122042 PS Proseminar Linguistics 1 (BA) (2023W)

AIMS:
Students will be able to carry out a guided literature-based research project in English linguistics building on the knowledge acquired in the course.

CONTENTS:
Building on the introductory module (STEOP), this course discusses the basics and ethics of academic writing and research methodology with the help of hands-on examples from English linguistics. Students will be familiarised with basic concepts and fundamental problems in English phonetics and phonology. They will then individually investigate one selected topic and submit their findings in the form of a written paper.

In this course, students are made familiar with:
• Basic concepts and problems in English phonetics and phonology
• The basic principles and ethics of academic research
• Finding and evaluating academic sources
• The basic conventions of academic writing
• Selected resources and tools used in phonetic and phonological research

METHODS:
Reading, discussions, peer-group interaction, in-class and online exercises, lecturer input, autonomous research

PREREQUISITES FOR ATTENDING THIS COURSE:
As this course builds on knowledge and skills acquired during STEOP (ISL1 and Language Analysis), knowledge of basic concepts and related terminology in the field of English linguistics are taken for granted. Additionally, writing skills such as paragraphing (topic sentence, support, etc.) and having a clear line of argumentation will be expected, and a basic understanding of the structure of an in-text citation will prove helpful.

PLEASE NOTE: We strongly recommend that students complete ISL2 before taking PS1 - Phonetics & Phonology, since many of the concepts used in the PS1 are discussed in the ISL2 lecture. We also strongly suggest that students have completed at least ILSS1 before taking this course.