LLAS Centre for Languages, Linguistics and Area Studies

LARA Project Archives

- 10 July 2015

This ethnography programme is based on the idea that students will get the most out of their period of residence abroad is they take a leaf out of the anthropologists' book and undertake an ethnographic project. 'Ethnography' is the study of another group's way of life from their perspective. It is the fundamental method of anthropologists who seek to understand the cultural practices of others.

The rationale for developing language learners as ethnographers is to offer a systematic and rigorous approach to cultural and intercultural learning. Students learn new ways of looking at the ordinary and the everyday, drawing out patterns from careful and extended observation of a small group, e.g. students have studied dancers of the Sevillano dance in bars in southern Spain, blind students in Marburg University, Germany and Carnivaliers in Nice. Spending time 'lurking and soaking' in a particular environment or with a group helps students develop an insider perspective on cultural processes and immerses them in the language of the group.

© Copyright in the printed materials in these booklets written by Shirley Jordan and Celia Roberts belongs to them. Copyright in the publication is held by © LARA (2000). Teachers or librarians in higher education institutions in the UK may reproduce that part of the publication of which LARA/Shirley Jordan/Celia Roberts hold the copyright for use in class or independent research by students within that institution. No copying for third parties or for financial gain is permitted.

Indigenous protest in Peru

- 13 September 2010

These materials concern a protest in Bagua, Peru on 5 June 2009 against a free trade agreement with the USA. According to official sources, 34 people (10 civilians and 24 police) lost their lives during an attempt by 600 Peruvian soldiers and riot-police to remove an indigenous blockade of the Belaunde Terry Highway at Devil's Curve in the northern Peruvian Amazon. They are based on an article published in Social Movement Studies: Hughes, N (2010) Indigenous Protest in Peru: the 'Orchard Dog Bites Back' Vol 9, No1, pp85-90, January. The materials are an example of how easy-to-use and cheap technologies can be used by lecturers to address the nexus between teaching, research and technology.

BSL language awareness tasks

- 9 August 2010

As a non-standardised language, British Sign Language (BSL) encompasses a rich variety of structures and vocabulary. This variation is very reflective of the culture and diversity within the Deaf community and is often seen as a source of great pride; however, for learners of the language, this variation can also present some challenges.

Unlike students of most spoken languages, learners of BSL do not have a huge range of dictionaries and grammar books at their fingertips, and so students often find themselves learning the foundations of the language through trial and error. These language awareness tasks aim to provide a series of structured activities that will enable students to discover new language features for themselves and deepen their existing grammatical knowledge.

Film, novel and social transformation in France

- 29 March 2010

This is a blended learning exemplar developed for use on a second year undergraduate module in French available on the Modern Languages Programme at Nottingham Trent University. The module, Film, Novel and Social Transformation in France, is currently taught by a team comprised of Professor Jean-Pierre Boulé and Dr. Enda McCaffrey.

Writing a book review for publication in an academic journal

- 3 March 2010

Book reviews appear in a variety of publications including academic journals, magazines, newspapers and on websites. However, surprisingly little has been written about how a book review should be written. These activities, aimed primarily at postgraduate research students focus on writing book reviews for academic journals, though the principles can be applied to writing other kinds of book reviews too.

Paraphrasing and Synthesising

William Tweddle - 7 October 2009

In this learning object you will be given the opportunity to practise paraphrasing and synthesising, which means using more than one source to support your arguments. It will provide practise in using synonyms to write effective paraphrases; raise awareness of the essential elements of a good paraphrase; suggest useful techniques when paraphrasing from a published source, and suggest ways that sources can be synthesised to support your arguments.