Välkommen till kursen Engelska (61-90) 30 hp (distans)

Information från kursansvarig

The first ten weeks of the semester you will study “Sociolinguistics and Second Language Acquisition”, then “Literature and Literary Theory” until January 17. You will write the BA thesis (C-essay) during the spring semester. Class meetings will be online. Once you have registered for the course, you will be automatically enrolled in Canvas.

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 Literature module serves as an introduction to some of the most influential developments in literary studies. Peter Barry’s Beginning Theory: An Introduction to Literary and Cultural Theory, Fourth Edition (2017) and Lois Tyson’s Critical Theory Today. A User-Friendly Guide, Fourth Edition (2023) provide helpful starting points regarding the current breadth and complexity of literary and cultural studies. We will read four novels and a play from a cultural and theoretical perspective based on selected chapters from Barry and Tyson’s books:

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.

There will be five written assignments for the Literature course (1000-1200 words each). The purpose of these written tasks is to cultivate skills in critical reflection and academic writing in literary studies for you to prepare in the best possible way for writing the BA thesis. The module features oral assessments, too.

Students attending courses in English at the University of Gävle are required to attend class in order to receive a passing grade. Studying English at our college does not only involve obtaining subject knowledge but also improving one’s ability to speak and write in English. Furthermore, the modules feature face-to-face student-teacher and student-student interaction, and these live sessions are examination seminars according to the course syllabus. To pass the course, students must attend and actively participate in at least eight meetings in each of the two modules.
In the linguistics module, classes will be held every Tuesday, from 14 to 16. The literature classes will be held every Monday, from 14 to 16. There are no written examinations that require you to book a seat at the University of Gävle or another exam venue.

In Canvas, you will find specific information, such as detailed module descriptions, class schedules, teaching materials, course requirements and assignments. You will find all this information gathered in one document we may refer to as the “module syllabus.” A great part of your work will be carried out via Canvas, too. 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 course site. If you have questions about the course in general, contact the course coordinator. If you have questions about a module, you should contact the instructor of that module. To communicate with us, please use a proper e-mail account rather than the Canvas messenger.

All the meetings for this course are online; most of our classes will take place in "online classrooms" via the web conferencing system Zoom. Access to the digital classrooms will be provided through links posted on the course site on Canvas. Please note that you need to have a headset, a microphone and a webcam to be able to fully participate in our Zoom sessions. At any rate, use a computer instead of an iPad, tablet, or cellphone, which does not work well for this activity. See also these rules and guidelines for student participation in online classes: https://www.hig.se/download/18.21fe87d518ee72dec5d2d9ab/1713701568605/HIG_Digital_undervisning_SVE.pdf.

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. A 30-minute information meeting about the BA thesis (C-essay) will be scheduled in December. By the end of the semester, your course coordinator (Iulian Cananau) 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 during the spring semester.

Cheating and plagiarizing, including presenting or submitting AI-generated text as one’s own, are serious academic offences, which result in failing the course and being reported to the college’s disciplinary commission. In Canvas, you are required to take a knowledge test about cheating before you can access certain course materials.