SKILLS FOR LANGUAGE SPECIALISTS - 2025/6

Module Overview

This module, delivered in English to students following French,Spanish and German degree programmes, is taught during semester 1 of FHEQ Level 4.  The module gives a broad introduction to linguistics including history and development of language, 1st language acquisition and 2nd language learning, types of teaching and learning, learning strategies and motivation. Students apply knowledge gained to write a reflective portfolio analysing their past and present language learning and future language learning plans.

 

Module provider

Literature & Languages

Module Leader

BANTMAN Constance (Lit & Langs)

Number of Credits: 15

ECTS Credits: 7.5

Framework: FHEQ Level 4

Module cap (Maximum number of students): N/A

Module Availability

Semester 1

Prerequisites / Co-requisites

None

Module content

Indicative content includes:

• Study skills


• ICT skills


• Information literacy


• Referencing and plagiarism


• Language and languages


• Signs and communication


• Language learning and language acquisition


• Introduction to general linguistics

Assessment pattern

Alternative Assessment

N/A

Assessment Strategy

The assessment strategy is designed to provide students with the opportunity to demonstrate

• ability to analyse and interpret texts


• ability to select and synthesise information from written and oral texts


• ability to take notes effectively and use IT skills to find and present relevant information


• reflection on your previous language learning


• the monitoring and record your own development


• identify learning goals and strategies


• application of relevant theories and principles to your own language learning


•  skills and knowledge acquired throughout the module (including presentation of written work, referencing, and bibliographies)

 

Thus, the summative assessment for this module consists of:

• Reflective Assignment (1000 words)
  The assignment consists of a reflective task concerning past, present and future language learning approaches and strategies.  It incorporates elements of the European Language Portfolio (ELP) developed by the Council of Europe.


• Examination  The examination is a 2-hour exam to allow assessment of knowledge of the module content

 

 

Formative assessment and feedback

• Formative assessment will focus on student participation and class discussions throughout the module.


• Students will be provided with detailed written feedback following coursework assignments.


• Verbal feedback will also occur in class and individual appointments if required.

Module aims

• This module aims to equip students with the skills and knowledge that will enable them to gain maximum benefit from their language studies, and to acquire a professional approach to their studies and to provide the tools to understand linguistic concepts and apply them to the languages they study in order to become better learners.

Learning outcomes

Methods of Teaching / Learning

The learning and teaching strategy is designed to:

• Enable students to acquire explicit knowledge of the linguistic structures, grammar and stylistic registers through attending classes and reading


• Encourage student participation and learner autonomy, through small group classes, reading outside contact hours and participating in seminars


• Develop research skills, through reading and presenting findings, through informal class presentations and in the
  assignment


• Enable students to engage in analytical and evaluative thinking, to analyse and interpret texts and other cultural products, through attending classes and engaging in individual study


• Develop communication skills through interactions in class

 

The learning and teaching methods include a combination of lecture materials, seminars, captured content, guided learning and independent learning. 

Students are expected to read extensively outside classes in order to follow lectures and participate in seminars.

Indicated Lecture Hours (which may also include seminars, tutorials, workshops and other contact time) are approximate and may include in-class tests where one or more of these are an assessment on the module. In-class tests are scheduled/organised separately to taught content and will be published on to student personal timetables, where they apply to taken modules, as soon as they are finalised by central administration. This will usually be after the initial publication of the teaching timetable for the relevant semester.

Reading list

https://readinglists.surrey.ac.uk
Upon accessing the reading list, please search for the module using the module code: LAN1001

Other information

Surrey's Curriculum Framework is committed to developing graduates with strengths in Employability, Digital Capabilities, Global and Cultural Capabilities, Sustainability and Resourcefulness and Resilience. This module is designed to allow students to develop knowledge, skills and capabilities in the following areas:

Resourcefulness & Resilience:  Students on this module are encouraged to engage in independent learning using a range of methods including personal reflection, group discussion and using reading and research skills to relate their previous and current language learning experiences to the theoretical underpinnings of this area, and to write reflectively about this language learning experience, considering how they may draw on and add it including consideration of ways in which they can continue to further develop their skills in this area. 

Sustainability: this module allows students to engage with the themes of cultural and linguistic sustainability through its consideration of language history and change with respect to both their first and additional languages. This work includes some consideration of languages which are no longer spoken and how this situation has come about, as well as currently endangered languages together with discussion of what is being done to protect and sustain them in practical as well as theoretic terms.

Digital Capabilities: The module is delivered by means of a ‘flipped learning’ approach, allowing students to engage digitally with captured content materials, including recorded lectures as well as other sources.  Students can progress through these materials at their own pace before discussing them in a face-to-face seminar setting, allowing for deeper processing and consideration of the input materials prior to discussion. Students learn to use the VLE for real-time in-class learning as well as guided learning and self-study activities so that they can unleash their learning potential.

Global & Cultural Capabilities:  The module supports the students in developing their knowledge of linguistics and then using this knowledge to inform their understanding of their target 2^nd languages and the broader cultures and traditions associated with these.  This approach is designed to foster an integrated awareness of the close links which exist between languages and the various cultural contexts in which they operate, and to encourage them to bring their own cultural knowledge and experience into the classroom.

Employability: The module provides students with the opportunity to consider different career paths involving languages, and to develop their ‘soft skills’ including discussion, communication and digital capabilities with both their upcoming placement year and their broader future as language experts in mind together with exposure to ways in which they might apply this expertise in the workplace, where the skills students have accrued in working closely with language and its applied usage and in understanding and engaging with the European Language Portfolio (ELP), for example, will be highly desirable to modern employers.

Programmes this module appears in

Please note that the information detailed within this record is accurate at the time of publishing and may be subject to change. This record contains information for the most up to date version of the programme / module for the 2025/6 academic year.