Postgraduate Language and Linguistics 2016-2017

The course is based on supervision of practical experience. Students and supervisors select texts to be translated and discuss approaches and other practical issues. The remainder of the course is dedicated to self-directed study, in which the students compile a portfolio of work. Feedback on the portfolio is discussed in detail with the supervisor. Additional translations are set beyond the portfolio itself, giving students the opportunity to enhance and polish their skills with a wider range of materials. Students will normally be translating one document per week and will receive oral feedback.

The course introduces and critically evaluates some of the major concepts in translation theory, focusing on their application to translation practice. It analyses translation as a social and cultural phenomenon. It will also introduce to selected key concepts and approaches in interpreting theory and practice. Students will develop the skills necessary to reflect critically on their own translation practice in order to enhance its breadth and sophistication. In the second semester, the course will also provide training in research methodology in preparation for the dissertation.

This course equips students to edit, revise and review translated documents in a professional context. Topics will include study of and practice in stylistic, structural and content editing; quality assurance processes expected in professional-standard translating; a critical understanding of the role of the editor/reviser/proof-reader and reviewer in a professional context and of all stages of the editing and reviewing process.

This course introduces the theoretical frameworks used in analysing communication, enabling students to investigate social interaction, power relations, and the ways in which language is used in a variety of contexts. It provides a grounding in the precise analysis of language use, which will enable students to go on to investigate communication in a range of professional contexts during the MLitt programme.

This course will focus on key concepts, hypotheses and models related TESOL-oriented theories of learning, including behaviourist, cognitive and socio-cultural perspectives. The structure of this course will facilitate development of and reflection on teaching beliefs and teaching philosophy. Strengths and weaknesses of common learning theories will be identified and their applicability to the English language teaching context will be examined.

This course will focus on how to critically read and reflect on TESOL research. Students will develop their ability to critically aranalyse an article’s structure and content. They will also develop their ability to read academic articles more effectively by analysing what information can be found in sections of a typical research article on TESOL. In the process of analysing research articles, students will be encouraged to develop and reflect on their beliefs about teaching pedagogy and how these beliefs relate to recent research findings.

Students will explore a range of approaches to Teaching English as a Second or Other Language, tracing a change of focus from traditional grammar translation to a greater emphasis on meaning, communication and context. Parallel to this is how these approaches have impacted on classroom practice with regard to teaching the language skills, grammar and lexis.

In this course a range of theories for exploring cultural norms and practices will be explored. Cultural Dimension Theory, Cross Cultural Pragmatics and Language socialization will be considered core areas of study. Other areas of relevance that will be covered and discussed include:  Social Identity Theory and Language, English as a Lingua France—the effects of Globalisation on language policy and communication, Intercultural Communication in Specific Professional Contexts, Intercultural Communication in Health Care—The case of migrant patients and native speaker Doctors/health care staff, Intercultural Communication in Business Meetings—overcoming cultural barriers and negotiating meaning.

This course is based on supervision of practical experience. Students and supervisors will select texts to be translated and discuss approaches and other practical issues. The remainder of the course is dedicated to self-directed study, in which students compile a portfolio of work. Feedback on the portfolio is discussed in detail with the supervisor. Additional translations are set beyond the portfolio itself, giving students the opportunity to enhance and polish their skills with a wider range of materials. Students will normally be translating one document per week and will receive oral feedback.

The course combines practical, theoretical and analytical work, to enable students to engage with the concepts involved in literary translation, in terms of both theory and practice. Students will study theory and criticism of literary translations and will explore the dynamics between existing translations and their source texts. Students will also be engaged in translating creative writing and commenting on their own practice and choices.

English is spoken around the world in a range of often very different ways within strikingly different cultures. Yet we generally teach students of English as a Second or Other Language using a small number of pronunciation models with only Standard English as the variety used. When Second Language users of English arrive in an English-speaking country or meet native speakers who normally use a variety different from the learners’ models, they are often surprised and confused by the diversity in language they find. This course introduces you to a range of varieties of English, building your knowledge of how they work linguistically and how you can pass this knowledge on to your students. Knowledge of the diversity of English will make you more attractive to your future employers.

Through a process of observation, delivery and reflection, learners will develop the ability to plan and teach coherent and structured lessons which meet stated aims and objectives. This will consolidate content covered in the TESOL methodology course.  

This course will identify various audiences, appropriate content and ways of communicating within organisations and institutions, with particular focus on the energy industry, law and law enforcement, emergency services and healthcare.  It will identify various purposes, types and modes of communication within organisations and institutions and consider communication plans as part of organisational and institutional strategic plans.

English may be analysed at various levels, from the study of individual speech sounds, to investigation of the structure of words, sentences and whole texts. This course will cover each of these levels of linguistic analysis to an advanced level and enable students to apply these skills in a variety of contexts from the teaching of English as a second language to the analysis of language variation in different social contexts.

This course equips students with a critical appreciation of the role that technology can play in certain domains of translation, and equips them to use such technologies in a variety of contexts.  Students will use different software/cloud-based technologies to construct termbases, translation memories, deliver translated texts and make use of the various quality-assurance tools and task reports that such technology offers. The course will also explore machine translation technologies, and the import and export of files between different software/cloud packages.

The course introduces and critically discusses the roles and processes involved in professional translation. Topics studied will vary from year to year, but are likely to include at least some of the following: project management, marketing one’s services as a freelance translator; career and entrepreneurial opportunities for language specialists; fee structures and pricing for freelance translators; working for agencies and large organizations; professional ethics; client communication; pitching translation projects to publishers; evaluation of networking, professional organizations and CPD opportunities for translators; translation and the law.

​This course will give students an in-depth understanding of the way children and adults develop second language in different learning conditions. It allows students to develop their skills in the linguistic analysis of processes that are involved in the learning of second language phonetics, morphology, lexis, syntax, semantics and pragmatics. Common SLA and TESOL-related myths will also be identified and examined.

The course will provide an introduction to the theory and practice of qualitative and quantitative research in TESOL. It will focus on the research methods that are frequently used in TESOL research and that are appropriate for postgraduate research, but it will enable students to develop practical research skills which are applicable in a range of different fields. Quantitative research methods are introduced in conjunction with training in how to use a statistical package (SPSS) to analyse data. This course will give students the opportunity to develop a deeper understanding of TESOL-related research and areas of debate. ​

​Healthcare Communication is growing area of research and patient care and satisfaction are more important than ever. This course aims to address barriers to effective communication across a range of healthcare contexts by examining authentic data and current research in the area. Topics such as Risk Communication, Patient Centred Communication, Professional Identity Development and Multidisciplinary Team working will be covered on the course.

 As Education is becoming increasingly globalised more and more people are studying through a second language . To meet the needs of these learners a distinct form teaching EAP has been developed.

The course will take  a historical look at the development of English for Specific Purposes and the impact it has had on current EAP practice.

This course requires students to prepare a 12,000 word dissertation. By the end of the course students will have learned how to understand, synthesize and present data in an intelligent and intelligible fashion. Through guidance and supervision they will develop their academic writing skills in order to write and present an extended dissertation on a topic relevant to the course.

This course leads to the production of a portfolio of reflective and informed pieces analysing both the student’s own and others’ teaching practice in line with what has been learned throughout the programme.  Students will gain hands-on teaching practice under the supervision of highly qualified personnel; the experience will then be analysed and related to relevant theory and methodology. Students will gain a sense of what planning and executing a programme of TESOL teaching will involve. This portfolio is a unique feature of the Aberdeen MSc in TESOL and gives a strongly practical flavour to the degree as a whole.

In this course, with guidance and supervision, students will present one of the following: an extended critical empirical study of, or sustained argument on an aspect of translation or interpreting studies; a critical evaluation of an existing published translation of appropriate length and complexity; a suitably extensive and challenging original translation with accompanying critical commentary.

If you want to carry out in-depth research on a single topic within the field of TESOL, this is the course for you. You will be given regular support and supervision from experts in their fields on how your research should be carried out.