MA Applied Linguistics and TESOL

Core modules

Classroom Theory and Practice

This module is intended for students who are seeking to develop their knowledge and understanding of learning and teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL). You will examine current research on modern classroom operations, exploring key concepts and issues through relevant professional and academic literature. A more practical element will be realised through filmed observation of teachers in practice. You will also be encouraged to reflect on your teaching and learning experience; analysing and discussing your beliefs and attitudes towards learning and teaching.

Second Language Acquisition

This module will focus on the major themes that have emerged from literature on second language learning over the last three decades. You’ll examine some of the research on the second-language acquisition process, look critically at reports of second-language research, and examine some of the theories which endeavour to interpret research evidence. You will be encouraged to use your own language learning and experience of teaching linguistics to assess the relative merits of such materials.

Major Project

This module will support you in the preparation and submission of a master’s dissertation, allowing you to undertake in-depth research into a topic that reflects your academic interest. You will be able to demonstrate the ability to raise significant questions in relation to your specialist research area. It allows you to develop a detailed knowledge of your research area, a critical understanding of appropriate methodologies and theories, the ability to draw well-argued conclusions from information which may be complex or contradictory and the capacity to expand or redefine existing knowledge and/or to develop new approaches to the study of a particular area within the field.

Optional Modules (subject to availability)

Postgraduate Research Methods

In this module you will gain the research skills and techniques needed both to critically evaluate the literature you will be using in your course and to put into practice in your own dissertation. We will explore the methodologies and methods applied in contemporary social science research to enable you to select an appropriate range for your own needs. You will have the opportunity to experiment with a variety of methods so that you will fully understood them and be able to adapt them creatively for your own projects. The module will place research methods in a wider framework of social research strategies at a postgraduate level. We'll examine the research design options available to you at Masters level and explore thoroughly the issues involved in planning a research project and formulating research questions.

Communication and Conflict

This module is designed to explore historical and thematic approaches to reporting on conflict and also how communication functions in a crisis. The module will examine the reciprocal relationships between the military, governments and the media, including how the media can be used to legitimise conflict, and the changing role of social media in building consensus and protest, including the use of Twitter and Facebook to organise demonstrations and undermine the power of state-dominated discourses. More traditional forms of communication will also be examined, including censorship and propaganda, and whether the state is ever able to retain control of the narrative, as well as the role of the war reporter, and the way in which governments can utilise the independent media and how independent it really is. Other areas of exploration include consent, public interest, ethics and the representation of suffering, looking at whether the dominance of media in the debate in the West means that public interest in conflict is limited by the limitations of the media, and what this means for winning hearts and minds during insurgencies, military interventions and peacekeeping operations. Finally, the module will look at the way war and conflict is portrayed in fictional accounts and the underlying assumptions of such portrayals, and will examine conflicting discourses about war in post-conflict environments and the way the media can contribute to or hamper the process of post-conflict reconstruction Themes throughout the module will include the question of who owns, defines and propagates the truth, and the implications of this in the context of conflict and war.

Teacher Development and Management

In this module you will develop an understanding of the issues and practices concerned with developing and training teachers of English to speakers of other languages. You will examine current and recent research and explore the key concepts and practices in areas such as observing teachers and giving feedback, designing training programmes, leadership in academic management and professionalism within teaching. You will watch live or recorded lessons and develop ideas about what feedback you would give on the lessons to develop the teacher’s skills. You will reflect on your own experience of working within teaching organisations.

Language, Communication, Identity

In this module, you will explore the interrelationships between language, culture and society, and identity. Starting by looking at the connection between language and the individual, we examine key concepts of identity and linguistic variation. The notion of ‘self’ and its relationship to language is being investigated in the context of different social and cultural dimensions, including gender, race and ethnicity. The second part of the module moves towards a discussion of language policy from several angles. Using a case-study approach, we explore policy-making, including national language policies and aspects of educational policy in which language play a key role. You are encouraged to critically reflect on how your own lived experience relates to the issues under consideration in the module.

Materials and Course Design

You will explore the factors involved in the design of language courses and teaching materials, reflecting on one possible process of course design. You will start with an analysis of the context in which the course will take place, the needs of the learners, and current theories of language and language learning. You will move on to consider how course content can be selected and ordered in a principled way, how assessment relates to course design, and how and when courses should be evaluated. Finally, you will consider the evaluation, adaptation and creation of course materials. The face-to-face seminars will be a combination of teacher input, student input and discussion, both in groups and whole class. Students taking part in distance delivery will work in a small group with support from the tutor by means of the Virtual Learning Environment, with progress monitored through formative tasks. The assessment will be in the form of a portfolio and will give you the opportunity to consider what particular syllabus might be relevant to your own current or future teaching context. The elements of the portfolio will relate to particular units of the module, and the portfolio can therefore be progressively built up as the course proceeds.