SFE42011 Learner Language Analysis: English (Autumn 2015)

Facts about the course

ECTS Credits:: 10
Responsible faculty:: Avdeling for økonomi, språk og samfunnsfag
Course Leader:: Lene Nordrum
Teaching language:: English
Duration:: ½ year

The course is affiliated to the following study programme

Compulsory course in the Master Programme in Foreign Languages in the Classroom.

Teaching semester

Semester 3 (autumn)

Content

The course covers key theories of learner language and foreign language acquisition. Emphasis is placed on analysis of authentic learner texts.
This analysis is linked to relevant theoretical aspects and perspectives of learner language.

The student's learning outcomes on passing the course

KNOWLEDGE:
The students have knowledge of distinctive features of learner language and of error analysis. They are familiar with key theories that describe and explain distinctive features of learner language.

SKILLS:
The students can describe and analyze learner language and perform error analyses. They are able to use the results of learner language analyses and the insights they provide in their teaching activities. The students are thereby able to give students sound and constructive feedback and assessment.They are also able to present and discuss linguistic aspects of learner language.

GENERAL COMPETENCE:
The students are able to reflect on language and on how language can be described and understood in a learning situation.

Teaching and learning methods

The course is web-based, with a physical seminar arranged at the start of the semester.
Students are expected to actively participate in the online discussions and to undertake practical studies of learner language.

Workload

Approx. 280 hours.

Coursework requirements - conditions for taking the exam

Each student submits 2 topics for discussion, which must be approved before students may sit the exam.

Exam

Individual written project work. Grading scale from A to F.

Students who are awarded a fail grade or who wish to improve their grade must resubmit a revised version of the project work.

Course evaluation

A written mid-semester evaluation and continuous evaluations/final evaluation are conducted.

Reading list

Gass, Susan M. and Larry Selinker. 2008. Second Language Acquisition 3rd ed. New York: Routledge

James, Carl. 1998. Errors in Language Learning and Use. London: Longman

O'Keefe, Anne, Michael McCarthy and Ronald Carter. 2007. From Corpus to Classroom. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Kap 3 og 4.

Axelson, Margareta Westergren and Angela Hahn. 2001. The use of the progressive in Swedish and German advanced learner English - a corpus-based case study. ICAME Journal 25: 5-30.

Kennedy, Graeme. 2008. Phraseology and language pedagogy: Semantic preference associated with English verbs in the British National Corpus. In F. Meunier and S. Granger (eds), Phraseology in Foreign Language Learning and Teaching. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. 21-41.