LLAS Centre for Languages, Linguistics and Area Studies

'Uptalk' becoming standard speech
An article on the BBC news website, 21st June, 2005, discusses how 'uptalk', the pattern of speech used by young people where every sentence ends on a rising note, is fast entering the mainstream.

Danish: Speak Danish website
An online Danish language learning site for beginners. This free interactive course includes lessons in pronunciation, grammar and common phrases.

Linguistics for applied linguists and lecturers in English language
A brief description is provided of the content of a master’s programme which focuses on preparing participants to teach English Language and/or Applied Linguistics at university level. An overview of the content shows the role of linguistic theory in the programme. A slightly more detailed account is given of the content of the phonology component to illustrate how linguistic theory relates to practical issues in language learning.

Phonetics in pronunciation teaching for modern foreign languages
Set against the history of the relationship between phonetics and pronunciation teaching, this paper outlines the needs of both the teacher and the learner in terms of phonetic knowledge in today's multilingual classrooms. It suggests sources of information for consultation by teachers and refers to established research demonstrating the value of phonetics in pronunciation teaching and learning. It concludes by recommending an ideal case scenario and offers a number of useful web addresses with brief annotations for the benefit of teachers and learners.

Pronunciation in EFL
Phonetics provides a scientific basis for pronunciation teaching in EFL (English as a Foreign Language). It is essential to the preparation of reference and teaching materials and highly desirable as an aspect of EFL teacher training.

Some issues on which linguists can agree
A list of 83 points on which linguists seem to agree and which are important for education. The list was compiled in 1980 but is currently (2002) being revised.