ÅU ENG - Written Communication and Foreign Language Acquisition (BASF/BATV) (fall 2023)

This course's Foreign Language Acquisition part is an introduction to foreign language acquisition and teaching. This course will explore current language acquisition theories and approaches to teaching English as a foreign language. The course introduces you to central language acquisition theories and links these with teaching approaches that focus on building communicative competence. We will explore the role of learners’ individual differences and learning contexts and discuss different approaches to language teaching in the classroom. A central aim of the course will be to investigate how the teacher can create an optimal language learning environment building on a communicative approach. We will survey language teaching methodologies to explore different approaches. Drawing on recent research literature, we will critically assess the effectiveness of language teaching approaches within increasingly culturally and linguistically diverse educational contexts. Through exploring Second Language Acquisition research, you will develop the ability to discuss and evaluate empirical language research. The course we will build on a mixture of lectures, group work, student presentations, and discussions. The course book: Second Language Learning Theories: Fourth Edition by Mitchel, Myles, and Marsden (2019) will be supplemented by selected research articles.

The Written Communication part of the course is an introduction to the fundamentals of academic reading and writing and the basics of grammatical analysis and linguistic variation. Reading, analyzing, and writing academic texts are central activities for students learning English. This module follows a hands-on approach in which you will further develop your language skills by analyzing different text types, genres, and registers. A process-based approach will guide you through writing essays by drafting and redrafting them based on peer feedback as well as providing your own feedback.

The course will provide a foundational introduction to grammar analysis and linguistic variation to foster your reading and writing skill development and prepare you for more advanced analyses later in the program. The course we will build on a mixture of lectures, group work, student presentations, and discussions. For our grammar focus we will use the compendium Elementary Sentence Analysis and Other Topics in English Grammar. In addition, we will be reading selected chapters from different textbooks on academic reading and writing.