Teaching aims of the undergraduate programmes in Linguistics

Aims and objectives

  1. What you learn about phonetics and linguistics should contribute to your understanding of communication
  2. What you learn should reflect our leading position in relevant research
  3. You should benefit from teaching methods which combine innovation with the virtues of more traditional approaches
  4. Our students should be recruited worldwide and regardless of background
  5. You should receive an education which also develops a range of transferable skills, and You should receive it in a caring environment

More in particular, our undergraduate programmes in Linguistics provide opportunities for students to develop and demonstrate knowledge and understanding, qualities, skills and other attributes in the following areas:

Knowledge and understanding of

  1. the main descriptive and theoretical issues that are debated in linguistics and phonetics.
  2. what kinds of data are relevant to these issues.
  3. some facts about English phonetics, phonology, morphology and syntax, and a few facts about these aspects of other languages.
  4. how discoveries and theories about speech and language are developed and debated.
  5. some alternative views on major disputed issues.

Analytical skills - able to

  1. transcribe speech phonetically and phonologically.
  2. analyse sentences syntactically.
  3. apply the analytical or transcription procedures appropriate to whatever specialist courses they take (e.g. in acoustics, sociolinguistics, speech pathology).
  4. do whatever mathematical analyses are appropriate, where numerical data are relevant.

Investigative skills - able to

  1. plan small-scale research projects in consultation with an adviser.
  2. collect relevant linguistic data.
  3. analyse its linguistic features accurately.
  4. draw appropriate generalisations.

Practical skills - able to

  1. find recommended material in the Bloomsbury libraries.
  2. access the wide range of information sources available to academic scholarship, such as bibliographies, periodicals and on-line resources
  3. use standard conventions for presenting linguistic or phonetic data in their essays.
  4. apply general essay-writing skills to linguistic and phonetic topics.

Transferable skills - able to

  1. produce a word-processed document, including where necessary linguistic and phonetic notations, tables and figures.
  2. use and produce quantitative data with confidence.
  3. communicate effectively in speech and writing about complex linguistic issues.

Attitudes - able to

  1. discuss varieties of language without prejudice.
  2. appreciate our scientific aim of describing and understanding language.
  3. respect alternative views on issues where they themselves have firm views.