Prospectus

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Topics in Latin American Linguistics

Course
2019-2020

Admission requirements

Students need to have completed the Propedeuse in Latin American Studies. This course can be followed by students in both tracks Spanish and Portuguese.
Non major students who want to take this course should contact the lecturer.

Description

This course aims to foster interdisciplinary and cross-cultural approaches to the study of linguistic research in a Latin American setting. Students will read original papers which adopt diverse theoretical and methodological perspectives in exploring a wide range of current linguistic issues. The course will reveal the rich dimensions of language diversity in Latin America and will bring new insights into the manner in which human languages work.
Subject areas of study include, but are not limited to:

  • Second language acquisition

  • Language contact phenomena (for ex. between Quechua and Spanish),

  • Tense and aspect variation in Spanish/Portuguese

  • Code-switching between Spanish/Portuguese and other languages

  • Educational policies of minority and major languages

  • Heritage languages

Course objectives

At the end of this course, students should have acquired a deep knowledge of the key topics surrounding linguistic research in Latin America that will allow them to compare and evaluate current research trends.

Soft skills

  • Problem solving (recognizing and analyzing problems, solution-oriented thinking)

  • Analytical thinking (analytical skills, abstraction, proof)

  • Responsibility (ownership, self-discipline, responsible attitude towards own project, acknowledging errors)

  • Commitment (dedication, motivation, proactive attitude, own initiative)

  • Self-regulation (independence, insight into one's own goals, motives and capacities)

  • Oral communication (presenting, speaking skills, listening)

  • Written communication (writing skills, reporting, structuring, summarizing)

  • Working together (teamwork, support, loyalty, fulfilling agreements, attendance)

  • Flexibility (dealing with changes, eagerness to learn, adaptability)

  • Critical thinking (asking questions, checking assumptions)

  • Creative thinking (resourcefulness, curiosity, out of the box thinking)

  • Integrity (honesty, morality, ethical conduct, personal values)

  • Intercultural skills (communication with different cultures)

Timetable

Timetable LAS

Mode of instruction

Lectures and Seminars

Course Load

Total course load (5EC = 140 hours) is the following:

  • 28 hours = attending classes;

  • 75 hours = reading for lectures ;

  • 37 hours = preparing for presentation

Assessment method

Assessment

  • Presentations 50%

  • Assignments 50%

Weighing

The final mark for the course is established by determining the weighted average.

Resit

Individual paper for all parts (100%)

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.

Blackboard

Blackboard will be used for:

  • providing study materials

Reading list

To be announced on Blackboard

Registration

Enrolment through uSis is mandatory.

General information about uSis is available in Engels and Nederlands

Registration Studeren à la carte and Contractonderwijs

Not applicable

Contact

For questions about the content of the course, you can contact the teacher:
E. Alves Vieira MA

Dr. P. Gonzalez Gonzalez

Dr. M. Parafita Couto

Administrations Office: van Wijkplaats

Remarks

Minimum 80% attendance required. Students who do not meet this requirement will not have their assigments, presentation or paper corrected.
Students are expected to come to class prepared and ready to participate in class discussion. All readings assigned for the week must be done prior to class. Every student is expected to contribute to class discussion through oral questions and comments every class. In order to facilitate class discussion, students will write a response to the weekly readings.
A detailed class syllabus will be provided on the first day of class.