Linguistic Analysis Courses Taught in the Applied Linguistics and Technology program.
ENGL 516 Methods of Formal Linguistic Analysis
Data and knowledge structures for formal representation of natural language and speech data. Designing and implementing algorithms for automating linguistic analysis tasks. Conceptual issues for natural language and speech processing programming.
ENGL 520 Computational Analysis of English
Concepts and practices for analysis of English by computer with emphasis on the applications of computational analysis to problems in applied linguistics such as corpus analysis and recognition of learner language in computer-assisted learning and language assessment.
Discourse analysis is concerned with making sense of how language is used in the wider communicative context, and focuses on varying aspects of language, from structural characteristics, to the way that texts are organized and constructed to create meaning, to socio-cultural interpretations that relate speakers, writers, and communicative events. This course explores text linguistic approaches to discourse analysis, such as corpus-based discourse analysis, register analysis, genre or ‘move’ analysis, conversation analysis, and systemic functional analysis. Students will be learn about and practice these approaches to the analysis of texts while exploring topics such as information structure, coherence and cohesion, pragmatics, register/genre variation, and classroom discourse, in both spoken and written language.
ENGL 537 Corpus Approaches to Grammatical Analysis
This course focuses on the analysis of grammar using authentic, representative language data and methodologies from corpus linguistics. Using a major corpus-based reference grammar paired with hands-on analyses, students will explore language in terms of its form, grammatical function and discourse function, in conjunction with how grammar varies across register. Students will develop skills in analyzing complex clauses in English to identify the structure and role of each component part, and will gain practical experience in using corpus methodologies to learn about grammar in language use. Although the course focuses primarily on English, the techniques and methods practiced in the course can be applied to the grammar of any language. As a secondary goal, students will also explore different approaches to grammar that are often paired with corpus-based analyses to contribute to practice, research, and theory in applied linguistics, such as Systemic Functional Grammar and Pedagogical Grammar.
ENGL 630 Seminars in Applied Linguistics and Technology: Analysis of Learner Language
This seminar introduces Systemic Functional Linguistics (SFL) as a discourse analytic approach to exploring the development of learner language. The course will address the basic theory of SFL and will provide practice analyzing learner and non-learner texts (including literature), with the goal of understanding how SFL can be used in formative/summative assessment of oral and written discourse, and how it can help describe differences in texts in terms of the content, the organization, and how relationships are established between the speaker/writer and the listener/reader. The course will also introduce an SFL-based corpus tool.
ENGL 630 Seminars in Applied Linguistics and Technology: Corpus Linguistics
This seminar focuses on corpus linguistics methodologies for analyzing large samples of authentic language. The first part of the course considers foundational concepts in corpus linguistics methodologies: corpus design and representativeness, quantitative research designs for corpus data, analysis tools (from concordancers to specialized computer programs), and the definition of language varieties (registers, genres, text types). The second part of the course surveys the major types of corpus analysis as applied in current research on lexis and phraseology, grammar, lexico-grammar, discourse, learner language, and register variation. The third part of the course focuses on multi-dimensional analysis, including the theory and assumptions underlying this analytical approach and the steps required to carry out and interpret multi-dimensional analyses. Computer programming knowledge is not required for the course. However, students with this experience will have opportunities to apply and build on programming skills they may have been developing in courses such as English 516 and 520.
ENGL 630 Seminars in Applied Linguistics and Technology: Corpus Linguistics & Language Teaching
This seminar focuses on corpus linguistics and its applications to language teaching. Students in the course will explore theories and principles for applying corpus linguistics findings and methods to language teaching and learning, as well as gain practical experience in creating corpus-based materials and activities. The course will center on four main topics: applying corpus-based research to classroom materials development, the use of corpora in the language classroom (data-driven learning), the role of learner or corpora analysis, and research and evaluation of the effectiveness of corpus-based materials and corpus use in the language classroom. The course will consider the range of ways that corpus linguistics is applied to language teaching, including for L2 learners, for L1 and L2 academic writing, and for English for Specific Purposes.
ENGL 630 Seminars in Applied Linguistics and Technology: Advanced quantitative methods for applied linguistics This course aims to provide applied linguists with the advanced quantitative methods they need to critique studies which employ such approaches as well as to carry out their own research with the techniques. The course is designed to satisfy the needs of both language assessment researchers and other applied linguists, who are interested in advanced quantitative methods. The major statistical techniques covered in the course will be exploratory factor analysis and structural equation modeling, with a major focus on confirmatory factor analysis. The focus of the course will be on the application of these techniques, not the math that underlies them. Students will use SPSS as well as one of the advanced SEM software packages such as Amos or EQS to complete their analyses.