S: English Linguistics (Group B) - Winter 2023/24

Welcome to the Seminar "English Linguistics (Group B)"!

Mondays, 13.45-15:30, C46.233 (alt: 2/39/233)                     

First meeting: 16 October, 2023

Content

In this seminar, we will pick up topics from the corresponding lecture “Introduction to English Linguistics” and explore these in more detail. Taking a practical approach, students will work on different areas of Linguistics, such as semantics and contrastive linguistics. To deepen the understanding of these topics, students will complete exercises and take part in discussions about key questions of linguistics. Moreover, we will focus on how the learning of the linguistic components occurs. This course applies students' own knowledge and experience as language learners in practical activities to discover differences and similarities between German and English. In doing so, participants of the course will then be able to explain for example why many German learners of English struggle with pronouncing the “th”-sound correctly. Additionally, we will turn towards lexicography and discuss how linguistic components are featured in dictionaries and how dictionaries are used in different contexts of language use, e.g. learning or research.

Objectives

By the end of the course, students are able to ...

• ... demonstrate a comprehensive understanding of different areas of linguistics, including semantics and contrastive linguistics, through active participation in discussions and completion of exercises and assignments.
• ... correctly apply research skills common in the field of linguistics.
• ... analyze and contrast the linguistic components of German and English, utilizing their own knowledge and experience as language learners, to identify differences and similarities that may impact language acquisition and pronunciation.
  

Requirements for credits
PL: 3 written assignments during the semester (1-2 pages each, 2 weeks to complete each assignment), exam no. 71230