LING209: Language and Education

This course is available to visiting students (ERASMUS, JYA etc) as follows:

  • Full Year (October to June) - 8 semester credits or 16 ECTS credits
  • Michaelmas Only (October to December) - 4 semester credits or 8 ECTS credits
  • Lent and Summer Only (January to June) - 4 semester credits or 8 ECTS credits.

Please note that visiting students who are at Lancaster for the full academic year must register for the full course. The Michaelmas Only and Lent and Summer Only options are only available to part-year visiting students.

Terms taught:

1 and 2

Aims and objectives:

By the end of this course, students should be able to:

  • recognise and understand the educational relevance of oral and written features of language;
  • analyse the language-related challenges of teaching different subject areas, and to native and second language users, in schools, higher education, and in the wider community;
  • analyse oral and written data in terms of the potential learning problems and possibilities they offer;
  • gather, analyse and discuss data from educational and non-educational contexts;
  • develop the ability to use and discuss relevant conceptual and analytical categories, both orally and in writing.   
  • understand the importance of literacy in education, in terms of the learning of literacy and the role of literacy for learning
  • understand different concepts of literacy
  • be familiar with different approaches to the teaching of literacy
  • be able to critically examine current literacy policies in England and elsewhere.

Course description:

This course has a dual orientation, dealing with both the role of language in learning and the learning of language.  In Term 1, the course focuses on the role of language in education. Term 2 is specifically devoted to discussing the importance of written language. The course offers students an opportunity to study actual examples of language in educational settings in order to see the role of language in educational practice.  They will also develop an understanding of the relationship between language and subject area in the way language is used and taught in educational settings.  The problem of ensuring adequate exposure and space for learners to develop their own understandings of and engagement with language is emphasised in relation to key topics.

This is done through lectures, seminars and assignments.

TOPICS WILL INCLUDE:

Term 1

  • Language and learning
  • Interaction and learning
  • A framework for studying classroom language
  • Language across the curriculum
  • Genre in classroom language
  • Issues in achieving understanding: in general and in multilingual classrooms
  • Written genres in higher education
  • Oral genres in higher education
  • Researching language in education

You will also visit a primary or secondary school in Week 6 (instead of attending a lecture), for an observation task. This will form the focus of subsequent Term 1 seminars and be relevant for the Term 1 written assignment.

Term 2

  • Learning literacy and literacy for learning
  • Teaching literacy: phonics
  • Literacy policy in schools: the National Literacy Strategy
  • Literacy as social practice - more than skills
  • Literacy at home - what children are up to when they don't do their homework
  • Digital literacies: reading and writing online
  • Reading and writing in more than one language: multilingual literacies
  • Literacies for learning in further and professional education
  • Academic literacies
  • Beyond schools - literacies and lifelong learning

Recommended reading:

Stierer, B. and Maybin, J. (1994)  Language, Literacy and Learning in Educational Practice. Clevedon, Multilingual Matters.

Restrictions:

None

Compulsory for:

None

Prerequisites:

At least one of the following at Part I: Linguistics, Sociolinguistics, English Language

Assessment:

Two assignments (22.5% Term 1, 22.5% Term 2) plus exam (55%).

 

For further information contact Martin Bygate and Uta Papen