Faculty of Humanities and Education (Postgraduate) - The University ...

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POSTGRADUATE REGULATIONS & SYLLABUSES 2012 - 2013
THE FACULTY OF HUMANITIES & EDUCATION
YEAR I
SEMESTER I
COURSE CODE: LANG 6000
COURSE TITLE: ADVANCED ACADEMIC ENGLISH WRITING
SKILLS
NUMBER OF CREDITS: 4
COURSE DESCRIPTION There are particular English language
skills which are necessary for students working at the postgraduate
research level. These include specific skills in both speech and
writing, which may or may not have been acquired in their
undergraduate study. This course seeks to ensure competency
in the requisite skills. Advanced Academic English Language
Skills will require intense involvement on the part of students in
activities which include expository and argumentative writing
with focus on research/report writing, interactive/collaborative
sessions such as class presentations, peer critiquing/reviewing
and group work. Students will also be afforded the opportunity
to enhance their linguistic abilities by processing and evaluating
texts with varying types of Content and structural organisation.
Students will be required to maintain a portfolio in which all
work/ assignments will be kept.
Mode of Delivery: Seminars and Workshops
Assessment: (100% Course Work)
• Research Paper 25% -approximately 2,000 words.
• Portfolio 15% (collection of writing assignments and class
exercises undertaken throughout the semester)
• In Course Test I 15% (summary)
• In Course Test II 20% (Response to or Critique of Academic
Text)
• In Course Test III 15% (10-15 minute oral presentation in
seminar on research topic)
YEAR I
SEMESTER I
COURSE CODE: LING 6404
COURSE TITLE: THE GRAMMAR OF ENGLISH:
AN EXTRAPOLATORY APPROACH
NUMBER OF CREDITS: 4
PRE-REQUISITES: LING 2402
COURSE DESCRIPTION Because linguists’ contributions to the
understanding of the structure of English are often masked within
very specialist theoretical frameworks, this course seeks to make
their discoveries available to persons interested in the grammar
of English for practical utility and application, rather than with a
focus on the theoretical constructs within which these discoveries
are usually presented. Starting with particular language
structures actually occurring within English language data, the
course will allow the student to work out the grammatical rules
that underpin these structures, at each stage checking these out
against the descriptions within the appropriate linguistic texts as
well as within traditional prescriptive grammars of English.
ASSESSMENT:
• In-course assessments:4 descriptive and evaluative activities
(15% each)
• 1 short Research Paper on a selected feature of English as
used in a (named) Caribbean context or as produced by
students of a specific foreign language background (5,000
words) (40%)
YEAR I
SEMESTER II
COURSE CODE: LING 6406
COURSE TITLE: THE PRONUNCIATION AND SPELLING OF
ENGLISH
NUMBER OF CREDITS: 4
PRE-REQUISITES: LING 2402
COURSE DESCRIPTION The interface between pronunciation,
inclusive of regional and social class accents, and spelling,
requires study, as do the range of intervening factors such as
etymology and morphology. There is need for persons involved
professionally with English to have a scientific understanding
of the principles underpinning phonological systems across
dialects of English, the spelling system of English, and the factors
which affect the relationship between pronunciation and
orthography. The course will examine the phonological features
of the major accents of English (working from both actual spoken
language data as well as data derived from written sources) and
Identify and explore the principles underpinning the spelling
conventions of English (based on actual spelling usage within
texts written in English within international corpora of English).
ASSESSMENT:
• 4 practical in-course analytical exercises on features of the
pronunciation and spelling of English (15% each)
• 1 Research Paper (40%)
YEAR I
SEMESTER II
COURSE CODE: LING 6302
COURSE TITLE: THE SOCIOLINGUISTICS OF WEST INDIAN
LANGUAGE AND SOCIETY
NUMBER OF CREDITS: 4
PRE-REQUISITES: LING 2302
COURSE DESCRIPTION: Students in this course will learn to
describe precisely the nature of the linguistic landscape in
the wider Caribbean region, and analyse critically the social,
political, economic, environmental and legal issues associated
with these languages. They will also learn to evaluate the issues
peculiar to minority and indigenous languages, with special
reference to the wider Caribbean region and will be able to
recognise and evaluate the issues and processes involved in
making and implementing policy for vernacular languages.
They will analyse critically the various approaches to the study
of language situations which have been adopted by linguists
over the past five (5) decades, with special reference to attempts
to account for and describe variation in non-standard Language
varieties. They will identify the possible approaches to research
on Caribbean languages, with special reference to variation.
Mode of Delivery: Seminars
Assessment: 100% Coursework
• Sociolinguistic profile of a particular Caribbean territory
(30%);
• Critical analysis of specified sociolinguistic approaches to
description of Caribbean territories (40%);
• Preparation of Language policy proposal for a named
Caribbean territory (30%)