This course provides a broad introduction to general linguistics and the fundamental properties of human language shared by all language systems. It includes a survey of phonological, morphological, syntactic, and semantic structures of language, thus enabling students to investigate established theoretical premise for the linguistic description of natural languages and describe general grammatical properties of language universals in the light of the theory established. This course also equips students with some analytical tools and techniques for linguistic analysis and provides practice in using these scientific ways to discover the organizing principles underlying a language.

The course will examine some linguistic, behavioural, and neural aspects of language and speech in an English-as-a-second/foreign-language (ESL/EFL) or English-related bilingual context. Selected issues in speech perception, language comprehension and language production as well as the intermediate stages that comprise the language of thought will be considered. Special attention will be given to some current, representative models of discourse comprehension and production and their relevance to second language teaching and learning.

This course provides a survey of the relationship between social variables (e.g., age, gender, ethnicity, attitude, style, location, time, social status, power, politics, and network membership) and variations in language in use. Some key areas covered include language attitudes and choice, language maintenance and shift, code alternation, contact languages, standard and vernacular languages, language planning and policy, regional and social dialects, influences of age and gender on language in use, politeness theory, linguistic stereotyping, as well as culture and language. Sociolinguistic research methods are also introduced.

This course focuses on how English as a second/foreign language develops in the individual. It provides an overview of four general categories of current interests in the field; they are: 1) the internal mechanisms of learning a second language; 2) the impact of first language on second language learning; 3) the role of learners’ psychological and affective characteristics and other social and functional factors in second language learning; and 4) the acquisition of English phonology, syntax, semantics and pragmatics in the second language context. Selected current theories of second language acquisition are reviewed, with particular emphasis on their relevance to Chinese learners of English.

This course examines the relationship between language and intercultural communication theory, research, and practice to better understand communication between culturally diverse people. It addresses core concepts in this interdisciplinary area of study including: conceptions of culture and multiculturalism; the relationship between language, culture, power, and context; English as the primary language of intercultural/ international communication; language and identity (re)construction; race and ethnicity; generalizations and stereotypes; values, assumptions, and worldviews; non-verbal and verbal communication; intercultural relationship development; language/ culture shock and intercultural adaptation; and intercultural communicative competence.

A corpus (plural corpora) is body of written text and/or transcribed speech which can serve as a basis for linguistic analysis and description. This course explores the ways in which corpora can be used to study the frequency and distribution of linguistic items, as well as collocations, keywords, and register variation. Most of the lectures are followed by a practical session, during which students gain hands-on experience in using the corpora and software demonstrated and/or discussed in the lectures. The corpora used include the International Corpus of English (ICE), the British National Corpus (BNC), the Chinese Learner English Corpus (CLEC), and many others. Students will learn how to use standard text retrieval software, including WordSmith, ICECUP, and WMatrix. The course is heavily computer-oriented, but no programming skills are required.

This course provides a thorough introduction to common NLP techniques, focusing on how computers analyze, comprehend, produce, and process language. It incorporates a hybrid approach combining lecture segments, presentations, and hands-on activities to discuss how we can make use of various applications and programming codes (in Python) to facilitate research in (applied) linguistics and education. The modules that will be covered in the course include: introduction to language and computers, introduction to Python, preprocessing text, optical character recognition, speech to text, web scraping, frequency and n-gram, vector semantics and embeddings, part‑of‑speech tagging, constituency parsing, and dependency parsing. Crucially, students are expected to critically think about innovative ways to apply NLP techniques in (applied) linguistics and/or education.

This course examines the process of evaluation in second language learning. Evaluation refers to the systematic gathering of information for purposes of making value judgements about language learning programmes and the participants in these programmes. The methods of enquiry include observations, interviews, meetings, questionnaires, and testing. Public English proficiency examinations, both local and overseas, will be critically assessed. Key ideas in testing will be covered: validity and reliability; tests of global proficiency and of separate skills; particular problems with tests of listening and oral English; tests of communicative competence.

This course introduces students to major research methods in applied linguistics (e.g. qualitative, quantitative, mixed-method) and guide students through the basics of preparing their research proposals. Major topics of the course include the identification of research problems; the formulation of research questions; a critical review of relevant research literature; and the selection of appropriate research methods.

This course will introduce students to the field of teaching English for Specific Purposes (ESP) by exploring the primary context for ESP teaching and research (academic institutions of higher education, the workplace, and professional institutions and organizations). The course will examine the main issues and concepts related to the field in terms of their historical and discipline-specific relevance. Topics include the concepts of learner needs, target situation analysis, authenticity, discourse community, genres, and specialist knowledge. The course will equip students with a better understanding of how to design language programmes to suit the needs of a specific group of learners.

This course provides a survey of theory and practice in the teaching of English as an additional language. Topics include current and historical views of second language instruction, a survey of factors which affect the second language learning process, and the presentation of language learning and teaching models. Issues related to English language teaching in Chinese/Asian contexts are highlighted.

This course examines language from pragmatic and discourse analytic perspectives. Topics include speech act theory, conversational implicature, cross-cultural pragmatics, and politeness theory. Other topics include conversation analysis, discourse structure and segmentation, cohesion, coherence, and discourse and intertextuality. Students will have the opportunity to examine samples of real life language employing the approaches to analysis presented in the course.

This course focuses on current theories of writing and teaching writing and what they mean for EFL/ESL teachers. It introduces different methodologies, practices, and techniques commonly used in teaching L2 composition. It has a special focus on process and genre of writing as well as teacher and peer feedback in learning to write. It discusses the role of technology in promoting new models of writing classrooms. The course also has a practical aim of training how to design effective writing syllabuses, lessons, materials, and tasks to promote more effective writing. It emphasizes how to critically assess the effectiveness and appropriateness of sample syllabus.

This course enables students to understand the relationship between second language acquisition theories and computer applications to language learning (CALL) and gain familiarity with computer software and Internet resources available for English/second language teaching. Students learns to use computers and the Internet as teaching aids, design learning activities using a range of CALL software, and evaluate software and Internet resources for teaching purposes.

This course provides an opportunity for students to be exposed to some current developments in certain area of applied linguistic research in English. The topics vary according to the research expertise of the staff or the visiting academics.

Subject to the approval of the postgraduate linguistics coordinator, students are allowed to take the above course more than once and gain the units each time they pass the course. However, students cannot take courses with the same course code more than once in a single term.

This course focuses on topics in applied English linguistics which are not discussed in depth in other AEL postgraduate courses. The topics vary according to the expertise of the staff or visiting academics. Students are expected to develop an understanding of the topic through reading and discussion of related research and data analysis.

Subject to the approval of the postgraduate linguistics coordinator, students are allowed to take the above course more than once and gain the units each time they pass the course. However, students cannot take courses with the same course code more than once in a single term.

This course focuses on both the acquisition of a second language (L2) sound system and the teaching of L2 pronunciation. The first part of the course focuses on the acquisition of L2 phonology, and covers child first language (L1) acquisition, theories of L2 phonological acquisition, and linguistic and social factors affecting the acquisition and use of a L2 sound system. In the second part of the course, the foci is on the application of theory into practice, and examines models for English pronunciation teaching; goals, models, and issues in the development of a pronunciation curriculum; and practical guidelines for the teaching of vowels, consonants, and suprasegmentals.

This course provides an overview of the discipline of cognitive linguistics and its application in second language teaching. Cognitive linguists understand the language that we encounter every day as input from which we draw inferences about form-meaning relationships, typical patterns, and schemata. The course addresses core concepts in this area of study including: prototype, perspective, categorization, image schema, figure and ground, metaphor, metonymy, entrenchment, embodied cognition, gesture, construction grammar, attention and salience, and contingency learning. The course discusses how cognitive linguists design pedagogical methods and stimulate learners to explore the deeper meanings of grammatical forms.

This project-monitoring course aims to develop students’ basic academic skills through an independent, individual research project in a chosen area of applied English linguistics, guided by a supervisor. Students will be assessed through an oral presentation and a final written report of no more than 15,000 words.

Students who wish to enrol in the course should submit a 500-word proposal by the end of term 1 to seek prior approval from the MA in Applied English Linguistics programme team. The proposal should outline the research background, review key literature in the chosen topic, and describe the methodology adopted. Students should also have achieved a cumulative GPA of 3.3 or above in order to enrol in this course.

Prerequisite: ENGE5540 Research Methods in Applied Linguistics, which must be taken within the same academic year as this course.

(Note: This course may not be offered every year. In addition, the course will not be available for enrolment if ENGE5540 is not on offer in a particular year.)

Recognizing digital literacies as a social practice, this course highlights the differentiated, situated, and enculturated ways in which technology is used for diverse relational, informational, expressive, and recreational purposes. Beyond being a set of skills that support the needs of the knowledge economy, digital literacies are understood as practices that address new modes of productivity, representation, and sociality. Through the interplay of human and non-human interactants, technology has reshaped identities, communities, and relations of power, enabling social mobility, while also constructing new forms of inequality. By discussing current theory and research around digital literacies, this course illuminates how technology continues to transform the social landscape and examines the implications of these changes on language and literacy learning and the conceptualisation of 21st century competences.

Language Policy and Planning (LPP) studies the linguistic, sociocultural, economic, educational, and socio-political dimensions of decisions about the use, role, and status of languages across spaces. As an interdisciplinary field, LPP investigates how and why institutions, communities, and individuals create, negotiate, and implement language policies. This course aims to engage students in understanding and analysing the theories, research practices, impacts, and implications of LPP across spaces such as school/university, family, workplace, and public places. The course engages students in critical analyses of how language policies shapes language learning, socialization, identities (e.g., race, ethnicity, and social class), ideologies and inequalities. The major topics to be covered in the course are: language ideology, language education policy (including English as a medium of instruction and multilingual education), family language policy (FLP), agency in language policy, and linguistic landscape. Students will read research-based texts and participate in discussions to examine language policies from diverse world contexts, including minority language contexts.

Recognizing how second language acquisition (SLA) does not just involve cognitive, linguistic or psychological processes, this course examines how it is bound to and shaped by the social context in which these processes occur. By focusing on the social dimensions of L2 acquisition and learning, this course provides an overview of research strands such as Vygotskian sociocultural theory, language socialization, culture, identity, investment, and critical issues of race, ethnicity, gender, and social class. Because L2 acquisition and learning is mediated, embodied, situated and socially gated, multilingual learners continually negotiate their linguistic and semiotic resources as they navigate different contexts and perform diverse identities. By examining how the micro level of social activity is indexical of macrostructures of institutions, language policies, and cultural norms, language learning is ineluctably intertwined with issues of power, ideology, and inequality. This course weaves together these ideas into an integrative perspective of L2 acquisition that enables a critical understanding of real-world issues of language learning and teaching.

This course is designed to help students have a firm grasp of the fundamental theories of second language reading and thereby equip improved research and teaching skills. It begins with a discussion on the nature of reading and the differences between reading in first vs second languages. Then, various models of reading comprehension will be reviewed, including process models (bottom-up, top-down, and interactive) and component models (background knowledge, grammar, vocabulary, etc.). This course then reviews cognitive aspects of reading such as readers’ working memory, the relationship between reading rate and reading comprehension, and the impact of L1 orthographic system on L2 reading. In addition, this course delves into the pedagogical aspects of second language reading, such as the use of graded readers based on readability indices, the relationship between second language reading and second language acquisition, and lastly, how to better utilize tasks and technology in teaching second language reading.