Brief description

This module examines a variety of linguistic and sciolinguistic aspects of the relationship of language and education: it offers discussion of the wider sociolinguistic relationships of schools and their speech communities - relationships which are relevant to a consideration of the use of different varieties of language in education; and it investigates selected aspects of the use of language in the classroom by teachers, pupils and those who prepare teaching materials.

Aims of the module

• To undertake linguistic and sociolinguistic investigations of selected aspects of the use of language in education, and attitudes towards it;
• To develop students' understanding of linguistics and sociolinguistics so that they will be able to conduct independent investigation and discussion of these aspects.

Syllabus

The lectures of the module are based on the following:

• An introduction
• The sociolinguistic contexts of schools and their communities.
• The place of standard and non-standard varieties in schools.
• Pupils' language: the views of William Labov and Basil Bernstein.
• Classroom discourse.
• Traditional approaches to teaching the mother tongue.
• The language awareness movement.
• Spoken language and printed materials.
• Vocabulary across the curriculum.

Tutorial / seminar work will be based:

• partly on additional themes which individual students will investigate and present to the rest of the class,
• and partly on pursuing in further detail selected themes from the lectures.

Learning outcomes

On the successful completion of this module, students should:

• be familiar with linguistic and sociolinguistic methodologies of analysis which are appropriate for investigating the relationship of language in education;
• be able to use these methodologies to discuss selected linguistic and sociolinguistic issues.

Reading Lists