Admission requirements
Pass marks for Language Acquisition 2 and Language Acquisition 3, or equivalent.
Description
In this course you will learn about theories and research methods in theoretical and applied linguistics. You will apply that knowledge in a collaborative research project with three of your peers, about which you will produce a research report.
In the first half of the course you learn about key theoretical approaches to issues in applied linguistics and their relationships to qualitative and quantitative research methodologies (e.g., systemic functional linguistics, corpus linguistics, sociolinguistics, and rhetorics). Through lectures, assigned readings, and workgroup discussions, you will have opportunities to explore how linguists design research projects and write about their work by reading research reports, analyzing their features, and discussing them with your peers. Through this process you will learn how to formulate research questions, identify effective research methods, ground your study in relevant theories, and organise your report. You will also begin outlining your collaborative research design by formulating questions, reading about your topic, and identifying relevant theories and methods.
In the second half of the course you and your research team will conduct research and write a research report. You collaborate with your team and tutor to collect and organise language-use data from various sources (e.g., interviews, literature, corpora, digital media), analyse the data, and write the report. To support your work, your team will meet each week with your tutor discuss your research and drafts of your writing. At the end of the course your team will submit a polished, 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
Prepare for your BA thesis
Timetable
The timetable is available on the MA English website
Mode of instruction
Lecture
Seminar (weekly tutorials)
Course Load
The total course load is 140 hours (5 EC), allocated as follows:
Lecture attendance: 6 hours.
Tutorial attendance: 13 hours.
Weekly reading assignments: 31 hours.
Collecting and processing data: 45 hours.
Writing the research report: 45 hours.
Assessment method
Assessment
Research report
Tutorial participation, including participation in ongoing peer review
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 having completed the assigned readings. 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 (80%): You will be awarded a mark for your individual contribution to the research report (40%), as well as a group mark (40%). Neither of these marks may be lower than 6.0 for a pass mark for the course.
Tutorial participation, including participation in ongoing peer review: 20%
Resit
To pass the course, you can miss no more than three sessions for the semester. If the final mark for the essay is 4.5 to 5.5, you can rewrite the failed component or components in the resit.
Attendance
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 having completed the assigned readings. In order to participate in the second half of the course, you can have missed no more than two tutorial sessions in block I.
Inspection and feedback
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.
Blackboard
Blackboard 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
None.
Registration
Enrolment through uSis is mandatory.
General information about uSis is available on the website
NB: First year students will be enrolled by the coordinator of studies.
Students other than from the BA English language and culture cannot take this course.
Registration Studeren à la carte and Contractonderwijs
Registration Studeren à la carte
Registration Contractonderwijs
Contact
Please contact Student administration van Eyckhof for questions.
The coordinator of studies is Else van Dijk
Remarks
None.