| CODE | LHE5004 | ||||||||
| TITLE | An Introduction to Language Education | ||||||||
| UM LEVEL | 05 - Postgraduate Modular Diploma or Degree Course | ||||||||
| MQF LEVEL | 7 | ||||||||
| ECTS CREDITS | 5 | ||||||||
| DEPARTMENT | Languages and Humanities Education | ||||||||
| DESCRIPTION | Theories of Second Language Acquisition will be presented by focusing on concepts which will enable students to understand cross-linguistic aspects of language learning and teaching: these include notions which shaped the field in the past, such as error analysis, contrastive analysis, to others which are more relevant today, such as innatism, interlanguage, morpheme studies and developmental sequences. Reference will be made to individual learning differences (e.g. age, input, motivation, social background etc.) as well as to second language learning within a classroom setting. These notions will be discussed by referring to second and foreign language teaching and learning in Malta. The study unit will also familiarize students with the definition of the term multimodality, where, following an in-depth introduction of the definition of the term, the study unit will move on to focus on different modes (i.e. both superordinate and subordinate modes) and their pedagogical effects when used critically as tools to teach/learn foreign languages. Various printed texts (i.e. among others FL textbooks and handouts), realia and other digital texts (such as music videos, authentic texts from the Internet, digital games, blogs and vlogs) will be analysed critically. Students will obtain skills through which they can critically observe and analyse how, through multimodality, they can create effective and motivating foreign language teaching and learning resources. The study-unit will also explore the sociolinguistic situation in Malta in terms of language use, language attitudes and ideologies and how these in turn are played out in language in education policy documents. It will tackle theories of bilingual education in the language classroom. Theories of translanguaging as opposed to those which advocate for a separation of languages will be critically analysed. Students will be exposed to pedagogical practices which consider bilingualism as a strategic asset rather than a source of interference of the L1 upon the target language. Local bilingual education will also be interpreted in light of the Council of Europe's plurilingual approach. The unit will provide students with a review of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages and its main axes of reflection: common competence levels (from beginner to expert user), language activities, components of communicative competence and the benefits of adopting an action-oriented approach. The study-unit will also cover the basics of an intercultural approach where students learn to compare and appreciate the culture of their own context and that of the country/ies where the target language is spoken. Study-Unit Aims: The study-unit aims to assist students gain awareness of features that are present across languages which are relevant to language teaching and learning and to link theory to pedagogical practice. Reflections shall be made on the changing dynamics of the modern language classroom, especially in the light of new multicultural realities. By being exposed to cross-linguistic aspects related to language teaching and learning, students will be able to improve their learners' language competence and to relate second language teaching to knowledge and skills which can be transferred to other languages, thereby developing cross-linguistic teaching and learning strategies. The study unit also aims to provide the research skills necessary to understand and carry out research in a second language area. The study-unit will also explore research that is useful to the language teacher to further enhance pedagogical content knowledge and to provide guidance with reading research articles. Reference will therefore be made to journal articles that report research in the areas covered by this study unit. Students will be familiarised with different research paradigms and associated data collection methods, as well as the typical sections of most studies, namely the rationale, the research questions, the research methodology, the reporting and discussion of results or findings, contribution to the body of knowledge, and limitations of the study undertaken. The study-unit also aims to make learners gain a better sociolinguistic understanding of the local sociolinguistic situation and how this situation is reflected in language in education policy documents. Learners will explore different definitions of bilingual education and the strategies adopted by teachers and learners in different models and they will delve into ways in which language practices in wider society and in education are shaped by language attitudes and ideologies. Strategies in the teaching of languages which involve separation of languages and ones which advocate for a more flexible use of language will be evaluated so that learners can make informed decisions as to which strategy to adopt in light of their objectives and students' needs. The approaches advocated by the plurilingual approach of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages will be examined and teaching activities which are led by an action oriented approach will be explored. It also aims to introduce the theory and practice of the intercultural component of language learning. Learning Outcomes: 1. Knowledge & Understanding: By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - demonstrate knowledge of the basic theoretical notions of modern language teaching by being able to analyze and illustrate them in writing; - describe and analyze cross-linguistic features of language teaching by providing examples from languages he/she is familiar with; - demonstrate knowledge of pedagogical strategies that are both language-specific and cross-linguistic by being able to reflect upon them in the light of the techniques used in the classroom; - Demonstrate knowledge of how research articles are generally structured by discussing and reflecting on them; - Demonstrate knowledge of the major research paradigms, epistemology, data collection methods, reporting and discussion of findings, contribution to research reflecting on them and applying them in practice; - Describe and analyze relationships between the sociolinguistic situation and language in education policies by engaging critically with such local and international policies; - Explore the ways in which language attitudes and ideologies shape language practices in wider society and in education; - Define the way bilingualism is conceptualised in different bilingual education models by reflecting on different strategies used in bilingual education; - Argue how translanguaging and language separation strategies can be used in the teaching of languages; - Demonstrate knowledge of the key principles guiding the plurilinguistic approach and the CEFR by engaging with these principles and applying them to language teaching and learning. 2. Skills: By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - Demonstrate that s/he possesses language teaching techniques which also consider features which are common to a number of modern languages by providing practical examples of how these can be implemented in the language class; - Identify different modes and their characteristics and apply them to create student-centred activities to use within the FL learning context. - Recognize the challenges and benefits encountered by FL teachers when adapting, creating and working with multimodal texts with mixed ability learning contexts. - Write a research proposal. - Demonstrate a knowledge of bilingual education which is influenced by the local sociolinguistic context. - Use translanguaging as a scaffolding strategy, in those instances where research has proven it to be beneficial to language learning. - Use language separation strategies to ensure that maximal input is provided in the target - language and devise strategies to scaffold such language use. - Apply the CEFR to the teaching and assessment of a language. - Explain and apply in his/her teaching the main orientations and methods of a task- and - project-based foreign language teaching approach. - Identify practical tasks that are guided by an action-oriented approach. - Apply an intercultural approach in the teaching of a language. Main Text/s and any supplementary readings: Main Texts: - Douglas Brown, H. (2014, 6th ed.), Principles of language learning and teaching: a course in second language acquisition, White Plains (MY), Pearson Education. (Available at the Library). - Lightbown, P. & Spada, N. (2013, 4th ed.), How languages are learned, Oxford, OUP. (Available at the Library). - Saville-Troike, M. & Barto, K. (2017, 3rd ed.), Introducing Second Language Acquisition, Cambridge, CUP. (Available at the Library). - Fei Victor Lim & Lydia Tan-Chia, 2022. Designing Learning for Multimodal Literacy: Teaching Viewing and Representing. Routledge Studies in Multimodality: London. (not available at the Library) - Gunther Kress. 16 Nov 2011, Multimodal discourse analysis from: The Routledge Handbook of Discourse Analysis Routledge (Available at the library) - Jewitt, C. (2009) The Routledge Handbook of Multimodal Analysis. London: Routledge Falmer (Available at the library) - Cenoz, J., & Gorter, D. (2022). Pedagogical Translanguaging and Its Application to Language Classes. RELC Journal, 53(2), 342–354. https://doi.org/10.1177/00336882221082751 (Available at the university library) - Council of Europe (2002). Common European Framework of Reference for Languages: Learning, Teaching, Assessment. Language examining and test development, Milanovic, M (Dir.), Strasbourg: Language Policy Division, (available online): https://rm.coe.int/16802fc1bf - Wei, L. & García, O. (2015). Translanguaging, Bilingualism, and Bilingual Education. In Wright, W. E., Boun, S., & García, O. (Eds) The Handbook of Bilingual and Multilingual Education (pp.223-240). Malden, MA: Wiley Blackwell. (Available at the university library) - Students will also be required to read recent journal articles, as instructed during the course. These are retrievable online or will be made available on VLE. - Research articles that will constitute the basis for the workshop will be made available on the study unit's VLE. |
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| STUDY-UNIT TYPE | Lecture and Workshop | ||||||||
| METHOD OF ASSESSMENT |
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| LECTURER/S | Sandro Caruana George Cremona Doreen Spiteri (Co-ord.) Lara Ann Vella |
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The University makes every effort to ensure that the published Courses Plans, Programmes of Study and Study-Unit information are complete and up-to-date at the time of publication. The University reserves the right to make changes in case errors are detected after publication.
The availability of optional units may be subject to timetabling constraints. Units not attracting a sufficient number of registrations may be withdrawn without notice. It should be noted that all the information in the description above applies to study-units available during the academic year 2024/5. It may be subject to change in subsequent years. |
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