Ethical challenges in applied linguistics: bridging multilingual education and inclusive practices

This study presents a bibliometric analysis of highly researched topics and thematic trends concerning ethical issues in applied linguistics from 2010 to 2024, utilizing CiteSpace as the primary analytical tool. Drawing data from the Web of Science Core Collection (WoSCC), 100 peer-reviewed articles were systematically selected and analyzed to map the intellectual landscape of ethics in applied linguistics. The results reveal a rapid increase in scholarly attention to ethical concerns, particularly since 2021, driven by technological advancements, globalization, and increasing methodological complexity. Key research thematic foci include ethics in academic writing, language education, and the ethical implications of artificial intelligence. The analysis also highlights the dominance of research from Anglophone countries, though contributions from Asia and the Middle East are on the rise; this finding, however, is limited to English-language publications indexed in WoSCC. Emerging trends suggest a continued focus on technology-related ethical challenges, equity in multilingual and multicultural contexts, and the development of context-sensitive ethical frameworks. The findings underscore the need for interdisciplinary collaboration and localized approaches to ethics in applied linguistics research and practice.