a sentence or
UXPA$PODMVTJPOTUBUFTPWFSBMMFWBMVBUJPOPGUIFMJUFSBUVSFЅF
researcher has already discussed the major points, examined how
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BOEFWBMVBUFEUIFRVBMJUZPS
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what she or he has drawn from the review of the literature. Now
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4IFPSIFBMTPHJWFTBSBUJPOBMFPSKVTUJmDBUJPOJOUIF|$PODMVTJPO
by pointing out the necessity of the review and suggesting how it
will lead to the research she or he proposes to undertake. According
to Seliger and Shohamy (1989), the researcher needs to focus on
the following points in his review.
the prevailing and current theories which underlie the
research problem
the main controversies about the issue, and about the
problem
 UIFNBKPSmOEJOHTJOUIFBSFB
CZXIPN
BOEXIFO
the studies which can be considered the better ones, and
why
description of the types of research studies which
can provide the basis for the current theories and
controversies
criticism of the work in the area


152

English Language Teaching in the Twenty First Century: Issues and Challenges

-

the rationale and purpose of the proposed study
(p.83)

In sum, the literature review report ties together the main

threads revealed in the literature and presents a composite picture
of what is known to date. A sample is given below in the form
PGBTIPSUMJUFSBUVSFSFWJFXGSPNBSFTFBSDIBSUJDMFJOUIFmFME
of applied linguistics in the following box. It is to be noted that
the short review may not conform to the principles of literature
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OPU
as a model.
Various researchers have recently stressed the similarities between
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1975; Holley and King 1971; McNamara 1973), pointing out that
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TVDIBTPWFSHFOFSBMJ[BUJPO

BMTPPDDVSJOTFDPOEMBOHVBHFBDRVJTJUJPO3BWFN3JDIBSET
1974), and that interference is of limited importance (Buteau 1970;
8BSEIBVHI
ЅFTFDPODMVTJPOTEJTBHSFFXJUIUIFUSBEJUJPOBM
view based on contrastive analysis, concerning the prevalence of
interference errors (Fries 1957; Lado 1957; Stockwell, Bowen and
Martin 1965). One possible explanation for the disagreement is
that interference errors may be more typical of those who have
gone through second language training, whereas those who learn
a second language in an unstructured, ‘picking-it-up’ situation may
VTFTUSBUFHJFTNPSFTJNJMBSUPUIPTFPGUIFmSTUMBOHVBHFMFBSOFS
(Adapted from Snow & Hoefnagel- Hohle, 1978, p. 335; in Brown &
Rodgers, 2002, p.37)
4BNQMF&YUSBDUGSPN-JUFSBUVSF3FWJFX

Dos and don’ts

It is always invaluable to read literature reviews in other theses
PSSFTFBSDIXPSLTЅFZXJMMQSPWJEFQPTTJCMFTUSVDUVSBMNPEFMT
for the researcher’s own literature review. It is important that her
or his literature review has a logical and coherent structure, and
that this structure is clearly apparent to his readers. Although


Literature Review in Applied Linguistics: A Conceptual Framework

153

some methods or ways are commonly used in structuring
the literature in a review, these methods are by no means the
only ways of organizing material (Hart, 1998). Even these
methods may not be applicable at all. For example, one may
like to organize one’s work chronologically, using time as one’s
organizing principle. But unless developments over time are
crucial to explain the context of one’s research problem, using
a chronological system will not be right to organize one’s work.
For an instance, in ‘Objectives of the review’ section of this article,
XFIBWFUBMLFEBCPVUUIFFĊFDUTPGCJMJOHVBMJTNPODPHOJUJPOBOE
TIPXFEIPXSFTFBSDImOEJOHTDIBOHFEPWFSUJNF*OTVDIDBTFT

chronological presentation is feasible.
Again one may choose to organize one’s work alphabetically
by author name. But this system will not allow one to show
UIFSFMBUJPOTIJQTCFUXFFOUIFXPSLTPGEJĊFSFOUSFTFBSDIFST

and one’s own work. It is to be remembered that the way one
chooses to organize one’s review will largely depend upon the

type of information that one has gathered and that sometimes
a combination of several structural approaches is used (Ibid.).
A crucial point to note is that the researcher’s voice, that is, his or her
QFSTQFDUJWF
QPTJUJPOPSTUBOEQPJOU
TIPVMECFDMFBSMZJEFOUJmBCMFJO
the literature review. Since she or he is writing about other people’s
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SFWJFXUIFOSFBETMJLFBNJYUVSFPGEJĊFSFOUUPOFTBOEBSHVNFOUT
*UJTJNQPSUBOUUIBU
mSTUMZUIFSFTFBSDIFSTUIFPSFUJDBMQPTJUJPOJT
explicitly stated and that his or her evaluations become an integral
part of his work. Secondly, it is important that his or her language
clearly indicates his or her own or/and other writers’ attitudes to
UIFQBSUJDVMBSRVFTUJPOPSJTTVFVOEFSJOWFTUJHBUJPO4PNFXBZT
of using language to do this are demonstrated in what follows.


154

English Language Teaching in the Twenty First Century: Issues and Challenges
Attitude
marker:
In 1984, Jenny Cushman, in her ƉĞƌĐĞƉƟǀĞ ĂƌƟĐůĞ͕ Words or
ǭdŚĞ ŚŝŶĞƐĞ ĐŽŵŵƵŶŝƚLJ ŝŶ ƵƐƚƌĂůŝĂŶ ŚŝƐƚŽƌŝŽŐƌĂƉŚLJ͛ phrases that
ŵĂĚĞ Ă ƉĂƐƐŝŽŶĂƚĞ ƉůĞĂ ĨŽƌ ŚŝƐƚŽƌŝĂŶƐ ƚŽ ŵŽǀĞ ĂǁĂLJ indicate
a writer’s
ĨƌŽŵ ƐƚƵĚŝĞƐ ŽĨ ƵƐƚƌĂůŝĂŶ ĂƫƚƵĚĞƐ ƚŽ ͞ƌĞůŽĐĂƚĞ ƚŚĞ
assessment of
ŚŝŶĞƐĞ ĞdžƉĞƌŝĞŶĐĞ ǁŝƚŚŝŶ ƚŚĞ ŚŝŶĞƐĞ ĐŽŵŵƵŶŝƚLJ or attitude to

ŝƚƐĞůĨ͘͟ ^ŚĞ ĨƵƌƚŚĞƌ ƵƌŐĞĚ ƌĞƐĞĂƌĐŚĞƌƐ ƚŽ ŝŶǀĞƐƟŐĂƚĞ an issue.

Hedging
expression:
words or
phrases which
make statements
about the degree
of certainty,
possibility or
probability of a
RVFTUJPO

ƚŚĞ ǁĂLJ ŚŝŶĞƐĞ ĐƵƐƚŽŵƐ͕ ůĞŐĂů ŶŽƟŽŶƐ ĂŶĚ ŬŝŶƐŚŝƉ
ƌĞůĂƟŽŶƐ ǁĞƌĞĂĚĂƉƚĞĚƚŽƚŚĞƵƐƚƌĂůŝĂŶ ƉŚLJƐŝĐĂůĂŶĚ
ƐŽĐŝĂůĞŶǀŝƌŽŶŵĞŶƚ͘/ƚŝƐƚĞŵƉƟŶŐƚŽĐƌĞĚŝƚŵĂŶLJŽĨƚŚĞ
ƐƵĐĐĞĞĚŝŶŐĐŚĂŶŐĞƐƚŽƵƐŚŵĂŶ͛ƐĂƉƉĞĂů͘,ŽǁĞǀĞƌƚŚĞ
ŶĞǁĂƉƉƌŽĂĐŚĞƐmustďĞǀŝĞǁĞĚǁŝƚŚŝŶƚŚĞĐŽŶƚĞdžƚŽĨ
ƚŚĞĐŚĂŶŐŝŶŐƟĚĞŽĨŚŝƐƚŽƌŝŽŐƌĂƉŚLJĂŶĚƚŚĞŝŵƉĂĐƚŽĨ͛
͚ŵƵůƟĐƵůƚƵƌĂůŝƐŵ͛͘͘
&NQIBUJDFYQSFTTJPO Words or phrases which
relate to the strength of the claim or to your degree of
DPOmEFODFJOXIBUJTTBJE

Ƶƚ ƚŽ ƐĂLJ ƚŚŝƐ ŝƐ ƚŽ ƉŽŝŶƚ ƚŽ ǁŝĚĞƌ ŝŵƉůŝĐĂƟŽŶ ĨŽƌ
ŚŝƐƚŽƌLJ ŵĂŬŝŶŐ ŝŶ ƵƐƚƌĂůŝĂ͘ dŚĞ ƵƌŽĐĞŶƚƌŝĐ ŚŝƐƚŽƌŝĞƐ
ŽĨ ƚŚĞ ƉĂƐƚ ĐĂŶŶŽƚ ƐŝŵƉůLJ ďĞ ĐŽƌƌĞĐƚĞĚ ďLJ ŝŶĐůƵĚŝŶŐ
ƚŚĞ ͚ŚŝŶĞƐĞ͕͛ ĞƐƉĞĐŝĂůůLJ ŝĨ ĐůĞĂƌ ĞƚŚŶŝĐ ƐĞƉĂƌĂƟŽŶƐ
ďĂƐĞĚŽŶĂƐƐƵŵĞĚƐŝŶŐůĞŝĚĞŶƟƟĞƐĂƌĞŵĂŝŶƚĂŝŶĞĚ͘It is
ŶĞĐĞƐƐĂƌLJƚŽŐŽďĞLJŽŶĚKƌŝĞŶƚĂůŝƐƚĐŽŶƚƌĂƐƚƐďĞƚǁĞĞŶ

ƵƐĂŶĚƚŚĞŵ͕ƵƐƚƌĂůŝĂŶĂŶĚŚŝŶĞƐĞĂŶĚƚŽĞŶŐĂŐĞŝŶ
ĂƌĞͲƌĞĞdžĂŵŝŶĂƟŽŶŽĨƐŝƚĞƐŽĨĚĞĨĞƌĞŶĐĞĂŶĚĚŝĂůŽŐƵĞ͘
dŚĞƐĞ ƐŝƚĞƐ ǁŝůů ƐŚŽǁ ƚŚĞ ŶĞĞĚ ƚŽ ĞŶǀŝƐĂŐĞ ŵƵůƟƉůĞ
ŝĚĞŶƟƟĞƐ͘ dŚĞLJ ŵĂLJ ĂůƐŽ ƐŽŵĞƟŵĞƐ ƉŽŝŶƚ ƚŽ ƐŚĂƌĞĚ
ĞdžƉĞƌŝĞŶĐĞƐ ŽĨ Ă ƐŚĂƌĞĚ ǁŽƌůĚ͘ ^ĞƉĂƌĂƚĞ ŚŝƐƚŽƌŝĞƐ ŽĨ
ĞƚŚŶŝĐƉĞŽƉůĞƐĂƌĞŶŽƚĞŶŽƵŐŚ͕ĞƐƉĞĐŝĂůůLJŝĨƚŚĞLJƐĞƌǀĞ
ƚŽĐŽŶƚĂŝŶĂŶĚĞdžĐůƵĚĞƚŚĞƐĞƉĞŽƉůĞƐ͘/ŶƐƚĞĂĚƚŚĞƌĞŝƐ
ĂŶĞĞĚĨŽƌĂŶĞǁƐLJŶƚŚĞƐŝƐŝŶƵƐƚƌĂůĂƐŝĂŶŚŝƐƚŽƌLJ͘dŚĞ
crucial ŶĞĞĚĨŽƌŚŝƐƚŽƌŝĂŶƐŝƐƚŽƉĞƌƐŽŶĂůůLJĞŶŐĂŐĞǁŝƚŚ
ƚŚĞĐŽŶƚĞŵƉŽƌĂƌLJƉŽůŝƟĞƐŽĨĚŝīĞƌĞŶĐĞ͘

Relational maker (underlined): words or phrases that indicate,
explicitly or implicitly, the writer’s relationship to the audience
or the scholarly community in which they are writing .

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Literature Review in Applied Linguistics: A Conceptual Framework

155

It is a prevailing notion that literature review needs to
focus on very recent publications because they are the most
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JOMJUFSBUVSFiXJMMEFQFOEPOUIFmFME
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the study. Although looking only at recent publications might
NBLFNPSFTFOTFGPSBSFMBUJWFMZOFXPSBGBTUEFWFMPQJOHmFME

SFTFBSDIJOPUIFSmFMETDBOCFOFmUGSPNBEFFQFSMPPLJOUPUIF
SFTFBSDIIJTUPSZPOBTQFDJmDUPQJDw(Irwin, in Feak et al, 2009).
If a researcher wants to do a research on, for example, Chomsky’s
universal grammar or Skinner’s behaviourism, he needs to look
more at the seminal works done a long time ago by Chomsky or
4LJOOFSUIBOSFWJFXSFDFOUQVCMJDBUJPOTPOUIFJTTVFTJORVFTUJPO
Alongside, there are many other issues in applied linguistics that
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works done in the past for the sake of recentness is tantamount
UPPWFSFNQIBTJ[JOHSFDFOUXPSLT1VUEJĊFSFOUMZ
UIFSFTFBSDIFS
IBTUPCFDBSFGVMJOCFBSJOHPOQBTUXPSLTMFTUIFTIPVMETBDSJmDF
BOZUIJOHJNQPSUBOUЅFTBNFDBSF
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JTTVQQPTFEMZ
taken in the present article.
Finally, the researcher needs to make sure that all of
the citations and references are correct and that she or he is
referencing in the appropriate style for her or his discipline.

Alongside, she or he is expected to conform to ethical
considerations in her or his research. It needs to be ensured that
there are no instances of plagiarism. In order to ensure these,
the researcher had better take recourse to revising, editing and
also rewriting the literature review report, when necessary.
1FEBHPHJDBM*NQMJDBUJPOT
We would like to argue that literature review is replete with so
SJDIDPOUFOUTUIBUJUSFRVJSFTUIFBVUIPSTUPCFFRVBMMZQSPmDJFOUJO
certain higher order reading, writing, study and critical thinking
TLJMMTFHRVPUJOH
TVNNBSJ[JOH
QBSBQISBTJOH
TZOUIFTJ[JOH

PSHBOJ[JOHUIPVHIUTBOEXSJUJOH
QSFTFOUJOHUIFNJOBVOJmFE
way, using transitional devices, using other types of rhetorical


156

English Language Teaching in the Twenty First Century: Issues and Challenges

EFWJDFTJOXSJUJOH
DSJUJRVJOHUIFFBSMJFSXSJUJOHT
OPUFUBLJOHBOE
note making, annotating etc. To be able to produce a well written
MJUFSBUVSFSFWJFX
PЂFOMFBSOFSTXIPBSFQVSTJOHSFTFBSDI
OFFEUP

CFUBVHIUUIFTFTLJMMT*UJTPЂFOGPVOEUIBUJOUSBEJUJPOBMMZEFTJHOFE
SFTFBSDINFUIPEPMPHZDPVSTFT
BEFRVBUFUJNFJTBMMPDBUFEGPSSFTFBSDI
design, data collection, interpretation, statistics, and so on. However,
little or no time is allocated for literature review which is a highly
challenging part of the entire dissertation writing process. In the
domain of applied linguistics language teachers of, for example,
reading and writing, critical thinking, study skills and research
UFDIOJRVFTOFFEUPQBZTQFDJBMBUUFOUJPOUPFOBCMJOHTUVEFOUTUP
write literature review which advanced level learners need to learn
BTBSFTFBSDIUPPMJOUIFJSmFMEPGTUVEZ8IBUJTPЂFOBTUSJLJOH
lack in literature review, as found in the authors’ observation, is
the absence of critical dimension, which has to be seriously dealt
with in order to avoid mere presentation of secondary data. Apart
from other linguistic lessons from the research genre in applied
linguistics, lessons of criticality, relevance and self-voice are thus
to be instructed to learners.
$PODMVTJPO
5PSFDBQJUVMBUF
BMJUFSBUVSFSFWJFXIFMQTUIFSFTFBSDIFSUPmOEPVU
what others have learned and reported on a particular problem.
1FSGPSNJOHBMJUFSBUVSFSFWJFXIFMQTEFmOFBOVOSFTPMWFEQSPCMFN
In Seliger and Shohamy’s (1989) words, it “helps the researchers to
generate and select a research topic, expand their understanding,
and broaden their knowledge and perspective of that topic, and at
UIFTBNFUJNFBSSJWFBUBSFTFBSDIBCMFBOEXFMMEFmOFERVFTUJPO
for the research” (p.69). Once relevant information is located for
the review, the next step is to synthesize it into a coherent literature
SFWJFXSFQPSUЅFSFTFBSDIFSTHPBMBUUIJTQPJOUJTUPQSFTFOUB
bird’s eye view of the literature related to the particular research

problem. In a nutshell, through a literature review the researcher
EFmOFTUIFSFTFBSDIQSPCMFN
BOEFYUSBDUTBOETZOUIFTJ[FTUIF
NBJOQPJOUT
JTTVFTBOEmOEJOHTXIJDIFNFSHFGSPNBOJOEFQUI


Literature Review in Applied Linguistics: A Conceptual Framework

157

review of the body of literature related to the research problem.
All of these things need to be taken into crucial consideration so
as to make an informed literature review which will pave the way
for an enriched research work. In applied linguistics, literature
review usually sticks to areas like language forms, functions, skills,
approaches, methods, socio-cultural variables and so on. Review
of each particular area will stand on shoulders of previous studies
JOUIFBSFB*UXJMMQSPWJEFCPUIUIFDPOUFYUBOEKVTUJmDBUJPOGPS
the proposed study in line with the broader discipline of applied
linguistics, taking into account theoretical premises established
by research tradition in the discipline.
3FGFSFODFT
APA. (2001). Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association
(5th Ed.) Washington, D.C.: American Psychological Association.
Baker, C. (2001). Foundations of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism (3rd
Ed.). UK: Multilingual Matters Ltd
Best, J.W., & Kahn, J.V. (2003). Research in Education. New Delhi: Prentice
Hall of India Private Limited.
Bolton, G., & Hudson, W. (1997). Creating Australia: Changing Australian

History. Sydney: Allen & Unwin.
Brown, J.D., & Rodgers, T.S. (2002). Doing Second Language Research.
Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Chandra, S.S., & Kumar, R. (2002). Research in Education. New Delhi:
Atlantic Publishers and Distributors.
%ÚSOZFJ
;
Research Method in Applied Linguistics. Oxford: OUP
Feak, C.V., Irwin, V., & Swales, J.M. (2009). Online Commentary for Telling
a Research Story: Writing a Literature Review. In Michigan ELT.
Retrieved from <http:// www.press.umioch.edu>
Hart, C. (1998). Doing a Literature Review.ЅPVTBOE0BLT4BHF6,

Islam, N. (2008). An Introduction to Research Methods. Dhaka: Mullick &
Brothers.
Kothari, C.R. (2003). Research Methodology: Methods and Techniques (2nd
edition) New Delhi: New Age International Publishers.


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English Language Teaching in the Twenty First Century: Issues and Challenges

Mohanraj, S. (2011) Design of an ELT thesis. In Prasad, V.V.N.R., Mohanraj,
S., Rao, K.N. and Prabhakar, R. (Eds.) Perspectives on ELT: Select
Essays. New Delhi: Prestige Books International
Nunan, D. (1992). Research Methods in Language Learning. Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press.
Seliger, H.W., & Shohamy, E. (1989). Second Language Research Methods.
Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Teitelbaum, H. (1998). )PXUP8SJUFBЅFTJT4JOHBQPSFЅPNTPO"TJB
Ptd. Ltd.