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LANG2161: Everyday English Discourse

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Type	Open
Level	2
Credits	20
Availability	Not available in 2024/2025
Module Cap
Location	Durham
Department	Durham Centre for Academic Development

Prerequisites

Students must be Erasmus students, non-native speakers of English with an overall estimated IELTS level of 6.0 or above or equivalent, or exchange students with a similar level of English

Corequisites

None

Excluded Combinations of Modules

None

Aims

to provide students with an understanding of the features of conversation and media discourse, focusing specifically on English texts, text types and trends
to raise students awareness of text features influenced by factors such as gender, mode and location of interaction and technology, which are all also causing language change over time
to help students develop their awareness of representations of views and information in the media
to examine some key institutions and values with a view to facilitating understanding of contemporary personal and political discourse in the UK and make the first two aims (listed above) possible
to provide opportunities for students to develop their English speaking and reading skills in terms of both comprehension and criticality

Content

students will consider what conversation is, what its features are and how it is typically structured
students will explore how issues such as gender, context and technology influence features of discourse
students will learn about features of newspapers and other media sources (eg headlines, names, syntax, text types within newspapers - either print or online) with a view to increasing their criticality and enhancing their ability to engage productively in conversations about current affairs, personal matters and general topics
cultural concepts relevant to material studied will also be studied, as required, so as to facilitate analysis and discussion

Learning Outcomes

Subject-specific Knowledge:

by the end of the module students will be able to:
identify features of spoken language and discuss structural aspects of conversation
identify features of media discourse which reveal key aspects of the text, such as probable target readership and/or author bias
demonstrate an awareness of features of spoken or written discourse

Subject-specific Skills:

by the end of the module students will be able to:
critically analyse both spoken and written text types (particularly conversations) in terms of theoretical principles
critically analyse features of media discourse and media content

Key Skills:

demonstrate an increased awareness of their own conversational performance and preferences in English
demonstrate an increased awareness of context, author voice and intention in spoken and written media discourse

Modes of Teaching, Learning and Assessment and how these contribute to the learning outcomes of the module

the module is delivered through seminar-style classes that meet once a week
contact time will be used to introduce new material through short lectures, short videos and other media as required
In preparation for classes students will be set reading, listening and writing tasks; during classes there will be an emphasis on participation in pair-work and group discussion
self-access technologies (DUO) will be used to extend classroom learning
the assessment is designed to test students' ability to critically reflect on spoken texts (specifically conversations) and/or awareness of context, author voice and intention in spoken and written media discourse

Teaching Methods and Learning Hours

Activity	Number	Frequency	Duration	Total	Monitored
Seminars	20	1 per week	2 hours	40	Yes
Preparation and Reading				160
Total				200

Summative Assessment

Component: Term 1 Essay		Component Weighting: 50%
Element	Length / Duration	Element Weighting	Resit Opportunity
Write a commentary on a specific spoken or written text involving only native speakers of English and produced within the last six months	2,000 words	100

Component: Term 2 Essay		Component Weighting: 50%
Element	Length / Duration	Element Weighting	Resit Opportunity
Write a commentary on a different type of specific spoken or written text, again involving only native speakers of English and produced within the last six months. See the notes below on the kind of text you can focus on	2,000 words	100

Formative Assessment

Students will have an opportunity to submit part of their assignment or essay plan each term for some initial feedback and guidance

More information

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