English Language and Linguistics with TESOL BA (Hons) module details

First year

Block 1: Structure and Nature of Language

If you were a medical student, much of your early degree study would be in human anatomy; you need to know what the various parts of the human body are, and how they fit together, before going on to understand how the various organs function. This module is an introduction to the anatomy of language production, with a focus on English. It will equip you to understand the fundamental building blocks of language, universal and language-specific, and to apply tools of analysis to the material you examine. You will develop an awareness of language variation (differences) and universals (common features) in language/s.

Besides refining your linguistic skills, you will also be trained in academic skills; learn how to research a topic, organise and reference your findings, and express your thoughts in written and oral form in a way that fits the requirements of the discipline.

Assessment: Class Test (40%) and Research Essay (60%).

Block 2: Journeys and Places

This module, with its focus on journeys and places, offers an opportunity for you to explore some of the key concepts underpinning your programme studies. You will take a post-disciplinary approach to English language and linguistics, using techniques from diverse areas to address key questions related to journeys and places.

You will attend interactive lectures with students from across the School of Humanities and Performing Arts. You will have opportunities to apply the concepts addressed in these lectures to your programme within subject-specific workshops and assessments.

The themes covered during the module may include journeys, spaces and the concept of welcome; (im)mobilities and journeys through time and space; representation and imaginative geographies; gender and placemaking; belonging and place attachment; journeys, places and identities; as well as themes related to sustainability and the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals.

Assessment: Subject-specific Coursework: 1 (30%) and 2 (70%).

Block 3: Foundations in English Language Teaching for International Learners

This module covers the key principles of teaching English Language to international learners and thus functions as a thorough, practical introduction to the subject of teaching English as a foreign language (EFL). Language teaching is considered from the perspective of the learner, the teacher and the lesson itself, laying a foundation for the more theory-driven modules studied at Levels 5 and 6.

You will be introduced to the communicative approach to language classes (Presentation, Practice and Production - PPP - and alternatives to PPP), the factors involving the selection of language for teaching and how to teach vocabulary and grammar. As well as the teaching of receptive skills, productive skills, teaching observation issues and criteria, and the different types of ability: beginner - false beginner- intermediate - advanced and their associated syllabi.

Assessment: Language awareness task (50%), Lesson plan (50%).

Block 4: Words in Action

This module is designed to introduce the students to key concepts in the study of language and to instruct students in how to carry out forms of linguistic analysis. Taught in workshops, the emphasis is on putting theory into practice. Starting with the overall system of language, each week students will be introduced to an element of linguistics and taught how to apply appropriate and corresponding analytical skills in practical work and class exercises. The major areas of linguistics which are covered are: morphology, syntax, semantics, lexicology, and clause analysis.

Assessment: Linguistic Analysis (50%) and Group Project (50%).

Second year

Block 1: Language in Use

This module explores the nature of human communication, and the ways in which the meaning communicated by speakers go beyond the meaning of the words and sentences uttered. You will examine how hearers understand indirectly communicated meanings (conversational implicatures) and a variety of non-literal meanings (for example, metaphor, irony, metonymy), and compare how these meanings are conveyed in verbal communication versus in certain kinds of text (for example, literary texts). You will also look at children’s acquisition and comprehension of implicated and non- literal meanings and investigate the consequences for theories of our pragmatic abilities.

Assessment: Pragmatic Analysis (60%): Group Project (40%).

Block 2: Exploring Work and Society

This module is designed to prepare and support you towards the pursuit of post-degree pathways. You will focus on the specific skills, capabilities and knowledge needed to adapt and flourish in professional environments and contexts. There will be an emphasis on enhancement of core attributes, competencies and transferable skills as well as developing familiarity with the world and politics of work. The module will prepare you for diverse and dynamic working environments beyond university and support your long-term professional development.

You will be introduced to the UN Sustainable Development Goals and invited to engage critically around themes including race, gender, identity, and geopolitical issues, to conceptualize a more equitable society, and environmentally sustainable world, as relevant to your career aspirations.

You will engage with subject-specific workshops to gain greater understanding of worlds of work connected to English language and linguistics. You will take part in lectures, seminars, group discussion, independent learning, tutorial support and engagement with your peers.

Supported independent learning activities may include responding to real-world briefs, placements/shadowing, engagement with community projects or initiatives, creating proposals for projects or initiatives in a professional setting. These activities will be tailored to your programme.

Assessment: Written Portfolio or Recorded Presentation (100%).

Block 3: Varieties of English Language Teaching for International Learners

This module further develops skills and theories acquired in the level four module. It provides students with an extensive exploration of a broad range of ELT methodologies and teaching techniques in addition to the communicative approach. The module will address the efficacy of appropriate application of methodologies and the extent to which application is dependent on relevant contexts and skills being taught.

Assessment: Essay (60%), Presentation (40%).

Block 4: Language and Linguistic Diversity

The module examines the links between language and society and the issues that may arise from this. You will look into factors that can affect language use and attitudes, such as region, social class, race/ethnicity, and sex/gender. The consideration of variation at a regional level will broaden out to consider national and international variation, multilingualism and language choice. This will also involve the consideration of language in education and language planning, and the challenges posed by the role of English as a global language. The module includes both pure and applied linguistics, and students will consider how linguistic issues have real-world applications.

You will carry out group fieldwork as part of your assessment, developing your practical research skills in a way which offers a bridge to the final year dissertation. The module will also involve a trip to Bletchley Park, to examine the practical application of linguistic knowledge to cryptography.

Assessment: Phase Test (20%): Analytical Study (30%): Group Project (50%).

Third year

Blocks 1-4: Year-long Dissertation

You will propose, refine, develop, research and write a dissertation on a topic supervised by a member of the English Language and Linguistics team. We will support you throughout the year with workshops on such topics as:

Designing a research project
Conducting an effective literature review
Quantitative versus qualitative research
Corpus linguistics
The principles of fieldwork
Questionnaire and survey design
The use of mixed and blended methodologies
Conducting research in an ethical manner
Writing up methodology and results

At the end of Block 1, all students will give a poster presentation of their work in progress, and will field questions from their peers and members of the teaching team. The final dissertation will be submitted in June. It should be no more than 10, 000 words in length.

Assessment: Poster Presentation/Q+A (10%) and Dissertation (90%).

Block 2: Language, Identity, and Culture

How does language shape our sense of who we and who other people are? This module examines the complex role that language plays in the construction of individual and collective identities in contemporary society. You will consider key facets including gender, sexuality, ethnicity, and nationality, and critically examine the mechanisms of identity construction, such as performativity, enregisterment, as well as current issues in this area, such as linguistic reclamation, appropriation and intersectionality.

You will carry out their own research on a topic that relates to language and identity, developing their skills in data collection, analysis and evaluation.

Assessment: Report (40%) and Podcast (60%).

Block 3: English Language for Specific and Professional Purposes

This module explores in-depth specific and professional specialisms within ELT that map onto the development in diversity of work-based ELT opportunities, both at home and abroad, over the last 10 years. The module also focuses on research-based trends and issues in ELT, which will enhance students' choices of further postgraduate study.

Assessment: Reflective journal (50%), Essay (50%).

Block 4: Hardware/Software: Language, Mind and Culture

You will learn about the origins of language and look into meaning-making mechanisms in language/s, before moving on to the extraordinary phenomenon of (first) language acquisition. You will look into how children acquire the sounds, words, and grammatical structures of their first language, and you will later consider the nature of bilingual and second language acquisition.

The second part of the module looks at the complex relationship between language, thought and culture. You will look at similarities and differences across languages, and consider whether the language we speak affects how we see the world (the linguistic relativity question), and how cultural differences can be reflected in language and in conceptualisation. These questions will lead you full circle to consider the nature of human language itself: how it differs from other communication systems, and whether linguistic knowledge is of fundamentally different kind from other kinds of knowledge.

Assessment: Report/Analysis (50%): Presentation (50%).