| Unit name | Expanding notions of Language |
|---|---|
| Unit code | EDUCM0091 |
| Credit points | 20 |
| Level of study | M/7 |
| Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 2 (weeks 13 - 24) |
| Unit director | Dr. Sharples |
| Open unit status | Not open |
| Pre-requisites |
None |
| Co-requisites |
None |
| School/department | School of Education |
| Faculty | Faculty of Social Sciences and Law |
The unit sets out approaches to the description of language in the New Literacy Studies, ethnography of communication, discourse analysis tradition, looking both at the technical ways of representing language texts, practices, discourse, and also at the cultural and contextual aspects of language use: the ways in which discourse achieves coherence. The approach to language therefore, is essentially a discourse one, but with an acknowledgement that although linguistic features are quite dominant, there are other modes of expression and representation that play a role in language development.
This approach has two key features: (1) Texts (instances of language in use, both spoken, written, and multimodal) are viewed as fulfilling certain functions in social and cultural contexts of language learning and teaching; and (2) Those communicative functions are realised in language forms which are part of grammatical, lexical and phonological systems of the language. The unit engages with the different traditions in language description which underpin processes in TESOL and in language education more generally such as syllabus and task design, learning materials, and language assessment.
The unit aims to:
By the end of this unit, students will:
1. Be able to describe and interpret the nature of discourse and the different traditions of analysing it;
2. Critically understand the components of discourse, such as culture and pragmatics, multimodal, grammar, and composition;
3. Interpret different approaches to discourse and how they inform the TESOL curriculum;
4. Have a deeper understanding of the role of social context and varied communicational channels in determining discourse forms and choices in spoken and written English;
5. Be able to articulate the nature and challenges of intercultural communication as an implicit aspect of TESOL, and as an aspect of personal development as a language user in the context of the MSc TESOL.
By the end of this unit, students will have developed skills in:
6. Using discourse analysis and language description frameworks as a tool for TESOL in the following ways: Identification of functional and formal features of texts (instances of language in use) used in TESOL and the relationships between these; Selecting and evaluating texts and tasks for learning and assessment; Determining the facility or difficulty of texts in learning contexts
7. Using discourse analysis and language description frameworks as a research tool in the TESOL field in the following ways: Researching classrooms and other interactional contexts; Analysing the content and form of documents and texts; Development of discourse skills appropriate for language use in an academic context
A 4000 word assignment on the application of a discourse-multimodal analytical framework to a sample of written, spoken or multimodal ‘text’. Drawing on the relevant literature, the assignment will reflect critically on the significance of the findings of the analysis for the field of TESOL/applied linguistics. ILO 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 (100%)
Barton, D., & Hamilton, M. (2012). Local literacies: Reading and Writing in One Community. Abingdon: Routledge. (Routledge Linguistics Classic Edition).
Brandt, D., & Clinton, K. (2002). Limits of the local: Expanding Perspectives on Literacy as a Social Practice. Journal of Literacy Research, 34, 337–356.
Cummins, J., & Early, M. (Eds.) (2011). Identity Texts: The Collaborative Creation of Power in Multilingual Schools. Stoke-on-Trent: Trentham.
Pahl, K. & Rowsell, J. (2012). Literacy and Education: Understanding New Literacy Studies in the Classroom. London: Sage.
Street, B. V. ed. (1993) Cross-Cultural Approaches to Literacy. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
