Specialist seminar 4

In the course the students gain further knowledge and experience in the process of compiling, analyzing and discussing data within applied linguistics. They finalise their M.A. thesis writing process.

The major aim of the Specialist seminar 4 course is to support, direct and supervise the participants' process of finalising writing their MA Thesis. The students acquire knowledge and skills preparing them for independent work in the sense of searching for and critically assessing academic sources in order to be able to select, describe and analyze a research problem for their MA thesis. This course includes discussions on

• Validity of one’s own empirical research

• Implications of the research for future studies

• Recommendations of one’s own research for the EFL classroom

A selection of articles from academic journals and books in applied linguistics.

Dörnyei, Z. & Ryan, S. (2015). The psychology of the language learner evisited. New Yor/London: Routledge.

Dörnyei, Z. (2005). The psychology of the language learner. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.

Ellis, R. (2008). The study of second language acquisition. Second edition. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Knowledge

Students:

1. have the ordered knowledge of the English language at C2 level; know the lexical-grammatical and stylis-tic rules of the English language, and the rules of the selection of means for expressing specific types of in-formation s-W-1

2. have the knowledge of literary linguistic terminology, with the focus on Second Language Acquisition theories s-W-2

Skills

Students:

3. have the ability to search for, analyze, select and use information utilizing various sources and methods, s-U-1

4. are able to use the English language in writing and speaking with relative fluency, accuracy and commu-nication efficiency in a wide range of academic topics s-U-2

Social competences

Students:

5. can specify the priorities for the implementation of their goals and tasks designated by others s-K-1,

6. shape their own views on the basis of the gained general and detailed knowledge s-K-2

Class attendance and participation in class discussions (20%) –outcomes: 1,2,5,6

Individual reading assignments (20%) - outcomes: 3, 6

Submitting chapters of an MA thesis (60%) - outcomes: 1,2,3,4,6