(BA) (4-year-programme) - The University of Hong Kong

53ENGL2113.Conrad and others (6 credits)Joseph Conrad (1857-1924) was a Pole who wrote fiction in English, after a career as a sailor whichtook him round a world largely dominated by expanding and competing European empires. He oftenfocuses his stories on cross-cultural encounters. This course sets Conrad’s work in its cultural andhistorical context, and examines the way his fiction represents ‘alterity’, our sense of the otherness ofother people, which also helps us define the self.Assessment: 100% coursework.ENGL2115. Theories of language acquisition I (6 credits)[Non permissible combinations: EDUC2203 First and second language acquisition, LING2036 Childlanguage]This course offers an introduction to the central themes in language acquisition, covering firstlanguage acquisition, second/foreign language acquisition and bilingualism. Students are expected togain from the course a broad understanding of how children acquire their first language, how secondlanguage learners learn a new language, and the potential differences in processing and outcome.Assessment: 100% coursework.ENGL2116. Theories of language acquisition II (6 credits)Prerequisite: ENGL2115. Theories of Language Acquisition I or EDUC2203 or LING2036This advanced course will deal with some of the critical issues addressed in Theories of LanguageAcquisition I in greater depth. It covers theoretical perspectives ranging from innateness, empiricism,to emergentism. We will study a survey of research on language acquisition and examineobservational and experimental empirical data from various schools.Assessment: 100% coursework.ENGL2117.English phonology and morphology (6 credits)This course provides a comprehensive study of the sounds (phonemes) and building blocks(morphemes) of English words. Students will examine the phonemes of English as they occurseparately and in context, and the processes involved in producing those sounds. The course involvesproblems that Cantonese speakers might have in mastering English phonemes (and why) and ways inwhich those problems can be overcome. Students will also develop an understanding of thefoundation of English words. In learning the various ways in which English words are formed, eachstudent will be able to increase his/her own lexicon and develop an understanding of how and whywords are constantly being added to or deleted from the English language, and who is generallyresponsible for those changes.Assessment: 100% coursework.ENGL2118.Law and literature (6 credits)Law and literature are cognate disciplines: legal themes and characters recur in fiction, and rhetoricand storytelling arguably form an integral part of legal argumentation. This course will explore therelationship between law and literature via an examination of the ways they respond to commonissues and problems. We will look at how the law has been represented in a literary context, and willinvestigate the possibility of interpreting legal material as literary product. Readings will be drawnfrom fiction, drama, court cases, and critical theory.Assessment: 100% coursework.