Tijdschrift voor Taalbeheersing - Volume 40, Issue 2, 2018

Abstract Research in Language and Communication in the years to come This article pleads for strengthening two directions in research in the field of Language and Communication (Dutch: Taalbeheersing). First, compared to the past decades more efforts should be paid to finding solutions for societal problems in professional communication, based on theoretical insights and empirical studies. Second, the relation between the Read More

Abstract Is problem-oriented research really able to enrich the school subject Dutch Language? In this contribution, I argue that the two aims Carel Jansen proposes, are incompatible. A research agenda dominated by questions derived from practical problems will lead to a body of largely isolated insights and unrelated knowledge. Such an incoherent knowledge base is insufficient to provide an enrichment of the school sub Read More

Abstract Against fundamental research! Jansen (this issue) argues for choosing societally relevant themes to guide research into language use and communication. In this response article, it is proposed that all research should focus on solving societally relevant problems, in the domains of sustainability, democracy and health. Teaching students in secondary education communication and reasoning skills is seen as essential Read More

Abstract Theory-driven research on language and communication that is practically relevant In the lead article, Carel Jansen argues that practical issues in professional communication should be taken as source for academic research on language and communication. I first accept the claim that it is important for the research field to take the professional field of communication into account (1). I then explain why practical sol Read More

Abstract Taalbeheersing (discourse studies) as DJ: your wish is our command. Or do we have more to offer? Jansen, this issue, argues that researchers in the area of Taalbeheersing (discourse studies) should conduct more practically relevant research. He elaborates on the case of motivational interviewing, proposing that interaction analysts should set up research to explain the causes of the success of this popular Read More

Abstract Social interaction in language and communication studies This paper argues that applied research should always co-exist with fundamental research. At the same time, the paper shows how social interaction research in the Netherlands has had a strongly applied focus for several decades, in particular in health care and education. In addition, the papers make a plea to stop characterizing communication st Read More

Abstract Three (other) domains in research in Language and Communication In this article I propose my view on the main research domains in language and communication. The first domain is concentrated on characteristics of communication products and the effects on a broad range of variables. Special attention is needed for the context of mandated disclosure, with guidelines for communication formulated by govern Read More

Abstract The communicative relevance of effect research: the necessity of statistics reform In order for communication research to be relevant for societal, practical, purposes, researchers should be able to formulate the communicative relevance of their results. The results of quantitative communication effect research as they are currently communicated, do not meet this requirement. Effect researchers are currently ill-e Read More

Abstract Development of language skills: new and old challenges In his contribution Carel Jansen argues for a new take on an old problem: the development of language skills of vulnerable groups of learners. Academic attention to this field will eventually help to enrich the content of the secondary school subject Dutch. In this contribution it is argued that this new project could benefit from research on the characteristics Read More

Abstract Taalbeheersing: spreading the word In the Dutch tradition, education and research on Dutch has been divided into three main areas: linguistics, literary studies, and taalbeheersing (roughly: applied linguistics, text linguistics). Of these three, the latter is arguably the least visible in public domain, in spite of the fact that it has an important message to tell. We can diagnose the problems underlying this fact. First, the f Read More

Abstract Humanities and communication science In an earlier article, I concluded that there is no fundamental difference between communication and information science (CIS) and social science communication. Carel Jansen argued that there is a difference: CIS focusses on how – mainly linguistic – characteristics of a message influence message effectiveness. I propose to integrate humanities and social science communi Read More

Abstract The translation of communication research results to third parties Research in common ground shows that knowledge particles often are not explicitly worked out in conversations. This is also the case in so-called ego documents, like diaries. But such results normally are not taken up by historicians, nor are results of communication research. This is a plea to find new ways in activating historicians in the Netherlands to Read More

Abstract Research in Language and Communication in the years to come: a response to the colleagues’ responses, and a new proposal In this final contribution, the colleagues’ responses to the introduction (Jansen, 2018) are shortly discussed. Three themes are addressed: the name of our field, the ultimate goals of our research, and the relation with the school subject Dutch. The article ends with a plea for more collaborati Read More