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Topic outlines
Accents and Dialects: features and attitudes
The aim of this course is to familiarise participants with the various accents and dialects currently used within the British Isles. We will begin the course by discussing the different terms used within this field, e.g. the difference between language, accent and dialect. We will then look at distinctive features of various regional dialects within the British Isles and later on we will turn our interest to social dialects. Attitudes towards non-standard varieties of English are also interesting to investigate, therefore during the final part of this course we will discuss general tendencies and findings from research and outline methods which can be used for collecting and analysing data.
Tutor: Dr Christiana Themistocleous
Child Language Acquisition
The development of language by the child is usually seen as a distinct topic within the syllabus of language and linguistics, although it properly belongs in the larger context of language in the individual. The shift from pre-school to school age experience has a profound impact on child language, especially through contact with the written forms of language; and vocabulary development most obviously continues throughout the school period and beyond, into higher education or the world of work. Other aspects of language, especially written language skills, go on developing too. So we can ask, not just: What does the child bring to the development process? but also: How does this process lead on to developments in later life?
It is also a topic which recapitulates the major concepts of language structure and function: the sound system (phonetics and phonology); grammar (morphology and syntax), and meaning (semantics and pragmatics) – all these can be very clearly taught and illustrated through the perspective of child language, but the teacher must have a sound grasp of them beforehand.
In this course, we consider pre-school child language development, giving detailed attention to grammar, vocabulary and sound system development.
Tutor: Mr Daniel Fryer, MSc
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Discourse and Conversation Analysis
Discourse analysis is a wide field which has been developed by both linguists and social researchers from other disciplines. It is concerned with authentic language – both spoken and written – and the social contexts in which it is produced. Analysts seek to identify both patterns in discourse and links between these patterns and various aspects of social behaviour. This session will provide an outline of the main approaches to the description and analysis of spoken discourse, and opportunities to apply these approaches to naturally occurring samples of spoken language. Topics to be covered include: transcription issues, nonverbal communication, conversation analysis, and critical discourse analysis.
Tutor: Dr Christiana Themistocleous
Essential Phonetics
Phonetics is the kind of subject which people can find dreary or dry, and from which others run screaming. However, it does have its uses in the description of language and linguistic systems, and can actually be more of a joy than a trial, leading to that light bulb moment when everything falls nicely into place. This session explores some of the ways phonetics can be brought into the English Language classroom in a way which is accessible and user-friendly, resulting more in gasps of delight than tears of despair.
Tutor: Prof Jane Setter
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Global Englishes
What a resilient, widely-used language English is. Spoken by an estimated two billion people around the world as a first, second or foreign language, it shows no sign of falling our of favour, even though it has been the language of conquerors, oppressors and of nations who are sometimes seen as too lazy or complacent to learn the languages of others. So what is it that drives people around the world to keep on learning and using and using this language? What makes it so desirable? What makes it so unique. This session looks at the spread of English since the time of Elizabeth I, how it got to be in various places around the world, and what people were doing with it then and are doing with it now. It considers the features of some varieties of English around the world, how New Varieties of English can be classified, and the research that people are doing into it. We will also look at possible future scenarios for English – will it continue to grow, or will we all be speaking a different language in the future?
Tutor: Prof Jane Setter
Grammar
How does grammar work? What does a clause consist of? Does grammar have to be hard and boring? Do you teach grammar and would you like to explore fun ways of presenting it to your pupils? The aim of this workshop is to answer these and similar questions and issues. The workshop consists of two parts. Part 1 is a grammar refresher session that focuses on word level classifications and their grammatical properties (nouns and verbs through to pronouns and prepositions). Part 2 addresses the analysis of phrases and clauses, by examining the functions of clause elements (Subject, Verb, Object, Complement and Adverbial), the major clause types in English, and the relationship between grammatical and semantic aspects of these clause elements. Both sessions involve an exploration of fun ways to teach grammar and how we can make it interesting and more accessible to secondary school pupils.
Tutor: Dr Jacqueline Laws
Language and Gender
We will begin the course with the historical and theoretical background to the study of language and gender within the larger area of sociolinguistics. We will examine various theories that attempt to account for gendered differences in language (i.e. Deficiency, Difference), and look at the key pieces of research in this area. We will then move on to contemporary theories in the area (i.e. Post-structuralism, Community of Practice) that go beyond the binary distinction of men and women, to how speakers can perform their gendered identity. We will focus on workplace discourse, to examine how leadership and power are enacted within masculine and feminine workplaces. Then, we will look at language and gender in education and in advertising.
Tutor: Dr Christiana Themistocleous
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Return to INSET main page
For information or to book your place, please contact Mrs Anne Whitbread at the following postal address, phone/fax number, or e-mail:
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Department of English Language & Applied Linguistics
University of Reading
P.O. Box 218
READING RG6 6AA UK
Tel. +44 118 378 8141 (International), 0118 378 8141 (UK)
Fax +44 118 378 6669 (International), 0118 378 6669 (UK)
E-mail: a.e.whitbread@reading.ac.uk
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