On this page you will find information about your course, course registration and more. Here you will also find your course syllabus and the course timetable.
Period for course registration in Ladok: 15 August - 28 August.
If you do not register on time, you will lose your place on the course. Please contact your course administrator before the end of the registration period if you are experiencing problems with course registration.
If you are conditionally admitted you are not able to register on the course yourself.
| Course and application code | ENG803 12516 (distance) |
|---|---|
| Study period and pace | This course is a full-time course given between weeks 35-02 |
| Syllabus | |
| Reading list | |
| Timetable | |
| Course co-ordinator | Kavita Thomas E-mail: kavita.thomas@hig.se Telephone: 070-3630343 |
| Questions about registration and admission |
This course is our 61 to 90 cr. course in the English Studies Section. The first ten weeks of the semester you will study “Sociolinguistics and Second Language Acquisition” and “Literature and Literary Theory”. You will write the C-essay for the remainder of the term. Class meetings are online and literature module meetings will be held on Mondays from 14-16 while linguistics module meetings will be held on Wednesdays from 10-12. The course coordinator is Kavita Thomas (Kavita.Thomas@hig.se). You should register for the course well before the start of the course which is in week 35 on Monday 29 August. Once you register, you will be automatically enrolled on Canvas, our learning platform.
The linguistics module presents central concepts in two central areas of applied linguistics: second language acquisition and sociolinguistics. You will learn about and discuss the implications of the central concepts in these fields, exploring how they apply to your own observations. Furthermore, you will explore research involving these concepts and see how linguists study language phenomena in these two fields. In the second language acquisition part, you will learn about different theories of second language acquisition and about factors that can affect learning a foreign language. In the sociolinguistics part of the module you will learn about how social factors like gender and class can affect language and about how language can be used to define and express identity. The required textbooks are:
Wardhaugh, Ronald, An Introduction to Sociolinguistics, 7th edition, Blackwell, 2015. (Older editions are also fine). Available as an ebook from the University of Gävle library.
Coates, Jennifer, Women, Men and Language, 3rd ed, Routledge, 2016. (Older editions are also fine).
Mitchell, Rosamond, Myles, Florence and Marsden, Emma, Second Language Learning Theories, 4th edition, Routledge, 2019.
Gass, Susan M., Behney, Jennifer, Plonsky, Larry, Second Language Acquisition, an Introductory Course, 5th edition, Routledge, 2020.
The module will be taught through 10 seminars which students are expected to attend and participate actively in. There are a number of assessed written assignments which come to a total of 15-18 pages (4700-5700 words).
The Literature module serves as an introduction to some of the most influential developments in critical thinking. Peter Barry’s Beginning Theory: An Introduction to Literary and Cultural Theory, Fourth Edition (2017) (older editions are also fine) provides helpful starting points regarding the current breadth and complexity of literary and cultural studies. We will read five novels from a cultural and theoretical perspective. These texts are:
Crome Yellow by Aldous Huxley
Crossing the River by Caryl Phillips
Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller
Love Medicine by Louise Erdrich
Beloved by Toni Morrison
These works differ in narrative strategies, thematic emphases, and political orientation. Different critical “schools” will be presented and discussed in the seminars and, as a means of illustration, particular interpretive perspectives will be employed when examining fictional texts during the seminars. There will be five written assignments for the Literature course, one for each book we discuss
First class meetings
Your first meeting in literature will be on Monday 29 August 14:00-16:00 online at the following zoom classroom: https://hig-se.zoom.us/j/435983226
Prior to that meeting you should read Crome Yellow and have read the chapter on Marxism in Barry. If you have any questions, please get in touch with the literature instructor directly, Marko.Modiano@hig.se.
Your first meeting in linguistics will be on Wednesday 31 August 10-12. The reading and zoom link will be sent to you by email from the instructor Henrik.Kaatari@hig.se. Please contact him if you have questions.
On Canvas, you will find specific information, such as detailed course descriptions, class schedule, teaching materials, course requirements, discussion forums, and assignments. A great part of your work will be carried out via Canvas, too. It is therefore essential that you register, which will enroll you in the course on Canvas before the semester starts. Course registration opens two weeks before course start, in week 1. See the link to register at the start of this welcome letter. Once the module has started, you should check the course site on Canvas on a daily basis. Important information will be posted by your instructors on the first page of the course site (as “Announcements”).
All the meetings for this course are online, in "digital classrooms" via the web conferencing system Zoom. Access to the digital classrooms will be provided through links posted in the course site on Canvas. Please note that you need to have a headset, a microphone and a webcam so as to be able to fully participate in our Zoom sessions. You will find a user guide to Zoom and information about the software at .https://www.hig.se/Ext/En/University-of-Gavle/Library/Learning-Center/Web-meetings-with-Zoom.html
While studying the first two modules, you should think about the kind of research paper you want to write in the last 15-credit module. By the end of the first two modules, your course coordinator (Kavita Thomas) should know if you are going to write your paper in literature or in language studies. You will then be assigned an essay advisor who will work with you for the remainder of the course. Bear in mind that this is a full time course of study and you should expect to put in about 40 hours a week on the course. Please contact the course coordinator with questions on the course itself. You will find answers to your questions on the individual modules on the Canvas course site.
Log in to Canvas
Cheating and plagiarizing are serious academic offences, which result in failing the module in question and being reported to the college’s disciplinary commission. To learn about plagiarism and get basic information on how to avoid it.
You will also be asked to sign a plagiarism disclaimer in Canvas before you can access any of the course materials.
The course is given by the Faculty of Education and Business Studies.
You need to apply for accommodation yourself. Please remember to do it in good time before your arrival. The University of Gävle does not provide any student accommodation.
As a student at the University of Gävle you have the opportunity to install Microsoft Office on up to five computers. The Office package includes Word, Excel, Powerpoint, Outlook and Onenote.
The library is located in the middle of campus and is open to everybody. You can reach all digital resources such as e-books and e-journals after logging in with your user account.
At the Student Centre you will meet knowledgeable staff that can assist you in just about anything regarding your studies at the University of Gävle. The Student Centre is located in building 22. You will also find a café in this area and TV displays showing current information and the daily timetabling. If you have any study-related questions, you can contact the Student Centre at studentsupport@hig.se
Eduroam (EDUcation ROAMing) gives you access to the Internet when you are staying on the University campus. It also provides internet access at other universities and colleges that are connected to eduroam. Eduroam also works at many airports, railway stations and hotels.
