2022/23 Taught Postgraduate Module Catalogue

EDUC5049M Education, Language and Society

30 creditsClass Size: 25

Module manager: Professor Maggie Kubanyiova
Email: m.kubanyiova@leeds.ac.uk

Taught: Semester 1 (Sep to Jan) View Timetable

Year running 2022/23

Pre-requisite qualifications

Baclground and/or interest in linguistics, language education, or related.

This module is not approved as an Elective

Module summary

This module is designed for students who have a background and/or interest in linguistics, language education or related domains and seek to develop substantial knowledge and skills in researching the role of language in education and in society. The module will introduce you to selected contemporary debates in second language acquisition, sociolinguistics and language education with a particular emphasis on social, political and ethical frameworks of inquiry. We will study a range of formal and informal settings in which people of diverse biographies learn, teach and use language to communicate with one another: classrooms, schools, families, neighbourhoods, or social media. The module will encourage you to critically assess this research in relation to broader societal questions of diversity, justice and inclusion and to develop proposals for ethical language education practice. The module is designed to be flexible to reflect the School of Education’s latest international research in language education and to respond to the module participants’ specific sociocultural and educational settings. The content is curated to introduce you to ethnographic, discursive, narrative and artistic approaches to language education research. It will equip you with methodological and analytical tools to conduct your own original data-based project as part of assessment. This module is particularly suitable for students with a future ambition to make a substantial contribution to knowledge, policy or practice through further research (e.g. PhD).

Objectives

On completion of this module, students should be able to:
By the end of this module, participants will be able to:
1. Develop understanding of the scope and remit of language research in relation to education and broader societal issues, such as diversity, inclusion, justice, global movement and digitisation.
2. Engage with social, ethical and political frameworks in current research in second language acquisition, sociolinguistics, language teaching, language teacher education, language in education and language policy.
3. Critically assess contributions from other domains of social sciences and arts and humanities (e.g. philosophy, political science, sociology, communication studies, arts) to the study of language use of individuals and communities in diverse societies and across educational settings.
4. Develop methodological and analytical tools for an independent systematic inquiry into selected aspects of language research, with a particular emphasis on anthropological, ethnographic, narrative, discursive and artistic approaches.
5. Reflect on implications for ethical and critical approaches to language education practice and language policy.

Learning outcomes
1. Demonstrate awareness of the relevance of language research in relation to contemporary global debates in education and in society.
2. Critically assess emerging ethical research agendas in second language acquisition, sociolinguistics and language education in relation to own sociocultural and educational settings.
3. Make appropriate interdisciplinary connections to other fields of study.
4. Develop an original small-scale data-based inquiry into relevant aspects of language use or language education.
5. Apply relevant methodological and analytical tools to analyse and present original language data.
6. Propose practical implications for language education practice and/or policy in relation to own sociocultural and educational settings.

Syllabus

Indicative content
The module draws on selected debates in second language acquisition, sociolinguistics and language education. It is designed to be flexible to reflect the School of Education’s latest international research in language education and to respond to the module participants’ specific sociocultural and educational settings.

1. Introduction: Language, education and inclusive society
2. Social and ethical frameworks of language and meaning making
3. Multimodal, multilingual and mobile spaces of language education
4. Language ideologies, linguistic diversity and educational praxis
5. Multilingual communication as negotiation of social identity and power
6. Multilingual communication as interactional achievement
7. Language education as relational practice
8. Moral and political dimensions of language teacher education
9. Critical reflections on language policy and social justice
10. Interdisciplinary directions for researching language, education and society

Teaching methods

Delivery type	Number	Length hours	Student hours
Fieldwork	10	3.00	30.00
Group learning	10	3.00	30.00
Lecture	10	1.00	10.00
Seminar	10	1.00	10.00
Tutorial	1	2.00	2.00
Independent online learning hours			100.00
Private study hours			118.00
Total Contact hours			82.00
Total hours (100hr per 10 credits)			300.00

Private study

Independent online learning: teaching and learning will utilise the VLE and the Library. Learning activities and resources will be provided on the VLE. Discussion Boards and Journals will be used to facilitate students sharing and discussing aspects of their learning. Online learning will be supported in the seminars (face-to-face and online).
Private study time will be spent in preparing for the portfolio tasks and for the module research-based assignment.

Opportunities for Formative Feedback

Monitoring of students’ progress will be via
• Their contribution to seminars (readings, group tasks, etc.)
• Their engagement with class material through VLE tools
• Their submission of regular portfolio tasks.
• Their submission of the final module assignment outline.

Methods of assessment

Coursework

Assessment type	Notes	% of formal assessment
Essay	4000 words	80.00
Portfolio	A range of regular reflective, analytical and data-based tasks submitted electronically throughout the term and assessed on an ongoing basis in a flexible format (tutor feedback, peer review, class discussion)	20.00
Total percentage (Assessment Coursework)		100.00

Students will produce a 4,000-word small-scale independent research inquiry into a relevant topic of their choice. The purpose is to demonstrate their capacity to make an original contribution to research and/or practice. They will be guided towards their focus through their online, group and portfolio learning tasks. The portfolio will contain a range of short tasks submitted electronically and assessed on an ongoing basis through class discussions, peer reviews and/or tutor feedback. The portfolio element is designed to support students’ engagement with the module material and to assist them in developing their final module assignment. Active participation in portfolio tasks throughout the module is essential as resits will not be permitted on this portfolio-based mode of assessment.

Reading list

The reading list is available from the Library website

Last updated: 24/05/2022

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