The 2000 Georgetown University Round Table on Languages and Linguistics brought together distinguished linguists from around the globe to discuss applications of linguistics to important and intriguing real-world issues within the professions. With topics as wide-ranging as coherence in operating room communication, involvement strategies in news analysis roundtable discussions, and jury understanding of witness deception, this resulting volume of selected papers provides both experts and novices with myriad insights into the excitement of cross-disciplinary language analysis. Readers will find--in the words of one contributor--that in such cross-pollination of ideas, "there's tremendous hope, there's tremendous power and the power to transform."

This volume examines linguistics, language acquisition, and language variation, emphasizing their implications for teacher education and language education. A majority of the essays consider issues in second language acquisition, dealing specifically with learners and instructors, or concentrating on the larger social and societal context in which learning and acquisition occur. Topics highlighted include the current and often controversial debate over bilingual education, language variation, and the past, present, and future role of linguistics in language pedagogy.

The papers in this volume examine strategies for language acquisition and language teaching, focusing on applications of the strategic interaction method.

This volume, based on the forty-third annual Georgetown University Round Table, covers a variety of topics ranging from the relationship of language and philosophy; through language policy; to discourse analysis.