Position Statements

Prior to 2017 AAAL treated "Position Statements" and "Resolutions" as one and the same. From 2017 forward, the two are now treated separately, with Resolutions providing commentary on matters internal to AAAL operations.  Position Statements come from an applied linguistics perspective and focus on language-related issues of social and professional importance, written with the general public as one of the primary audiences. They can be responsive (in response to particular issues, events, policies, research) or proactive (focused on specific issues, events, policies, research).

Submit a Position Statement


Questions or comments on position statements may be directed to the Chair for the Public Affairs and Engagement Committee at PAEC@AAAL.org.


Position Statements Approved by the AAAL Membership:

   AAAL Executive Committee Solidarity Statement for the People of Iran

AAAL Executive Committee Statement on the New York and California Mass Shootings

AAAL Statement About the War in Ukraine

Statement Against Anti-Asian and Anti-AAPI Violence

AAAL Commitment to International Diversity and Exchange of Ideas

Resolution on Guidelines for communicating rights to non-native speakers of English in Australia, England and Wales, and the USA

AAAL Resolution against Discrimination on the Basis of Accented Speech

Resolution on the US Census Bureau categorizing individuals and families as "linguistically isolated"

Resolution on Guidelines for the Use of Language Analysis in Relation to Questions of National Origin in Refugee Cases

Resolution on Maintaining a Balanced Basis of Foreign Language Learning in the US

Resolution Opposing the labeling of English as the national language in the US

In response to the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001

Opposing The Arizona Ballot Initiative "English Language Education For Children In Public Schools"

Opposing the California Ballot Initiative "English Language for the Children" Proposition 227 (Unz/Tuchman)

Researchers and Educators Advocate Wider Understanding of Language Diversity

Resolution on the Application of Dialect Knowledge to Education

Resolution on the Role and Status of Languages in the US