School of Education

MA Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages

Applied Linguistics for TESOL

Module Code XX4027

MODULE GUIDE
Autumn Semester 2011

School of Education, Dearing Building, University of Nottingham Jubilee Campus, Wollaton Road, Nottingham NG8 1BB

Contents
This guide contains an outline of the module programme, together with details of the module aims, methods of assessment and a bibliography.

1.

MODULE INFORMATION Sessions Tutorial support for assignments MODULE PROGRAMME Contact numbers and e-mail addresses for the module team MODULE AIM, OBJECTIVES & TRANSFERABLE SKILLS 3.1 Aim 3.2 Objectives 3.3 Transferable skills MODULE CONTENT, ACTIVITIES AND OUTCOMES 4.1 Content 4.2 Learning activities 4.3 Learning circles 4.4 Learning outcomes ASSESSMENT 5.1 Deadlines for submission of assignments 5.2 Assignment specifications 5.3 Assessment criteria 5.4 Submission of written work 5.5 Academic offences BIBLIOGRAPHY

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

15

This information is provided by the University Staff for the help of prospective or present participants. To the best of our knowledge it is accurate but no legal liability is accepted for any of the statements in this booklet and nothing in this document constitutes a contract between the University and a participant.

1. Module Information
Welcome to the MA TESOL
Module: Module Tutors: Duration: Venue: XX4027 - Applied Linguistics for TESOL Jane Evison, Juliet Thondhlana Tuesdays 4 October 6 December 2011 B85 Dearing Building (C41 on 6 December) 10.00am 12.00pm You will also be expected to take part in a weekly small-group Learning Circle at a time to suit your group. Please note: You will be asked to contribute to a summative evaluation at the end of the taught sessions. Sessions: Learning Circles: There will be 10 sessions of two hours each. Discussion with fellow students outside class time is one of the means through which you can extend your knowledge and clarify and further develop your understanding of course content. Learning Circles (which will be explained in further detail in the first session of the module) are not only an attempt to provide a forum for out-of-class interaction and the development of reflection and critical thinking but also an opportunity for the sharing of experience, and a basis for continuing cooperation and support. As part of the course, you will join a Learning Circle which will meet each week in order to discuss/reflect on the weeks topic and, and/or prepare for further discussion in class. See Section 4.3 more details.

Tutorial support for assignments: You will be asked to complete one assignment for this module (see Section 5 for further details). These will be prepared for by discussion in class, a group tutorial and an individual tutorial with an allocated tutor. You will have two 30-minute group tutorials to discuss approaches to your assignment. For individual tutorials, you can make an appointment with your tutor by signing the tutorial schedule on his/her office door or emailing him/her. Your tutor will read part of a draft of your first assignment and offer advice before you submit it for assessment. You are expected to make good use of the opportunity for tutorial advice. Students who have neglected to keep in contact with their tutor have, in the past, often produced unsatisfactory work. Please Note: Every face-to-face tutorial will be recorded on a special form and a copy placed in your individual file in the Postgraduate Office. All written exchanges with your tutor will also be copied and put in your file so that your use of tutorial provision can be monitored. 4

2. Module Programme
JE = Jane Evison JT = Juliet Thondhlana Week 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 What is Applied Linguistics? Phonology and Pronunciation Teaching Learning and Teaching Vocabulary Describing and Teaching Grammar Psycholinguistics and the Teaching of Reading Psycholinguistics and the Teaching of Listening Discourse Analysis and the Teaching of Speaking Discourse Analysis and the Teaching of Writing Pragmatics and Cross-cultural Interaction Sociolinguistics and Language Teaching Student evaluation of module (SEMs) Student evaluation of teaching (SETs) Topic Tutor JT JT JT JE JE EK JE JT JT JT

Contact information for the module team

For academic matters Jane Evison (module convenor) Room C81 Education Building, Jubilee Campus Tel. +44(0)115 951 4516 jane.evison@nottingham.ac.uk Room A16 Education Building, Jubilee Campus Tel: 0115 9514992 alex.ding@nottingham.ac.uk

Juliet Thondhlana

For administrative matters Nina Sohal Administrative Assistant Postgraduate courses Room A73 Education Building, Jubilee Campus Tel: +44(0)115 951 4415 Nina.sohal@nottingham.ac.uk

Postal address The School of Education, University of Nottingham, Jubilee Campus, Wollaton Road, Nottingham NG8 1BB

3. Module Aims, Objectives and Transferable Skills

3.1 Aim

The aim of the module is to enable you to relate your specific interests and concerns as English language teachers to theoretical frameworks and recent issues in the field of applied linguistics.

3.2

Objectives

The objectives of the module are to enable you to: develop an understanding of the scope of applied linguistics as applied to second and foreign language teaching; critically appraise research in applied linguistics; develop a critical awareness of issues in applied linguistics.

3.3

Transferable skills

On completion of the module, you will have developed: your ability to make a critical analysis and assessment of relevant theory, empirical studies and practical applications; the ability and knowledge required in order to engage in independent reflection and enquiry; greater confidence and proficiency in oral, written and computer-mediated communication for professional communication; your ability to engage in critical thinking.

4. Module Content, Activities and Outcomes

4.1 Content

The following will form the basis for the programme (see also the outline in section 2), but emphases will depend on your needs and interests: an overview of the scope of applied linguistics as applied to English language teaching, with particular reference to the following: developments in descriptions of language systems, language processing and language production, and the use made of these; sociolinguistics; psycholinguistics.

4.2

Learning activities

Learning activities will include the following: interactive lectures, independent reading, group discussion, practical tasks, library and internet research, blogging, listening to podcasts (available at http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/ttfn), and group and individual tutorials. NOTE: Participants will be expected to contribute actively to the sessions .

4.3

Learning Circles

As part of the module, you will join a Learning Circle which will meet each week in order to discuss the preparatory reading that has been set for the upcoming session (please note there is no preparatory reading for week 1./ The aim of these Learning Circles is to help you: clarify and further develop your understanding of course content develop your ability to reflect and think critically share experience with classmates (especially with those from different backgrounds) learn in a collaborative and supportive environment

with the main task associated with the learning circles for this module is the discussion of the required pre-reading for each week.You are expected to read the text individually before the Learning Circle meets so that you can: share your understanding of the text; discuss any areas of interest; try to clarify areas of difficulty; compare your responses to any specific tasks set in relation to the text; decide on what you want to report back in the upcoming class.

4.4

Learning outcomes

By the end of the module (i.e. by the time you have completed the associated reading and written your assignments), you will: have an understanding of the scope of applied linguistics and how it relates to your concerns as English language teachers; have an understanding of current theories and methodological approaches; be able to critically appraise literature and research in this field; be able to identify key areas for personal research and development. 7

5. Assessment
5.1 Deadline for submission of the assignment

This module is assessed by means of one written assignment of 4,000 words. The deadline for the this assignment is: Thursday 26th January 2012. Note It is not usual to grant extensions beyond the specified submission date unless there is written evidence of exceptional circumstances. Students who do not meet a submission deadline will incur a loss of 5 marks per working day unless they have been granted an extension. Similarly, students who do not meet an extension deadline incur a loss of 5 marks per working day. This is a University-wide regulation. An extension may only be given if you can demonstrate where your academic work is affected by a serious condition e.g. long-term illness or disability, bereavement, major life crisis. Full details of how to apply are contained in your Assessment Handbook, or you can discuss this with Tricia King, Postgraduate Administrator.

5.2

Assignment specifications

For this module, you are required to submit one assignment of 4,000 words.

5.3

Assessment criteria

Details of the assessment criteria can be found in the Assessment Handbook. select an assignment title from those suggested at the end of each unit or negotiate a title of your own with your academic tutor; write 4,000 words (not including quotations, tables, list of references, and appendices); organise your assignment in a way that is clear, logical and coherent (numbered subheadings should be used and you should link each section to the next); show a good understanding of a wide range of relevant literature ; engage critically with the literature, for example, by critiquing empirical research, or challenging theoretical positions in relation to your own experience, providing appropriate evidence (see the next point) or exploring a particular kind of linguistic analyse and critically reflecting on the process of doing so; support your arguments with evidence (e,g, by reference to relevant research, or to your own experience - though in the latter case you must beware of becoming too anecdotal) discuss alternatives and critically evaluate any supporting evidence; write with a reasonable degree of accuracy (this means carefully editing your work before submitting it, checking grammar, punctuation and spelling, etc) follow the normal conventions of academic writing with regard to presentation, style, layout, bibliography, and reference to sources

5.4

Submission of written work

You should submit your assignment via WebCT. Please see the Assessment Handbook section Submission of Written Work for definitive guidance on the presentation and submission of written work. 8

5.5

Academic offences

It is an academic offence to commit any act whereby a person seeks to obtain for him/herself, or for another, an unpermitted advantage with a view to achieving a higher mark or grade than his/her abilities would otherwise secure. The following are examples of such an academic offence: (i) Plagiarism The substantial use of other people's work and the submission of it as though it were one's own (i.e. without acknowledgement) is regarded as plagiarism. Within the School of Education the concept of plagiarism also applies to the use in an assignment or thesis of material which has previously been submitted as part of an earlier assignment without acknowledgement, even when that work is the student's own. While reference to or summary of earlier work is permissible if acknowledged, wholesale reproduction of paragraphs or passages is unacceptable. (ii) Fabrication of results It is an academic offence for a candidate to claim either to have carried out experiments, observations, interviews or any form of research which he/she has not in fact carried out or to claim to have obtained results which have not in fact been obtained. You will be asked to sign a document to ensure that you understand the definition of plagiarism and this document will be kept on your file. Assignment topics 1. Pronunciation, vocabulary, grammar Write a critical review of an area of empirical research or a theoretical position, or related/opposing theoretical positions. You should focus on one specific area only. For example, pronunciation (e.g. ELF, the lingua franca core, the needs of a specific group of L2 learners), vocabulary (e.g. incidental vocabulary acquisition, what vocabulary needs to be learnt, lexical profiling), grammar (e.g. descriptive vs prescriptive grammar, the role of corpus linguistics, spoken vs written grammars). Assessment focus will include, inter alia, the following: an introduction which locates your specific focus within the broader field, and explains the overall organisation of your assignment; sufficient depth of understanding of your chosen topic; an indication of what is key research/who are key figures in your selected area; a critical evaluation of the relative strengths and weaknesses of key research/key positions; reasoned argumentation and a recommendation for further developments/research; concluding remarks in which you consider the implications of your review. 2. Discourse Analysis and the teaching of writing Analyse the cohesive devices of a short authentic text and a text from an English language teaching course-book or other materials. Both texts should be approximately 300 words long. What differences do you find and why? How useful is knowledge of this aspect of discourse analysis for English teachers in your teaching context? (You do not need to have a separate literature review for this assignment question. Instead, you should interweave appropriate references into your analysis and discussion.) Assessment foci will include, inter alia, the following: short introduction to discourse , discourse analysis and discourse analysis and the teaching of writing; 9

very brief overview of what you understand by cohesion; explanation of where your chosen texts have come from and why you have chosen them (clean versions of the text should be in an appendix); comparative analyses of two texts (an authentic written text, and a text from a course-book or other teaching materials) Please note, you should include annotated texts in your appendices, and a discussion of what your analyses show in the main body of your assignment, referring to academic sources where necessary; concluding remarks about the extent to which the insights you have gained are useful to English language teachers in your context, and why.

3. Psycholinguistics Write a critical review of one aspect of psycholinguistics which relates to either listening or reading (e.g. bottom-up vs top-down processing, strategy use, L1 vs L2 processing, factors affecting L2 reading/listening) Assessment foci will include, inter alia, the following: an introduction which locates your specific focus within the broader field, and explains the overall organisation of your assignment; sufficient depth of understanding of your chosen topic; an indication of what is key research/who are key figures in your selected area; a critical evaluation of the relative strengths and weaknesses of key research/key positions; reasoned argumentation and a recommendation for further developments/research; concluding remarks in which you consider the implications of your review. 4. Pragmatics Collect data related to one of the fundamental concepts of pragmatics you have studied (i.e. speech acts, cooperative principle, politeness). Carry out a pragmatic analysis of the data to reveal the aspects of pragmatics it relates to. Discuss how this data might be exploited to teach aspects of pragmatics to ESL/EFL learners and show what the teacher can do in terms of concrete activities in the classroom. Assessment focus will include, inter alia, the following: short introduction to pragmatics literature review and discussion of the importance of pragmatic competence in second/foreign language learning and the teaching of pragmatics analysis and discussion of data showing how it develops a learners pragmatic competence conclusions and recommendations

5. Sociolinguistics Identify or collect your own gender-related data and explore claims relating to the gender ideology that men and women use language in very different ways and for very different reasons. What are the implications of these claims for language teaching? Assessment focus will include, inter alia, the following: definition and description of gender a literature review and critical discussion of claims about conversational characteristics of men and women 10

6. An essay topic of your own choice

description of chosen texts and why you have chosen them (clean versions of the text should be in an appendix); analysis and discussion of your own data relating it to the literature implications and recommendations for language teaching.

If you wish to write about a topic of your own choice, you will need to get your topic approved by your tutor.

11

PROPOSAL FORM FOR ASSIGNMENT TOPIC Note: the topic you propose will not have been approved until your tutor has returned a copy of this form to you. APPLIED LINGUISTICS Name Proposed title Proposed content (list)

Key readings

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Your proposed title is approved without modification Your proposed title is approved with the following modifications.

12

Ethical approval for assignments If you are planning to undertake any data generation for an assignment, you will need to: Familiarise yourself with the BERA Guidelines Discuss the ethical implications of your proposed work with your supervisor Complete a Statement of Research Ethics form

Full details of the research ethics approval procedure can be found on the intranet here http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/educationstudentintranet/researchethics/approval-pgt.aspx

13

6. Bibliography
This is a general introductory reading list. Additional readings will be suggested on a weekly basis. The title in bold is the set text for the module. Collins, B. and Mees, I. M. (2008) Practical Phonetics and Phonology: a resource book for students (2nd ed). London: Routledge. Cook, G. (2003) Applied Linguistics. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Cutting, J. (2008) Pragmatics and discourse: a resource book for students (2nd ed). London: Routledge. Davies, A. & Elder, C. (eds) (2004) The Handbook of Applied Linguistics. Oxford: Blackwell.* Davies, A. (2007) An Introduction to Applied Linguistics: from practice to theory (2nd ed). Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. Field, J. (2002) Psycholinguistics: a resource book for students. London: Routledge. Grabe, W. and Stoller, F. L. (2011) Teaching and Researching Reading (2nd ed). Harlow: Longman.* Hewings, A. and Hewings, M. (2005) Grammar and Context: an advanced resource book. London: Routledge.* Hughes, R. (2011) Teaching and Researching Speaking (2nd ed). Harlow: Longman.* Hunston, S. and Oakey, D. (2010) Introducing Applied Linguistics: concepts and skills. London: Routledge.* Hyland, K. (2009) Teaching and Researching Writing (2nd ed). Harlow: Longman.* McCarthy, M. (1998) Spoken Language and Applied Linguistics. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Nation, I. S. P. (2001) Learning Vocabulary in another Language. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. OKeeffe, A., McCarthy, M. and Carter, R. (2007) From Corpus to Classroom. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Perry, F. (2011) Research in Applied Linguistics: becoming a discerning consumer. Abingdon: Routledge.* Rost, M. (2011) Teaching and Researching Listening (2nd ed). Harlow: Longman.* Schmitt, N. (ed) (2010) An Introduction to Applied Linguistics (2nd ed). London: Arnold.* [Module core text] Seidlhofer, B. (ed) (2003) Controversies in Applied Linguistics. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Simpson, J. (ed) (2011) The Routledge Handbook of Applied Linguistics. Abingdon: Routledge.* Stockwell, P. (2007) Sociolinguistics: a resource book for students (2nd ed). London: Routledge. Wei, Li. (ed) (2011) The Routledge Applied Linguistics Reader. Abingdon: Routledge.*

14