International Association of Applied Linguistics


The International Association of Applied Linguistics, or AILA, was formed in 1964 as an association of various national organizations for applied linguistics. AILA has more than 8,000 members in more than 35 different applied linguistics associations around the world. AILA continues to grow, working with existing and emerging regional networks, such as AILA East Asia, AILA Europe, AILA Arabia, and AILA Latin America. Its most high-profile activity is the World Congress of Applied Linguistics, which takes place once every three years. It also has two publications, AILA News, a newsletter, and the AILA Review, an academic journal.

History

AILA was founded in 1964 at an international colloquium at the University of Nancy, France. Its founding had been preceded by two years of preparation, of which two central figures were the French linguists Antoine Culioli and Guy Capelle. As part of this preparation, the association had published the first issue of its official journal, the International Review of Applied Linguistics, in 1963.
By 1969, the association had gained affiliate organizations in the form of national associations, centers for applied linguistics, and applied linguistics working groups, in a total of 18 different countries. In this year, the association held its second meeting, this time sponsored by the British Association for Applied Linguistics.

Committee

There are eight committees of the association. Each member of the committee is appointed by the current president.

Solidarity Award Committee

AILA has three main objectives: to facilitate international cooperation in the field of applied linguistics, to promote research and teaching, and to disseminate new applied linguistics theories.

Presidential history

AILA Presidents are appointed every three years to coincide with the world congress. The position has been held for up to two consecutive three-year periods.
PeriodPresidentAffiliation
2017 – presentDaniel PerrinZurich University of Applied Sciences/ZHAW
2014 – 2017Claire KramschUniversity of California, Berkeley
2011 – 2014Bernd RüschoffUniversity of Duisburg-Essen
2008 – 2011Martin BygateLancaster University
2005 – 2008Susan GassMichigan State University
2002 – 2005Susan GassMichigan State University
1999 – 2002Christopher CandlinMacquarie University
1996 – 1999Christopher CandlinMacquarie University
1993 – 1996Marc SpoeldersGhent University
1990 – 1993Albert ValdmanIndiana University
1987 – 1990Albert ValdmanIndiana University
1984 – 1987Jos Nivette
1981 – 1984Jan SvartvikLund University
1978 – 1981Guy RondeauUniversity of Montreal
1975 – 1978Guy RondeauUniversity of Montreal
1972 – 1975Pit CorderUniversity of Edinburgh
1969 – 1972Pit CorderUniversity of Edinburgh
1964 – 1969Bernard PottierParis-Sorbonne University

Editorial board

AILA has affiliate associations in the following 34 countries:
World Congress of Applied Linguistics
AILA’s most high-profile activity is the World Congress of Applied Linguistics, an international conference hosted by one of the affiliate national associations every three years. The one exception to the three-year pattern was the first World Congress in Nancy, France, as there was a five-year gap between that and the second World Congress in Cambridge, England.
The list of world congresses is as follows:
AILA has two main publications, AILA News and the AILA Review. AILA News is a newsletter, published three times a year, and the AILA Review is a journal, published once a year and edited by guest editors. Each edition of the AILA Review either contains collections of papers on a particular topic, or a collection of papers from one of the World Congresses. In addition to these two publications, AILA also works with the British Association for Applied Linguistics, the American Association for Applied Linguistics, and Oxford University Press to publish the journal Applied Linguistics.

Governance

Decisions in the association are made by the executive board and the international committee. The executive board makes recommendations to the international committee, on which all the national affiliated associations of applied linguistics can vote. These votes take place once a year, at different sites around the world.
The executive board has eleven posts, seven of which are fixed roles. These are the president, a past president, the treasurer, the secretary general, the research networks coordinator and the publications coordinator. The remaining four posts do not have a fixed role, and their holders are known as members at large. Members of the board cover their own expenses.