SFE42011 Learner Language Analysis: English (Autumn 2015)

The course is connected to the following study programs

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

Lecture Semester

Semester 3 (autumn)

The student's learning outcomes after completing 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.

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.

Forms of teaching and learning

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.

Examination

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.

Literature

Gass, Susan M. and Larry Selinker. 2008. Second Language Acquisition 3^rd 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.

Recommended reading:

Lightbown, P. M. and Spada, N. (2010). How Languages are Learned, 3rd ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press.