Applied Linguistics MA (Distance Learning)

You will study three core modules:

The study of lexis is the study of vocabulary in all its different aspects. Vocabulary is typically seen as individual words, whereas lexis is a somewhat wider concept and consists of collocations, phraseology and formulaic expressions. In this module you will start by considering questions such as: what is a word, what isn’t a word, where does a word stop and a phrase begin? The module also looks at the mental lexicon, how words are stored in the brain and how the mental lexicon works.

The module also covers topics such as:

• How words are used to label and order things
• How culturally specific this whole area of study can be
• The relationship between words and their meaning, e.g. synonymy, antonym etc.
• The process of word formation and how words actually appear in the language and how they are coined
• We also consider the importance and ubiquity of multiword units, lexicalised sequences and lexical bundles
• The implications that findings of recent corpus based research have for the teaching of lexis.

Assessment: 4,000-word essay

This module offers advanced studies in Sociolinguistics – which are mainly concerned with the relationship between linguistics and social domains. You will consider the relationship between language and society i.e. the interaction between the social domain on one hand, and the linguistic domain on the other. The module will also examine the ways in which language varies, both according to the user and the way it is used, the purpose and context in which language is used and its social implications. These relationships are multi-faceted and highly complex, but may be seen in two overarching general principles: (i) the recognition that language is fundamentally a social phenomenon; (ii) that language is subject to change and variation.
Assessment: 4,000-word essay

This module provides an introduction to key concepts in spoken and written discourse, techniques of analysis, and pedagogic applications of these. The module will enable you to discuss the differences between spoken and written discourse, and those between language use inside the classroom and that in the world outside. You will also be able to analyse and describe spoken and classroom discourse and textual patterns which occur frequently in English, and critically assess the relevance of text and discourse analysis to language teaching. Ultimately, the module will enable you to apply techniques of discourse analysis appropriately to your own pedagogic practice.
Assessment: 4,000-word essay

You will also choose three optional modules from a range which typically includes:

• Corpus Linguistics
• English Language Teaching Management
• Functional Grammar
• Language and New Media
• Language Teaching Methodology
• Language Testing
• Multimodal Communication
• Pedagogic Grammar
• Second Language Acquisition
• Syllabus and Materials Design
• Teaching Language to Young Learners

For more information, see our distance learning module descriptions.

In addition to your taught modules, you will conduct a piece of independent research with the support of a supervisor, culminating in a 15,000-word dissertation.

Please note that the optional module information listed on the website for this programme is intended to be indicative, and the availability of optional modules may vary from year to year. Where a module is no longer available we will let you know as soon as we can and help you to make other choices.