Co-ordinator: Dr Guoxing Yu
This pathway enables English Language teaching professionals to update their knowledge and skills and to prepare themselves for new roles and functions as they develop their careers. For more information on research in this area please see the Directory of UK ELT Research.
All students take the Understanding Educational Research & Preparation for Dissertation units. TESOL students also take the four compulsory TESOL units:
and select one optional unit from
This unit centres on second language (L2) pronunciation research, teaching, and assessment, with a secondary focus on L2 fluency. Some of the topics to be covered include intelligibility and breakdowns in communication, listener sensitivity to accents, integrating pronunciation and fluency into the communicative classroom, the role of pronunciation in L2 oral proficiency scales, pronunciation and issues of identity. Embedded in the unit is a rigorous focus on research methodology that will be taught through examining empirical studies in L2 pronunciation that stem from both sociolinguistic and psycholinguistic traditions. In addition to providing students with basic training in phonetics, the course will offer a clear practical component, involving diagnosing learner errors and developing instructional targets for improving their pronunciation/communication skills. Due to its interdisciplinary nature, the unit is likely to be of interest to emerging scholars and educational practitioners with wide-ranging interests within applied linguistics that extend beyond pronunciation.
The overarching intended learning outcome is for students to be able to critique and design empirical studies in L2 pronunciation and fluency with regard to both theoretical underpinnings, and methodological choices.
Students will understand
The assessment for the course will consist of a 4000 word (or equivalent) assignment on one of the topics covered in the course (or subject to approval by the tutor). There are two options. Both options reflect the course objective: be able to critique and design empirical studies in L2 pronunciation and fluency with regard to both theoretical underpinnings, and methodological choices. Option 1 will be a literature-based paper that involves synthesizing previous research on some aspect of pronunciation/communication or fluency. Through examining and reflecting on the body of evidence, the goal will be to arrive at a novel way of thinking about the subject matter (i.e., arriving at a new understanding of the topic or adopting a novel perspective to inform current practice). Option 2 will be a proposal for an empirical research study that targets some aspect of pronunciation/communication or fluency. The paper will include a focused literature review, research questions, and a methods section that discusses how the research will be addressed, including procedures for data collection and data analysis
This unit focuses on the description and analysis of language and communication across a range of discourse settings. Through a focus on discourse analysis, we examine how language enacts social and cultural perspectives and identities using quantitative and qualitative approaches, perspectives which draw on the paradigm issues introduced in Understanding Educational Research. We introduce conceptual and methodological means of exploring the social, cultural and cognitive processes involved in constructing meaning through language use. This includes consideration of techniques for the elicitation, construction and analysis of linguistic data. Indicative content areas include the nature of discourse, conversation analysis; critical discourse analysis; the analysis of institutional talk and learner language; linguistic ethnography; politeness theory and relational work as a framework for the analysis of talk; and corpus linguistics. Participants in the unit will have opportunities to explore language learning and language use issues in their own professional context through focussed linguistic analysis.
Students will:
A portfolio of tasks which engage purposeful analyses of linguistic data and critical review of empirical studies in the related literature (equivalent to 4000 words).
This unit introduces students to the purposes and processes of research in second language classrooms in TESOL/Applied Linguistics. We explore a range of conceptual frameworks and qualitative and quantitative methodologies that are currently used for second language classroom research. A key focus is the theory-data link which is the cornerstone of sound research design. We prepare students to critique published research in this field and to design their own research studies.
In the unit we explore a wide range of approaches to second language classroom research, for example, ethnographic approaches, discourse analytic perspectives, and experimental studies. We draw on current themes in the field such as: language and identities, language use and learning, language and power, interaction and learning, and teacher and learner perspectives on classroom processes. In addition we will examine researcher role, power and ethical issues as aspects of the classroom research process.
Students will understand:
Students will be able to:
An assignment of 4000 words, which identifies a research issue in language learning theory and professional practice, and evaluates the different research strategies which form the basis for an empirical investigation.
This unit provides an overview of current developments in theories and practices of language testing and assessment. We explore approaches and the processes of language test construction and validation as well as classroom-based assessment, and review current developments in the field through consideration of the principles underlying best practice in language testing and assessment. We focus on the development and validation of tests and other procedures used to assess the language development, achievement and proficiency of speakers of English as a foreign or additional language, and the research methods relevant to these tasks. Indicative content areas include language assessment as socially situated practice, assessment for learning, the Common European Framework of Reference, assessment of different language skills (e.g., the development and validation of rating scales, integrated writing tasks, observation driven approaches to classroom/teacher assessment, self-/peer-assessment), washback, and power, and ethics and fairness in language testing as social practice.
The unit will provide students with the opportunity:
By participating in this unit, students will understand
They will be able to
There are two options, each of 4000 words. Students will either:
This unit is available in the exceptional circumstances that require an individually negotiated programme of study, submission of work and assessment that could not be met by any other available unit in the programme. The unit devised for these purposes must be consistent with and meet significant aspects of the aims of the programme.
Dependent upon the area of focus.
The unit aims to:
The learning outcomes achieved by a successful candidate will be:
A 4000 word assignment or equivalent if other media are used. Assessment is conducted by two markers with expertise in the field of study. Students will be expected to identify relevant texts, synthesise the literature and apply the research to a professional context.
This unit provides participants with the opportunity to present published articles or other short pieces for assessment alongside scholarly reflections on issues involved in writing the article as an opportunity for self-assessment. The self-assessment may be informed by making presentations on the work in any appropriate setting(s). The assessed piece of work would consist of the publication and a short commentary.
This aims to provide participants with an opportunity to:
Students will be able to demonstrate:
The submission of the publication accompanied by short commentary that undertakes a self-assessment concerning issues raised by the process of writing or production of the publication. The commentary will usually be between 1500 and 2000 words.
Work presented for this unit must be substantially different from that presented for any other unit. For example, a publication based on an earlier assignment may not be presented for a second time in order to gain further credit in this unit.
Guidelines will be developed to ensure that candidates who submit publications with joint or multiple authorship are eligible for the award of a fair and proportionate amount of credit based on their verifiable contribution.
Candidates are not normally permitted to gain more than 40 credits towards their award from any combination of published work, pilot project or special individual study.
Go to Course structure for other units.
