Content Analysis - Quantitative
I had a discussion with four PhD candidates yesterday:
1) Experiment
2) Experiment
3) Quantitative
4) Quantitative
Met up with my co-supervisor and shared with her the area of research for my upcoming journal article.
She's pretty excited because I have found something that is:
1) tech-related
2) education-related
3) relevant - a language-learning problem but should I focus on adolescents or adult students?
4) novel? I need to do a literature review to see if it will be a contribution to research (edu tech?).
5) Research methodology
I do not want to stare at words, words, words so definitely NOT any branch of linguistics again i.e. semantics, morphology or syntax.
Due to this, I am more inclined towards a content analysis? Literary analysis?
This is a compulsory introductory course to doing research in the areas of linguistics, applied linguistics to teaching/acquisition, and literature. It will equip students with the basic theoretical and practical knowledge to help them tackle their final MA dissertation.
The course will also set the foundations for other advanced courses in the three research areas.
Assessment criteria:
Criteria are based on the degree of achievement of the learning
outcomes.
Assessment procedure
1. 30%: Readings and participation: Students are expected to do set readings, attend classes and participate actively.
2. 70%: Assignment and practical exercises:
Written practical exercises: students will be required to prepare a set of practical exercises based on the learning outcomes. (30%)
Oral presentation / written assignment: students will be required to apply
practically the learning outcomes acquired during the course to one of their
chosen areas of interest (linguistics, applied linguistics, literature). In particular, students will prepare a brief research project on one of their chosen areas with a view to get some basic training prior to their MA dissertation. (40%)
Regarding assessment in (2b), students will be divided into 3 groups according to their interest areas (linguistics, applied linguistics, literature). Each lecturer will deal with this part of the assessment according to their area of expertise.
*sociolinguistics
- the descriptive study of the effect of any and all aspects of society, including cultural norms, expectations, and context, on the way language is used, and society's effect on language. Register For example, when speaking in a formal setting, an English speaker may be more likely to use features of prescribed grammar than in an informal setting—such as pronouncing words ending in -ing with a velar nasal instead of an alveolar nasal (e.g. "walking", not "walkin"), choosing more formal words (e.g. father vs. dad, child vs. kid, etc.), and refraining from using words considered nonstandard, such as ain't. * an interesting area of study
APPL8400 Language for Specific Purposes
This unit provides an introduction to major issues in language for specific purposes. The focus is on analysis of the socio-cultural contexts associated with business, professional and vocational areas and the specific characteristics of both oral and written text types associated with them. Such information is essential in evaluating appropriate materials and assessment tasks for teaching language for specific purposes. We consider the implications of globalisation for communication, the impact of new technologies and new approaches to learning and teaching language. Students will have the opportunity to specialise in particular vocational or professional areas in assignments. On successful completion you will be able to 2. Apply appropriate theoretical understandings to practical issues related to teaching LSP 3. Apply principles of needs analysis and discourse analysis to analyzing specific language learning contexts and specific contexts of language use. 4. Apply an understanding of the features of oral and written texts associated with particular professions and business and vocational contexts to the selection and development of appropriate curricula, materials and assessment practices in the context of teaching LSP 5. Reflect on an LSP context of interest and evaluate the merits of different approaches to researching that site.
Pragmatics
Pragmatics a subfield of linguistics and semiotics that studies the ways in which context contributes to meaning. Pragmatics encompasses speech act theory, conversational implicature, talk in interaction and other approaches to language behavior in philosophy, sociology, linguistics and anthropology.[1] Unlike semantics, which examines meaning that is conventional or "coded" in a given language, pragmatics studies how the transmission of meaning depends not only on: i) structural and linguistic knowledge (grammar, lexicon, etc.) of the speaker and listener but also on ii) the context of the utterance,[2] iii) any pre-existing knowledge about those involved, the inferred intent of the speaker, and other factors.[3] In that respect, pragmatics explains how language users are able to overcome apparent ambiguity since meaning relies on the manner, place, time, etc. of an utterance.[1][4] The ability to understand another speaker's intended meaning is called pragmatic competence.[5][6][7] 20 credit points from
APPL8110 Pragmatics and Intercultural Communication
This unit equips participants with the tools for analysis of how meaning is constructed in context through spoken and written language. The content includes speech act theory; politeness and face; the cooperative principle and implicature; relevance theory; cultural scripts; and metaphor. There is an emphasis on analysing how communication operates in different cultural contexts, and on accessing and interpreting current research.
Communication in social and institutional contexts, language in the media, and practical implications for language learning and translating/interpreting are explored. On successful completion you will be able to
1. Identify examples of successful and unsuccessful cross-cultural communication and use pragmatic theories to explain the reasons
2 Analyse examples of authentic discourse using speech act theory, politeness theory and theories of implicature.
3. Make judgements about the types of analysis that are most suitable for researching particular types of discourse.
4. Evaluate current research in pragmatics in an area of personal or professional interest.
5. Reflect on how intercultural competence operates in your own personal and/or professional contexts
6. Apply theories of pragmatics in order to conduct research in an area of personal or professional interest.
Brief course outline:
1. Introduction Getting organized as a researcherAreas of study: linguistics, applied linguistics and literature
2. Research methods in linguistics Introduction: Areas of study and project ideas in Linguistics Techniques for collecting data in Linguistics Tools for data analysis and project writing in Linguistics
3. Research methods in literature
Introduction: literary theory, literary criticism and literary analysis
Locating, using and synthesizing information in Literary Studies
Writing a literary dissertation
4. Research methods in applied linguistics
Introduction: logistics and project ideas in Applied Linguistics
Experimental Design and Learner Corpora in Applied Linguistics Data and
Data collection and analysis in Applied Linguistics
References
Bennet, A. & Royle, N. (2009). An Introduction to Literature, Criticism and Theory. Harlow: Longman. Barlow. (2005). Computer-based analysis of learner language. In R. Ellis & G. P. Barkhuizen (Eds.), Analysing learner language (pp. 335–357).
Oxford University Press. Brown, J. D., & Rodgers, T. S. (2002). Doing Second Language Research. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Da Sousa Correa, D. & Owens, W.R. (eds.) (2009). The Handbook to Literary Research. London: Routledge.
Dörnyei, Z. (2007). Research Methods in Applied Linguistics. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Dörnyei, Z. (2003). Questionnaires in Second Language Research: Construction, Administration and
Processing. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
Chaudron, J. (2003). Data collection in SLA research. In C. Doughty & M. Long (eds.), The Handbook of Second Language Acquisition (pp. 717-761). Oxford: Blackwell.
Faerch, C., & Casper, G. (eds.) (1987). Introspection in Second Language Research. Clevedon: Multilingual Matters. Gass, S. M., & Mackey, A. (2007). Data Elicitation for Second and Foreign Language Research.
Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum. Granger, S. (2008). Learner corpora. In A. Lüdeling & M. Kytö (Eds.), Corpus Linguistics: An International Handbook (pp. 259–275). Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter.
Granger, S. (2009). The contribution of learner corpora to second language acquisition and
foreign language teaching. In K. Aijmer (Ed.), Corpora and Language Teaching.
Amsterdam: John Benjamins.
Klarer, M. (2004). Introduction to Literary Studies. London: Routledge.
Mackey, A. & Gass, S. M. (2005). Second Language Research: Methodology and Design. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
McEnery, T. & Hardie, A. (2012). Corpus Linguistics. Method, Theory and Practice. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Porte, G.K. (2002). Appraising Research in Second Language Learning: A Practical Approach to Critical Analysis of Quantitative Research. Amsterdam & Philadephia: Benjamins.
Seliger, H. W. & Shohamy, E. (1989). Second Language Research Methods. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Wray, A. & Bloomer, A. (1998) Projects in Linguistics. A practical guide to researching
language. London: Arnold.
