Teaching aims of the undergraduate programmes in Linguistics
Aims and objectives
- What you learn about phonetics and linguistics should contribute to your understanding of communication
- What you learn should reflect our leading position in relevant research
- You should benefit from teaching methods which combine innovation with the virtues of more traditional approaches
- Our students should be recruited worldwide and regardless of background
- 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
- the main descriptive and theoretical issues that are debated in linguistics and phonetics.
- what kinds of data are relevant to these issues.
- some facts about English phonetics, phonology, morphology and syntax, and a few facts about these aspects of other languages.
- how discoveries and theories about speech and language are developed and debated.
- some alternative views on major disputed issues.
Analytical skills - able to
- transcribe speech phonetically and phonologically.
- analyse sentences syntactically.
- apply the analytical or transcription procedures appropriate to whatever specialist courses they take (e.g. in acoustics, sociolinguistics, speech pathology).
- do whatever mathematical analyses are appropriate, where numerical data are relevant.
Investigative skills - able to
- plan small-scale research projects in consultation with an adviser.
- collect relevant linguistic data.
- analyse its linguistic features accurately.
- draw appropriate generalisations.
Practical skills - able to
- find recommended material in the Bloomsbury libraries.
- access the wide range of information sources available to academic scholarship, such as bibliographies, periodicals and on-line resources
- use standard conventions for presenting linguistic or phonetic data in their essays.
- apply general essay-writing skills to linguistic and phonetic topics.
Transferable skills - able to
- produce a word-processed document, including where necessary linguistic and phonetic notations, tables and figures.
- use and produce quantitative data with confidence.
- communicate effectively in speech and writing about complex linguistic issues.
Attitudes - able to
- discuss varieties of language without prejudice.
- appreciate our scientific aim of describing and understanding language.
- respect alternative views on issues where they themselves have firm views.