LLAS Centre for Languages, Linguistics and Area Studies

British Sign Language: Quality Embedding of the Discipline (BSL:QED)

Designing Applied Linguistics masters programmes: the issue of "coherence"

If there is a single academic core for a Masters programme, it should probably rest with descriptive Linguistics, but a pedagogic core should rest with the needs of the participants. The tension and potential conflict between these are explored, with particular reference to a succession of only partially successful attempts to make descriptive work directly relevant to language teaching and other applied concerns. This paper will also try to show some associated ways of making the overall course both coherent and genuinely research-based.

Linguistics within a humanities modular programme
This article addresses how Linguistics can be taught as part of a humanities modular programme in such a way that there is flexibility and choice whilst coherent routes through the different years is provided and progression is ensured.

Linguistics in first year single honours courses
This document suggests ways of building up the first year of a single honours course in linguistics. It suggests that the year should consist of certain core courses introducing basic concepts relevant to the field, most importantly phonetics, grammar and semantics. In addition, there should be a set of optional courses on aspects of the field which interact with other subject areas (e.g. sociolinguistics and psycholinguistics). The document provides some ideas for text books to be used and also gives some other sources, in particular web-based facilities. The document also contains a brief discussion of assessment.

Principles of programme design: joint honours - linguistics + a modern foreign language
A joint-honours programme combining linguistics and a modern foreign language needs to stand up as a respectable diet in linguistics, that is, introduce basic notions of both pure and applied linguistics early on and allow students to go on to develop either depth or breadth of knowledge / understanding within the discipline. Structural constraints permitting, it should also fully capitalise upon the dual interests of the students, that is, exploit their competence in modern foreign languages to support and inform their work in linguistics and, conversely, make sure that their familiarity with notions from linguistics consolidates their acquisition of modern-foreign-language competence.

Provision of 3-year degrees in Languages: An overview
Language degrees (degrees in which a modern foreign language is a named component) have often been one year longer than honours degrees in other arts and humanities subjects, as students have usually spent the third year of the course aboard. This article overviews the increasing provision of three year language degrees.

Languages and Foundation Degrees
The Subject Centre held an open meeting to discuss Foundation Degrees on 11 July 2003. Following the meeting, Professor Tim Connell (City University) wrote a report on Languages and Foundation degrees.

The gruppo 62 Italian project: undergraduate collaboration between the universities of Hull and Leeds

This paper reports quite briefly on a project in progress, funded by the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) through the Collaboration Programme in Modern Languages proposed by the University Council for Modern Languages (UCML) and directed by Professor David Robey.

A new approach to teaching German as a foreign language at Tertiary level

German Studies at Queen's University has developed a second degree pathway called 'Business Communication: German for European Industry', which we now teach in addition to the traditional pathway 'German Language and Literature'. This new pathway is a response to the changes in the job market in this country and internationally and includes an industrial placement with leading companies in Germany during the year abroad. In this paper, I would like to give a basic description of the new pathway and some background information about why we felt it was necessary to develop this alternative. I then want to give more detail about what is special about this modern language course, and what the benefits are for students. Finally, as evidence of the success of this approach to date, I would like to quote some of our students' feedback about the pathway and in particular about their industrial placement.

Developing materials (27 Feb 2004)
Event date: 27 February, 2004
Location: CILT,

IALIC/Subject Centre Pedagogical Forum (16 Dec 2003)
Event date: 16 December, 2003
Location: George Fox Building, Lancaster University

The Languages Box