2017/18 Undergraduate Module Catalogue

LING3310 Interactional Linguistics

20 creditsClass Size: 12

Module manager: Dr Leendert Plug
Email: l.plug@leeds.ac.uk

Taught: Semester 1 (Sep to Jan) View Timetable

Year running 2017/18

Pre-requisite qualifications

Either
ENGL1020 English Structure and Style
OR
ENGL1030 Foundations of Language Study
OR
LING1070 Linguistics 1
OR
MODL1060 Language Structure and Sound

This module is mutually exclusive with

LING2420

Interactional Linguistics

This module is approved as a discovery module

Module summary

This module introduces students to the study of language in interaction. To fully understand linguistic structure and phonetic detail, we must understand how they are used by actual speakers in interactions with other speakers. We must pay careful attention to how verbal interactions are organised, to the actions that speakers try to accomplish in them, and to how they use linguistic and phonetic resources in doing so.This module covers core concepts of conversation analysis and allows students to do independent research into how linguistic structures and patterns of use are shaped by, and themselves shape, interaction.

Objectives

This module aims to:
(1) acquaint students with the main issues that the discipline of interactional linguistics seeks to address: what are the linguistic building blocks of spoken interaction, and how do interactants use linguistic and phonetic resources to achieve interactional aims?
(2) cover core conversation-analytic concepts, such as turn-taking, sequence and preference organisation, and repair, from a linguistic perspective;
(3) explore the relationship between interactional linguistics and other areas of inquiry, such as psycholinguistics and language acquisition;
(4) develop students' analysis skills through the practical analysis of interactional data;
(5) develop students' writing and research skills through an assessed project involving the recording, transcription and analysis of a short conversation.

Learning outcomes
On completing this module, students should be:
(1) acquainted with the aims and methods of interactional linguistic research;
(2) acquainted with core concepts in conversation analysis and their relationship to linguistic structure and patterns of use;
(3) able to analyse the use of linguistic and phonetic resources by interactants in a range of settings;
(4) able to undertake independent research in the area of interactional linguistics through recording, transcribing and analysing a short conversation.

Skills outcomes
In addition to gaining an understanding of core concepts in interactional linguistics, students will learn how to record and transcribe interactional data following conversation-analytic conventions, and how to analyse the use of linguistic and phonetic resources by interactants.

Moreover, students will learn to engage with recent research literature in the fields of conversation analysis and interactional linguistics.

Syllabus

This module provides a basic grounding in interactional linguistics, a subdiscipline of linguistics which studies the linguistic organisation of spoken interaction. The module comprises a lecture programme and a practical programme, running in parallel.

The first half of the lecture programme covers core conversation-analytic concepts and discusses how they relate to traditional linguistic categories.

The second half discusses a number of case studies in detail, based on published research literature, and explores implications of interactional linguistic research for our understanding of how language processing and development work.

The first half of the practical programme covers crucial methodological issues, and the second half revolves around original research that the students undertake.

Teaching methods

Delivery type	Number	Length hours	Student hours
Lecture	15	1.00	15.00
Seminar	5	1.00	5.00
Private study hours			180.00
Total Contact hours			20.00
Total hours (100hr per 10 credits)			200.00

Private study

(1) Preparing for lectures (reading): 15x5 hours = 75 hours
(2) Preparing for seminars (practical analysis): 5x4 hours = 20 hours
(3) Preparing a formative transcription exercise: 10 hours
(4) Preparing an assessed analysis exercise: 20 hours
(5) Preparing for a recording, transcription and 2,500-word project report: 55 hours

Opportunities for Formative Feedback

Students will be given informal feedback and individual help during 'workshop' sessions where relevant, and they will receive written feedback on a formative transcription exercise if they complete it. They will also receive written feedback on the first assessed assignment. Students will be given informal feedback on seminar presentations, and guidance on how to develop their analysis for the purpose of the final assessed report.

Methods of assessment

Coursework

Assessment type	Notes	% of formal assessment
Report	2,500 word project report	70.00
Practical	Conversation analysis exercise	30.00
Total percentage (Assessment Coursework)		100.00

Normally resits will be assessed by the same methodology as the first attempt, unless otherwise stated

Reading list

The reading list is available from the Library website

Last updated: 02/03/2018 17:22:53

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