BA (Hons) English Language and TESOL (Teaching English To Speakers of Other Languages)with Foundation Year

The module aims to provide students with a foundation in the basic knowledge of English grammar and lexis and skills for linguistic analysis which students will need to successfully engage in further modules in English Language study. Students will be introduced to theories of words, grammar and meaning. The knowledge gained on the module will allow students to analyse a wide range of texts, both traditional and web-based. They will develop digital literacy skills through the introduction to corpus analysis aimed at searching online language databases in order to analyse contemporary language use in genuine contexts. The assessment will cater for diversity, as students can act as topic co-creators for element 1 of the assessment and element 2 will include a choice of three options.

This module is an introduction to TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages). You will learn about practicalities of English Language Teaching, and will reflect on the importance of considering students' needs and backgrounds in your teaching. You will also learn about the theory of language learning - known as Second Language Acquisition - and will be able to apply what you learn to your own experience as a language learner, whether you've learned a language in education, in the community or another environment. You will have the opportunity to develop your reflective writing through the formative and summative assessments on the module.

The module aims to: give students an insight into the unique and fascinating nature of human language, introducing the basic concerns of linguistics and theories concerning language change, language variation historically and within our own lifetimes, the sound systems of the world's languages, how children acquire language and how second language learners accomplish the same tasks. The module equips students with core theories to explain language structure and language variation.

This module will introduce you to three separate threads related to ‘Structural Linguistics’: phonetics and phonology (the sounds of language), morphology (how words are formed from units of sound) and syntax (how words are combined to form phrases & sentences). You will then go on to explore the basic concepts of two of the threads in greater depth; syntax, and phonetics and phonology. In the phonetics & phonology strand, you will start by exploring how human speech sounds are made, how they can be identified, described and recorded according to their place and manner of articulation, and how they combine to form units of meaning as words, and parts of words. In the syntax strand, you will learn how words can be classified into lexical categories such as nouns, verbs etc. through their morphology (what they look like), and distribution (where they come in a phrase). You will also explore the relationship between these word categories, how they can be ordered to form types of phrases within a sentence, and the functions that each phrase performs. The module is practical in orientation. You will be given ample opportunity to apply the concepts you have learned to the analysis of data of English and will also be encouraged to draw on your experience of other languages.

The module aims to develop students’ understanding of modern Standard English through the study of its history and the factors which have contributed to its development. The module introduces students to theoretical frameworks for the study of the English Language and aims to provide students with the tools to describe and analyse examples of written and spoken English in a socio-historical context.

The module aims to investigate the major concerns of sociolinguistics, that is, how language and social organisation intersect. Several models which determine language variation are examined, both on a social-group scale (national language policies, dialects etc.) and on an individual scale (style-shifting, registers etc.). The module's central tenet is to dispel myths about homogeneity in language. Based on theoretical work and methods in sociolinguistics, the module explores the role that language plays in shaping our ideas about others, including power relationships along the lines of gender, race, class, religion, disability and sexuality, and in shaping who we are as individuals.

This module aims to develop your understanding of language systems and the language learning process. You will explore a variety of practical and communicative methods for facilitating the presentation and learning of grammar, lexis and pronunciation in the ESOL classroom. The module also focuses on the teaching of the four skills - reading, writing, listening and speaking, and how to structure these activities effectively for language learners in a variety of environments.

This module aims to help you prepare for your final year project by introducing you to the basic concepts, types and methods of research for English language, Linguistics and TESOL. You will have the opportunity to design and carry out a mini-research project based on your own interests and experiences. Topics can include but are not limited to first or second language acquisition, language variation, linguistic discrimination and discourse analysis. This is a good opportunity to explore further something that has piqued your interest in a previous module or design a research question based on observations you have made about language in the real world.

This module builds on the Linguistics modules you studied at Level 4. While you continue to develop a deeper understanding of the concepts of phonetics and phonology, and articulatory phonetics in particular, you will also deepen your understanding of syntax. In phonetics and phonology you will move from investigating the physical production of speech sounds at segmental level to the exploration of syllable structure, stress, intonation and connected speech, and the systems and patterns of speech sounds in a language. You will gather, transcribe and analyse examples of spoken data in order to draw conclusions about the articulation of sounds, and the regularities and patterns that underlie their use. In the syntax strand, you will revise and build on work completed at level 4. The module is practical in orientation. You will be given ample opportunity to apply the concepts you have learned to the analysis of data of English and will also be encouraged to draw on your experience of other languages.

In this module, you are required to organise and complete a work placement with an ESOL focus of a minimum of 40 hours. Examples of placements include working with EAL children in a school, volunteering at ESOL classes in an FE college or working with charities that offer language support. You are also required to consider the different contexts in which English is taught and current issues surrounding English language teaching and learning. Examples of these include the role of English as a global language, English as a Lingua Franca, the use of technology in language teaching as well as the native/non-native speaker debate. The University's Volunteer Central is a useful starting point in helping you find a relevant placement opportunity. If required, you will need to organise a DBS check.

In this module, you will continue to investigate the learning and teaching of language systems and the four skills of reading, writing, listening and speaking in greater depth. You will do this by evaluating the oral and written output of a learner, undertaking an error and needs analysis, and then planning and delivering a one-hour lesson. You will also develop your own language awareness by reviewing and developing your knowledge and beliefs about the teaching of grammar to non-native speakers of English.

The aim of this module is to raise students' awareness of the multi-faceted ways in which people exploit linguistic resources in order to achieve their interactional goals in everyday situations. The module focuses on the ways in which individuals use language to express their concerns and to further their own interests. In particular, it considers the ways in which people use language to cooperate with one another or to resist coercion, to foster harmonious relationships or deliberately cause offence and provoke conflict. In the module, we analyse interaction in a variety of contexts and in a variety of modes. We analyse the way solidarity or conflict is realised in everyday speech and written texts. We consider the use of online communities to create identities and offer support and the use of online media as a site for debate and resistance. During the course of the module, students will work both individually and in small groups. They will carry out fieldwork, gathering and analysing data, and will conduct debates in class.

This module provides an opportunity to apply academic skills and knowledge to a project negotiated with an external organisation. Students are required to identify, negotiate and research an issue which is relevant to both their academic study and the external organisation. This enables the student to demonstrate an awareness of academic research within an organisational context, together with an understanding of the parameters of research methodologies within an academic framework.

In this module, you have the opportunity to conduct a piece of independent research in the area of English Language, Linguistics or TESOL. You will choose your own topic of study and will be supported by the module leader and your dissertation supervisor as you craft and carry out your project. For the most part, however, you are expected to work independently. To help you plan your research, you are required to submit a research proposal and gain ethical approval, where relevant.

The module aims to provide students with the theoretical framework for the study of language from a psycholinguistic viewpoint in order to study language comprehension and production, both spoken and written. The theoretical background to specific disorders of language comprehension and production, with an examination of such disorders along with relevant case studies will be considered. This perspective on language pathology will enable a discussion of what constitutes typical language use, and from the insights gained, leads to an exploration of their applications in the world of careers such as speech and language therapy and education

The module aims to explore in greater complexity and detail some of the issues introduced in Language and Society relating to the mechanisms, motivations and outcomes of language variation and change. Focus in the first half is on structuralist theories of language change and examination of English and the grammatical and lexical changes that happen via its speakers in the first 2000 years of its existence. In the second half of the course, this knowledge is applied to examining world Englishes including Caribbean Englishes, English as it is spoken on the Indian subcontinent and dialects of English across the British Isles. Students will examine the ideologies which circulate historically and today about language variation and change. Particular attention will be paid to the use of case studies to test the key theories of language variation and change.

This module, as its title suggests, looks at how social actions and meanings are communicated between interactants, using Conversation Analytic (CA) techniques. You will be introduced to the methods CA theorists have established, and their key findings. You will apply these techniques to spoken data, using Jeffersonian transcription. You will analyse both everyday and institutional data in terms of practices (eg overlap, repair) and actions (eg requests), depending on the data you and the class collect.

This module covers definitions of multilingualism, theories of code switching, theories of concurrent and sequential language acquisition. It goes on to cover discussion of society and linguistics in configurations of multilingualism, and examines language maintenance and attrition, as well as language planning and policy.