MA Multilingualism, Linguistics & Education

The overall aim of this module is to explore the development of the English language, its variation and change, in relation to linguistic and social issues of language contact and multilingualism. Students will have the opportunity to study the spread of English and the rise to its current status as a global language, discuss the establishment of (English) language standards and (standard) varieties world-wide, the emergence of English as a Lingua Franca and other language contact phenomena. The focus will be on the challenges and opportunities open to multilingual societies and to consider the impact of English in multilingual settings. An understanding of Global Englishes and aspects of multilingualism gives students the necessary conceptual and theoretical tools to understand English practices in a multilingual world and to conduct their own research within an area they find of interest.

This course combines a sociolinguistic with a discourse analytic approach in order to explore the socio-cultural contextualisation of language and meaning from two angles: language use and language representation. This dual focus will be evident throughout the course; topics such as language and gender, language and ethnicity, languagte and social class or language and the media will be examined in relation to the socio-cultural (and situational) contexts in which speakers use language as well as in relation to different representations of specific socio-cultural groups in the media and other (written) texts. For example, we will investigate both how women speak and how women are spoken about (e.g. sexist language). Other topics that will be addressed in this course include the political correctness debate; attitudes to non-standard English; multicultural London English and the linguistic construction of identity. 

The course will introduce students to a wide range of empirical research and methodologies. Drawing on analytical tools and frameworks from semiotics, pragmatics, (critical) discourse analysis, conversation analysis, feminist linguistics, ethnography and variationist sociolinguistics, this course will investigate how language is used and meanings are created, interpreted and contested in a range of different texts, discourses and socio-cultural environments.

This module will begin by exploring the links between language, experience and culture, using autobiographies of migration as a means to understanding entry into a new world at different stages of life. We will then examine ethnographic studies of socialisation in cross-cultural contexts, revealing how multilingual resources are deployed and developed in home and community learning. This research challenges assumptions on the nature of teaching and learning in schools and other mainstream educational settings, leading to questions on how teachers and students can negotiate an inclusive classroom culture.

We will consider the relative status of different languages and language varieties, and discuss theories on how power relationships affect the construction of multilingual identities, including students’ identities as learners. Case studies of learners of different ages and from different linguistic and cultural backgrounds will enable us to evaluate a range of possible approaches to the teaching of literacy and other curriculum areas. Finally, we look to the future in comparing UK and international research into alternative curricula that expand and enrich learners’ multilingual repertoires.

This module is based on an integrated and inclusive approach to language learning incorporating the areas of foreign and community language teaching as well as English as an Additional Language and English mother tongue. It aims to critically examine key research as well as current trends in the field, but also to make links between theoretical perspectives and classroom practice.

Through the module you will gain a deeper understanding of both policy and pedagogy adapted to different learners and settings. This will help you analyse current practices including your own. We recognise that students come with a wide range of experience in language teaching and there will be opportunities for this to be shared and discussed in sessions.

The module introduces students to a range of empirical studies and debates in a cross-disciplinary field that has become known as intercultural or cross-cultural communication. One of the questions researchers ask in this field is if speaking styles vary from culture to culture. For example, do some groups of speakers accept and encourage more overlap and simultaneous talk than others, or do understandings of directness and politeness vary culturally. Students will study inter/cross-cultural communication in everyday interaction but also in institutional settings, examining talk in business and educational settings such as the multilingual/multi-ethnic classroom. The module also explores the relevance of cultural stereotypes and cultural representations, for example, in media and tourism contexts.

Throughout the module students will need to consider the term ‘culture’ critically, comparing popular definitions of ‘culture’ as homogenous and static with postmodern models that highlight the heterogeneity and fluidity of ‘culture’. Students will become familiar with a range of methodological approaches to the study of language, culture and interaction. These tend to include the ethnography of speaking, interactional sociolinguistics, discourse analysis, intercultural pragmatics and politeness theory. The module will not only ask students to study language/discourse and culture in a range of different English-speaking countries and settings, but it will also invite students to consider a variety of ‘other’ linguistic and cultural contexts.

This module will focus on how language structure relates to meaning and communication. We will look at various aspects of language structure – sounds, words, sentences and short texts, and relate them to function and meaning. For example, we will discuss how speakers deploy different grammatical resources to give varied representations of events and their participants. We will also explore how different structural choices help speakers express their knowledge, and certainty or uncertainty of events, or how they impose obligations or grant permission to their conversational partners, what means they use to express attitudes and take a stance, and how they figure out what others mean even when they mean something different from what they say.

The module aims to make clear the wider aims of linguistic research, as well as enable students to apply theoretical notions to specific data sets and develop their own skills of linguistic analysis, especially as it relates to human interaction and communication. Language structure will be seen as contextualised and contingent, subject to variation at any one time and change across periods of time.

This module aims to introduce students to contemporary approaches and frameworks of analysis of written texts. The module explores the analytic techniques and principles of written discourse analysis and gives students space to apply these techniques to a wide selection of texts (texts from the contemporary media, advertisements, textbooks, political and administrative texts, texts in translation, etc.). The module leads students to a discussion of how linguistic analysis can illuminate wider social issues, for example issues of power and ideology, issues of representation and identity. Students acquire knowledge of different levels of linguistic analysis, and learn to examine written texts at the micro-level, and to link the micro to the macro. The use of a variety of texts is intended to lead students to debates about language use and social issues in different areas of human activity: media representation, translation, education, etc.

What is English as a Lingua Franca (ELF)? What are ELF implications for language teaching? How can teachers address the plurality of English in their teaching?

English as a lingua franca, and research into the plurality of English, is a vibrant field of investigation and this module aims to bridge the gap between the socio-cultural research on ELF and language teaching/teacher education.

You will start with exploring the dynamic, co-constructed and intercultural nature of ELF, focusing on pragmatic and multilingual aspects, before concentrating on pedagogic implications. Throughout the module, the emphasis is on the plurality of English, the fluidity and intercultural nature of ELF communication. These raise questions for pedagogical applications for the language classroom, which are addressed in relation to various aspects, such as multilingual resources, materials, assessment, a reconceptualization of the notion of communicative competence and ultimately a change of mindset for an ELF-informed pedagogy. The module intends to relate research on ELF (and theoretical questions ELF raises) to the practical concerns of teachers and teacher educators, and relate existing ELF findings to pedagogical practices within a critical pedagogy perspective.

This module is open to students interested in ELF and its applications for the classroom and to language teachers who would like to address ELF and the plurality of English in their pedagogy.

This course emphasises the pleasures of literature and aims to make students knowledgeable and committed readers of literature for children and young people. In the course we aim to address a range of issues in relation to culture and identity through literature for children.

We take a wide definition which includes picture books and graphic novels, media and dramatic texts. We consider historical perspectives and explore children's literature for today, as a distinct form, which is a product of both literary traditions and current ideological contexts.

Sessions will include consideration of the nature of literature for children, poetry and oral texts, picture books, media texts, graphic novels and reader response theory, and an exploration of literature about the refugee experience.

This module focuses on issues of race, ethnicity and cultural diversity in education. We will begin by considering what these terms mean, before discussing how and why ethnic and racial boundaries have been constructed through history, and to what extent people accept or contest these boundaries. We will pay particular attention to the history of the concept of racism, and to some of its contemporary manifestations around the world.

From these starting points we will move on to consider how these concepts impact on education. Issues such as what is or should constitute a 'good pupil', the nature of the teacher’s role in the classroom, what knowledge is valued, and who decides, will be investigated. We will also consider how other aspects of identity, notably social class and gender, intersect with ethnicity and race to affect learning and learner identities in different ways.

The module aims to challenge stereotypes, and notions of ethnic identities as fixed and unchanging. It invites participants to reflect on their own ethnic and cultural background, and to explore how this influences their own understandings of racialisation and identity. It also expects participants to draw directly on their own personal experiences as learners and, where appropriate, as teachers. Throughout the module we will seek to consider strategies and discourse which lead to a more inclusive socio-cultural approach to teaching and learning, and to experience the excitement and complexity of being part of an inclusive multicultural classroom ourselves.

This module considers various forms of masculinity and femininity and how they impact upon identity, and upon education. In it we discuss the social construction of masculinities and femininities and how this construction is enacted through and underpinned by the ways in which gender roles are practised. We will consider how stereotypical gender roles —and the behaviour they prescribe— are learned, and how these impact on our sense of ourselves and of others. We will also look at the extent to which personal identity, including gender identity, is affected by expectations of masculinity and femininity in Western society. The module will also be concerned with how particular masculinities and femininities and the identities associated with them affect how people are able to learn, both inside and outside of educational institutions. We will also look at the role of policy – state and educational – in reifying particular gender identities.

The topics we will address include:

• the intersection of race / class with masculinity and femininity
• girls, bodies and identity
• queer bodies
• adolescent masculinities and femininities
• how particular forms of masculinity and femininity relate to school curricula, schooling and the school experience.

This module explores the diverse range of factors that influence the education of young children, including theories about childhood and learning, cultural views about what is appropriate for young children, sociological, economic and political factors as well as perceptions of the gendered nature of early childhood education and care. This module offers the opportunity to explore key ideas and issues in the area of young children’s learning, with special reference to the cultural context of that learning including the study of educational theory and practice with particular reference to culture, language and identity. It will also involve an interrogation of pedagogical approaches and assumptions including the importance of play in children’s learning and development, the role of families and the community in the education of young children. The module will explore key concepts of childhood, young children’s social and cognitive development, the political and cultural context of policy development. In all areas of the course, students will be encouraged to explore the development of early years policy and practice from a historical, cultural and universal perspective. We will also explore the importance of language in the development of identity and principles of inclusion. Through this module, you will develop a critical understanding of the key ideas and principles, which relate to the education and development of young children. The historical and cultural context of theories on child development and early childhood education will help you to locate the concept of a “developmentally appropriate curriculum”. The course will also involve the examination of alternative models of the Early Years curriculum, both nationally and internationally in addition to providing an opportunity to identify and debate the social and cultural factors that contextualise children’s learning in the early years.

Head of Programme: Dr Sarah Pearce
Module leader: Dr Betty Liebovich; MA Education: Culture, Language and Identity