LLAS Centre for Languages, Linguistics and Area Studies

Teaching psycholinguistics
Event date: 20 June, 2008
Location: Essex University

The teaching of pidgin and Creole studies
This article suggests ways in which different areas of linguistics can be illuminated by including a discussion of pidgins/creoles, as well as giving a suggested outline for a stand-alone course.

Learning second language writing systems
Learning to read and write a second language writing system (L2WS) requires developing new skills or adapting pre-existing ones. Different writing systems represent different language units, with different levels of transparency and different symbols. L2WS learners, who developed processes and strategies appropriate for their L1 writing system, must adapt to the cognitive demands of their new writing system. Learners may need to become aware of new language units, to adjust their reliance on the phonological route, to adapt their eye movement patterns and hand movements and to learn new orthographic conventions. Learning an L2 writing system is therefore a complex but rewarding task.

The Applied Linguistics MA: course content and students' perceived needs
This article considers the expectations of students attending MA courses in Applied Linguistics, many of whom have a background in language teaching. It contrasts academic approaches to language with those widely adopted in the language classroom. It identifies four possible rationales when planning course content for Grammar and Linguistics modules at MA level. One treats linguistics as a body of knowledge; another aims to develop students language awareness. A third meets short-term goals by providing the linguistic knowledge necessary for the study of second language acquisition. A fourth aims for long-term goals by equipping students for new professional roles.

The role of Linguistics in the Applied Linguistics MA
This article first asks what linguistic knowledge, understanding and skills a graduate from an MA programme in Applied Linguistics should ideally have, and then considers what might reasonably be expected of graduates in the real world.

Writing in a second language
Writing is not only the process the writer uses to put words to paper but also the resulting product of that process. This process and product are also conditioned by the purpose and place of writing (its audience and genre). Writing in a second language is further complicated by issues of proficiency in the target language, first language literacy, and differences in culture and rhetorical approach to the text. Instruction in writing can effectively improve student proficiency in a number of key areas. Approaches to instruction have variously targeted process, product and purpose of writing. More recent approaches both to its teaching and assessment recognise the need to integrate all aspects of writing.

Empty-headed linguists? French undergraduates and learning transfer
This study describes an attempt to encourage some advanced learners of French as a foreign language (A-level plus two years) at Anglia Polytechnic University (APU) to develop some strategies and skills applicable both to language learning and to other knowledge domains. We examine what happened during a three-week learning and teaching sequence; we re-examine the principles and assumptions on which the teaching was based; and we draw conclusions pertinent to attempts to achieve similar ends, at APU and perhaps elsewhere. Our title is a wry reference to the stereotype, common within British Higher Education, of foreign language proficiency as a mere skill requiring only low-level cognitive activity.

Good practice in teaching and learning vocabulary
The vocabulary of any language is huge and its acquisition takes time, even for a native speaker. Research has concentrated more on how words are learnt than on what should be taught, though everyone agrees that a threshold of around 2000-3000 words is a requirement for further progress. The research suggests that extensive reading leads to good vocabulary gains, though this knowledge needs to be activated, e.g. in productive exercises. The teacher can also help the learner to become autonomous by teaching strategies and ensuring the availability of appropriate, motivating materials.

Reading in a second language

Reading in a second language calls for fast, automatic word decoding and access to the mental lexicon (dictionary); this means working on building speed and fluency and on learning to recognise at least 10,000 words in the new language. Learners can build speed and fluency by learning vocabulary systematically and by doing lots of easy (‘extensive’) reading. Learners will also read better in their second language if they learn about text characteristics, and if they know how to handle a variety of strategies for getting meaning from texts. Background knowledge about the second-language culture will make comprehension easier as well.

Second language acquisition
Since the original formulation of the 'Interlanguage Hypothesis' in the late '60s, the field of Second Language Acquisition has witnessed a remarkable expansion and diversification. It is now a research area that interfaces with several disciplines and encompasses a range of applied, theoretical and experimental approaches. As a consequence, Second Language Acquisition can be taught in different ways depending on the purpose of the course and the students' background and aims.

Second language acquisition (SLA) research: its significance for learning and teaching issues

The purpose of this general overview article is to outline how research into second language acquisition (SLA) over the last few decades has fed into our understanding of learning and teaching in foreign language classrooms. After a very brief overview of SLA research findings concerning both route and rate of L2 development, theoretical models attempting to explain these findings are presented, ranging from purely linguistic to cognitive models and social/interactionist models. The relationship between SLA research and second language pedagogy is then explored. Finally, recent developments investigating specifically the relationship between instruction and L2 development are outlined.

Individual differences in second and foreign language learning
The contribution surveys work on individual differences in second and foreign language learning. It covers the areas of foreign language aptitude, motivation, learning strategies and learning style. Research in each area is covered, and the current state of play in each sub-field is assessed. Further bibliographic guidance is provided.

Bilingualism / multilingualism
The approach to the topic will depend on the target audience. Students of Linguistics do not necessarily have an indepth knowledge of a foreign language, which can make it more difficult for them to understand what it means to be bilingual/multilingual. They may benefit from an approach which stresses the similarities between being bidialectal and bilingual. Students of Modern Languages are often better able to understand what it means to use two or more languages in daily life. With these students it is possible and preferable to study concrete examples of bilingual speech.

How to be the centre of the universe

Language is central to everything we do; it is what makes us human. This article situates language at the centre of the intellectual universe, showing its relations with maths and medicine, with logic and literature. Whether your interest is in the use of language to determine a suspect's guilt or innocence, the problem of how babies can acquire language and stroke victims lose it, or just how many languages there are in the world, linguistics will give you guidance.

Children create new sign language
An article on the BBC news website, 16th September 2004, reports that a new sign language created over the last 30 years by deaf children in Nicaragua has given experts a unique insight into how languages evolve.

Why Britons are "language barbarians"
With further evidence suggesting the UK is a nation of "language barbarians", an article on the BBC news website, 29th July 2004, asks why - in a global community - Britons are failing to learn the lingo.

Linguistics: Quizzes
These quizzes are designed for students at the early stages of their Linguistics progamme or for non-specialist Linguistics students. They have been designed using Hot Potatoes authorware (http://web.uvic.ca/hrd/halfbaked/) which can be used to create cloze, mix, match, multiple-choice exercises as well as crosswords and quizzes. The materials were authored by (and are copyright to) the School of Languages and Linguistics at the University of the West of England, Bristol.

Text Modification in Foreign Language Teaching

The key points to the paper: introduction: research in progress; the importance of reading comprehension; authentic vs. modified: previous studies; criteria for modifications; preparations for the first experiment; conclusions so far.

Writing Strategies: Differences In L1 And L2 Writing

This paper aims to: explore writing strategies in bilingual writers; compare first and second language writing strategies; discuss the results of the study and its implications in teaching second language writing.