The English Language (LING553)

Learning outcomes

Upon completion of this unit, students will be able to:

1. demonstrate coherent theoretical knowledge of the major facts about contemporary English grammar, including: the sounds of English, the ways in which words are constructed, how words behave in different ways, how sentences are structured, different types of clause; kinds of complex sentence, how information is packaged into sentences, and English's role as a global lingua franca;
2. demonstrate coherent understanding of the significance of variation in 'English' , which has always been a label applied to many varying varieties of speech, while 'New Englishes' continue to develop in many different parts of the world;
3. exercise critical thinking and judgement in applying appropriate linguistic analysis techniques to English data sets;
4. provide a clear explanation of the important linguistic and sociocultural features of English to others;
5. critically explain how linguistic facts about English varieties are relevant to issues in linguistic theory; and
6. adapt and apply the knowledge gained here to new linguistic contexts, and in professional practice situations while demonstrating responsibility and autonomy in individual and/or collaborative work tasks.