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Unit information: Language, Literacies and Identities in 2022/23

Please note: you are viewing unit and programme information for a past academic year. Please see the current academic year for up to date information.

Unit name Language, Literacies and Identities
Unit code EDUC20010
Credit points 20
Level of study I/5
Teaching block(s) Teaching Block 1 (weeks 1 - 12)
Unit director Dr. Giampapa
Open unit status Not open
Units you must take before you take this one (pre-requisite units)

EDUC10003 Learning Lives

Units you must take alongside this one (co-requisite units)

None

Units you may not take alongside this one
School/department School of Education
Faculty Faculty of Social Sciences and Law

Unit Information

This unit provides an overview of the study of language and literacy practices to be found within society and across multilingual contexts. Students will examine the interconnectedness of language and literacy practices and their role in the construction of identities. They will consider multilingual and multiliterate approaches to the study of language and literacy that capture the linguistic and cultural diversities that mark 21st century learning, including the impact of digital practices. They will explore how local, global and transnational language and literacy practices interconnect over the life course.

The aims of the unit are to enable students to:

  • recognise the role language and literacy learning play in a diverse society;
  • develop their awareness of the links between identity and multilingual language and literacy practices and how these change over the life course;
  • discuss some of the key concepts that account for the ways in which the local and the global interact in shaping language and literacy practices over the life course.

Your learning on this unit

On successful completion of the unit, students will be able to:

  1. discuss the main concepts and theories that underpin research on language and literacy as social practices and the formation of identities;
  2. recognise the different debates within the literacy field about the relevance of local and transnational literacy practices and how they shape multilingual and multiliteracies practises in and outside classroom contexts;
  3. present a well-argued interpretation of how debates on language and literacy practices apply to their own experience.

How you will learn

This unit will be taught using a blended approach consisting of synchronous and asychronous activities that include: seminars, narrated powerpoint lectures, investigative activities, debates, presentations. Students will be expected to engage with readings and participate on a weekly basis.

How you will be assessed

Formative assessment:

Seminar sessions on developing critical thinking skills and writing online responses

Seminar session on biographical narrative writings and reflections; sharing of draft biographical writing and peer reviewing of writing samples and student work.

Summative assessment:

1) ILO 1-3: A 1,000 word autobiographical reflective piece relating to their own literacy and language learning experiences. (40%)

2) ILO 1-3: A 1, 500 word response to a critical reflection on any of the key themes covered in the unit uploaded to the online forum (60%)

Resources

If this unit has a Resource List, you will normally find a link to it in the Blackboard area for the unit. Sometimes there will be a separate link for each weekly topic.

If you are unable to access a list through Blackboard, you can also find it via the Resource Lists homepage. Search for the list by the unit name or code (e.g. EDUC20010).

How much time the unit requires
Each credit equates to 10 hours of total student input. For example a 20 credit unit will take you 200 hours of study to complete. Your total learning time is made up of contact time, directed learning tasks, independent learning and assessment activity.

See the Faculty workload statement relating to this unit for more information.

Assessment
The Board of Examiners will consider all cases where students have failed or not completed the assessments required for credit. The Board considers each student's outcomes across all the units which contribute to each year's programme of study. If you have self-certificated your absence from an assessment, you will normally be required to complete it the next time it runs (this is usually in the next assessment period).
The Board of Examiners will take into account any extenuating circumstances and operates within the Regulations and Code of Practice for Taught Programmes.

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