Admission requirements
Pass marks for Language Acquisition 2 and Language Acquisition 3, or equivalent
Description
In this course you will learn to write a research report that could serve as a starting-point for your BA thesis. In the first half of the course you learn about theory and research in applied linguistics and team up with three fellow students to choose a topic and formulate a research problem. You will also learn how to formulate research questions, identify research variables, articulate a conceptual framework, and structure sections of your report by reading research articles in applied linguistics and analyzing their features. Weekly reading assignments will also provide you with opportunities to learn about related theoretical and methodological approaches such as systemic functional linguistics, corpus linguistics, sociolinguistics, and rhetorics.
In the second half of the course your team writes a report that addresses your research problem. You collaborate with your fellow students and tutor to collect and organise language-use data from various sources (e.g., interviews, literature, corpora, digital media). You and your teammates will analyze these data sources to write the research report. With your tutor acting as an experienced guide and your fellow students as critical peers, you will meet each week to discuss drafts of your writing. At the end of the course your team will submit a polished and edited version of your research report.
Course objectives
Develop your knowledge of theory and research in applied linguistics
Learn methods for collecting and analyzing data
Improve your academic writing in English
Timetable
The timetable is available on the BA English website
Mode of instruction
- Seminar (weekly tutorials)
Course Load
The total course load is 140 hours (5 EC), allocated as follows:
Tutorial attendance: 13 hours.
Weekly reading assignments: 39 hours.
Collecting and processing data: 44 hours.
Writing the research report: 44 hours.
Assessment method
Assessment
Research report (100%) consisting of:
Individual contribution to the research report (50%)
Group mark for the research report (50%)
Neither of these marks may be lower than 6.0 for a pass mark for the course. Please note that you are only allowed to start work on the research report in the second half of the course if you have attended the tutorials in the first half of the course and if you have submitted all homework assignments on Blackboard. In order to participate in the second half of the course, you can have missed no more than two tutorial sessions in block I.
Weighing
Research report (100%) consisting of:
Individual contribution to the research report (50%)
Group mark for the research report (50%)
To pass the course, you can miss no more than three sessions for the semester.
Resit
If the final mark for the essay is a 5.49 or lower, you can rewrite the failed component or components in the resit.
Exam review
How and when an exam review will take place will be disclosed together with the publication of the exam results at the latest. If a student requests a review within 30 days after publication of the exam results, an exam review will have to be organized.
Attendance
Attendance is compulsory. Missing more than three tutorials means that students will be excluded from taking the exam (or essay or other assignments) and resits. Consequently, the course cannot be completed during that particular academic year. Unauthorized absence also applies to being unprepared and/or not bringing the relevant course materials to class.
Blackboard
Blackboard](https://blackboard.leidenuniv.nl/) will be used to present course information, notify you of changes to the course and to make course materials available. You will also submit homework and research report assignments to Blackboard.
Reading list
N/A
Registration
Enrolment through uSis is mandatory.
General information about uSis is available in English and Dutch
Students other than BA English language and culture studies need permission from the coordinator of studies before enrolling.
Registration Studeren à la carte and Contractonderwijs
Registration Studeren à la carte
Registration (Contractonderwijs](http://www.hum.leidenuniv.nl/onderwijs/contractonderwijs/)
Contact
Please contact Student administration van Eyckhof for questions.