Postgraduate Course: Languages, Society and Education (EDUA11419)
Course Outline
| School | Moray House School of Education and Sport |
College | College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 11 (Postgraduate) |
Availability | Available to all students |
| SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
| Summary | This course addresses one of the three aims of the MSc Language Education, which is to discuss and analyse 'how we use languages'. Drawing mainly on sociolinguistics and socio-political approaches, it introduces students to various views on how language, education and society interact. Course students will explore the concepts of language, power, identity and ideology in language education, both at the micro-level (e.g. classroom talk, teachers' attitudes) and macro-level (e.g. language in education policy and planning) of the field of language education. Discussions in this course are grounded in the recognition of our global and multilingual world, and will address current related issues, such as the hybridity of language practices in our superdiverse schools. Students will also consider the best quantitative and qualitative approaches to investigate issues related to language, education and society. |
| Course description |
This course recognises the need to develop a critical approach to our understanding of language learning and teaching. It sees language, education and society as being shaped by globalisation, multilingualism and power. Over eight weeks, course students will consider the following themes in relation to language education:
1. The 'native speaker' myth and standardised languages in language education
2. Language variation and change
3. Language choice, superdiversity and multilingualism
4. Language in education policy and planning
5. Language attitudes
6. Language and identity
7. Language and Power
8. Language maintenance and shift
9. Implications for language education and information on assessment
This course will offer a variety of research-led input and student-led discussions, supported by real-life examples of text and discourses.
On completion of the course students will be able to:
1. Demonstrate a critical understanding of the main theories, principles and concepts underpinning sociolinguistics and language education.
2. Demonstrate extensive, detailed and critical knowledge of current issues related to language, education and society, such as language policy, translanguaging, and lingua francas.
3. Apply critically and in a context-sensitive manner the main theoretical strands and concepts underpinning sociolinguistics to their future professional practice and research in the field of language education.
4. Develop appropriate, creative and original research skills to investigate sociolinguistics-related issues in a given language educational context, based on key principles and theories as well as developments at the forefront of the field.
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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
|
Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | None |
Information for Visiting Students
| Pre-requisites | None |
| High Demand Course? |
Yes |
Course Delivery Information
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| Academic year 2022/23, Available to all students (SV1)
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Quota: 100 |
| Course Start |
Semester 1 |
Timetable |
Timetable |
| Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
200
(
Lecture Hours 9,
Seminar/Tutorial Hours 16,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
171 )
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| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
0 %,
Coursework
100 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
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| Additional Information (Assessment) |
Summative Assessment:
Task One (100% weighting)
Word Count: 4000 (2500-word long essay 80% + five 300-word long blogs 20%)
Assessment Description:
Write a 2500-word long essay as follows on one area of interest among the 8 topics introduced in this course:
(1) Critically evaluate the current issues and debates in this area (500 words approx.).
(2) Discuss how these issues are impacting empirical studies in language education (500 words approx.).
(3) Find a real-life example of this impact in action and explore the implications for languages, education and society (1500 words approx.). To do this, you are encouraged to draw on existing data such as observations, corpus data, existing case study, documents, YouTube clips etc.
(4) Include 5 blogs in the appendix, and reflect on them in your main text |
| Feedback |
Formative Assessment:
Write five reflective blogs of no more than 300 words on one of the eight topics introduced: (1) introducing the issue and (2) critically evaluating how this issue could relate to your educational practice. This short essay will be assessed using the following 3 criteria from the PG marking scheme:
a. Knowledge and Understanding of concepts
b. Critical reflection on theory and practice
c. Application of theory to practice |
| No Exam Information |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Demonstrate a critical understanding of the main theories, principles and concepts underpinning sociolinguistics and language education.
- Demonstrate extensive, detailed and critical knowledge of current issues related to language, education and society, such as language policy, translanguaging, and lingua francas.
- Apply critically and in a context-sensitive manner the main theoretical strands and concepts underpinning sociolinguistics to their future professional practice and research in the field of language education.
- Develop appropriate, creative and original research skills to investigate sociolinguistics-related issues in a given language educational context, based on key principles and theories as well as developments at the forefront of the field.
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Reading List
Coupland, N. 2016. Sociolinguistics: Theoretical debates. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Creese, A. and Blackledge, A. 2010. Multilingualism. A critical perspective. London: Continuum.
García, O., Ibarra-Johnson, S., & Seltzer, K. 2016. The translanguaging classroom. Philadelphia: Caslon.
Hornberger, H. N. and Lee McKay S. 2010. Sociolinguistics and Language Education. Bristol: Multilingual Matters.
Jaspers, J. & Madsen, L. 2016. Sociolinguistics in a languagised world: introduction. Applied Linguistics Review, 7 (3): 235-258.
Johnstone, B. 2000. Qualitative Methods in Sociolinguistics. New York: Oxford.
Macaulay, R. 2009. Quantitative Methods in Sociolinguistics. St. Martin¿s Press (Palgrave).
Meyerhoff, M. 2011. Introduction to Sociolinguistics. 2nd Edition. New York/London: Routledge/Taylor and Francis.
Norton, B. 2000. Identity and Language Learning: Gender, Ethnicity and Educational change. Harlow, England: Longman/Pearson.
Siiner, M., Hult, F. M., Kupisch, T. 2018. Language Policy and Language Acquisition Planning. Cham: Springer.
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Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Not entered |
| Keywords | Sociolinguistics,Language and Education,Language and Society,Applied Linguistics |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Annie Yang
Tel: (0131 6)51 6044
Email: |
Course secretary | Mr George Adams
Tel:
Email: |
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