Curriculum Structure

This course examines the cycle of curriculum design and renewal in English language programmes with particular emphasis on their theoretical basis and practical implementation with reference to secondary and tertiary contexts.

This course provides an overview of key methods for researching applied linguistics. At the end of the course candidates will be able to identify, describe and evaluate the relevance of research methods.

This course provides an overview of the key approaches and current trends within second language acquisition (SLA). By the end of the course, candidates will gain a clear understanding of the relationship among different SLA theories, as well as the methodology and techniques used when analysing second language data. Topics to be covered include universal grammar, interactionist, functional and processing approaches to SLA, interlanguage development, individual differences and their effect on SLA, and classroom based approaches to SLA that cover teaching and learning.

This course adopts a functional view of grammar to understand language as a stratified system. At the end of the course, candidates should be able to (1) identify and describe the language use and function in some common genres, (2) apply relevant grammatical categories to critically analyse and interpret language data; and (3) diagnose problems of language learners.

This course introduces candidates to a range of approaches to the analysis of spoken discourse. These include Conversation Analysis, Pragmatics, and Semantics. At the end of the course, participants should be able to describe, compare and apply the different approaches to analyze spoken texts.

This course introduces the fundamental principles of language testing and explores the design, trialling, moderation, validation and evaluation of testing instruments.

The course helps candidates focus on English vocabulary acquisition and how to present words effectively to ESL/EFL learners.  The kinds of words that learners need most, effective vocabulary learning strategies and use of corpora and online learning resources are also covered.

This course will bring candidates up to date with developments in writing pedagogy. It reviews theoretical and practical developments that have influenced the teaching of writing in recent years and looks in particular at process, genre and critical approaches to writing and discourse studies.

This course prepares teachers to use technology effectively in their professional practice. It explores some of the key issues in current and emerging uses of technology in language teaching and learning. It looks in particular at concepts of Computer-Assisted Language Learning, network-based teaching and learning, and digital literacies. It discusses the use of various technological tools, resources, materials and activities in enhancing teaching and learning. It examines the use of technology from pedagogical and socio-cultural perspectives particularly with reference to language education. No prior experience in teaching using technology is required.

This course explores the role of gender as a sociolinguistic variable in female and male speech. Candidates will learn the linguistic features associated with gender-specific speech in different speech communities, and examine major theoretical approaches to the analysis of the differences between female and male speech behaviour. Topics such as sexism and language use in different cultural contexts and gender-based language reforms will also be addressed.

This course engages participants in exploring how teachers of English as a second/foreign language learn, teach, and research in their pursuit of professional development. Topics include the expertise of language teachers, the transition from general to academic English teachers, the teaching of English skills for specific purposes, teachers’ beliefs and practices, reflective practitioners, teacher learning and teacher research, teacher autonomy, agency, and teacher identity.

This course consists of a series of interactive workshops which will focus on the skills needed to enter into the research phase leading to the production of a dissertation. By the end of the workshops, candidates will be able to design and carry out their own research plan. As a result, they will be ready to prepare their dissertation research proposals.

Please note that MAAL6037 is a required course for students who want to take the dissertation option for their capstone experience.

This course introduces candidates to a variety of applications of corpus linguistics, including genre/register analyses, contrastive (interlanguage) analyses, critical discourse analyses, and L1/L2 corpora for assessment and pedagogical purposes.

In the contemporary workplace, communication is not only concerned with language-in-use but embraces a range of associated social issues. This course introduces to participants key aspects of workplace communication and organizational interactions that are pertinent to applied linguists, such as rapport management, identities, roles, and interactional strategies. These aspects will be contextualized within a range of professional contexts and relevant discourse data will be provided for analysis with reference to frameworks such as communities of practice, critical discourse analysis and interactional sociolinguistics.

This course introduces different approaches to study and conceptualize sociolinguistic notions of intercultural communication and intercultural communicative competence It also aims to provide a thorough grounding in the application of relevant theoretical concepts to practical situations and encourage students to reflect on their own experiences in dealing with issues arising from intercultural contexts, particularly as a result of using English as a lingua franca in a highly globalised world. Through the exploration of various intercultural concepts, the course equips students with the analytical competence required for the evaluation of effective language use as determined by the social-cultural context in which the language user is involved, and asks students to reflect on the importance of intercultural communicative competence for pedagogical purposes.

This course introduces students to a wide range of issues related to Instructed Second Language Acquisition (ISLA).  It discusses key issues and questions in language acquisition that have driven the bulk of L2 research and theorizing.  While the course will cover theoretical and methodological issues of ISLA research, particular attention will be paid to the link between research findings and pedagogy – how teachers can use empirical evidence of ISLA and Second Language Acquisition (SLA) research in their classrooms.

This course is an introduction to psycholinguistics – the use of experiments to study how psychological and cognitive processes affect language comprehension, production, and acquisition. The course will examine issues and debates central to the psycholinguistics of bilingualism and second language acquisition, following a survey of foundational topics including basic psychological processes, memory, speech production and errors, word recognition, sentence comprehension and processing, language disorder and aphasia, language and thought.

Language policy, originated as a branch of sociolinguistics, is an interdisciplinary area which attracts attention in various fields including education. Drawing on the work of sociolinguists, applied linguists, language educators and ethnographers, the course explores the intersection of language policy as intended by political and economic interests. Another aim of the course is to introduce students to contemporary theoretical frameworks and methodological approaches within the field of language policy at macro and micro levels, and to link them with practical implications. Special attention is placed on an understanding of key conceptual underpinnings of language ideology, language rights, linguistic landscape, multilingualism, nationalism, and language standardisation within globalisation processes. Data from Hong Kong and selected world contexts will be used to explore these core issues.

Communicating through digital means has become an indispensable part of human interaction and a burgeoning field of study in the pragmatics discipline. This course will explore integral pragmatic concepts and other key concepts for the purpose of analyzing and characterizing communication in a variety of digital modes including emailing, text messaging, and social media networking. It will also evaluate the extent to which key theories and concepts in pragmatics can explain contextual behavior in digital communication. Implications for researching and teaching pragmatics in digital communication will also be discussed.

MAAL6037 Advanced Research Methods

This course consists of a series of interactive workshops which will focus on the skills needed to enter into the research phase leading to the production of a dissertation. By the end of the workshops, candidates will be able to design and carry out their own research plan. As a result, they will be ready to prepare their dissertation research proposals.

MAAL8999 Dissertation

Candidates are required to complete a dissertation of no more than 15,000 words on an approved topic.  Candidates will be assigned to a supervisor who will monitor progress during the research and dissertation writing.

Candidates are required to draw references from at least two assignments from different courses (core or elective courses), write a mission statement, undertake a critical review of concepts and/or develop scholarly-informed materials, and a person reflection on how the portfolio contributes to the understanding of a specific issue/topic in Applied Linguistics or the profession or development of English learning materials. The length of the portfolio should be around 10,000 to 12,500 words.

Candidates taking this option are required to take an additional elective course, subject to the course listing in the Student Handbook of the programme.

Two options are available:
Option A

Students are required to draw references from a minimum of two courses, write a mission statement and a personal reflection under the guidance of an assigned supervisor who provides advice on the process of producing the portfolio. They are expected to spend much of their time on independent writing and write a portfolio of no more than 12,500 words. 

Option B

Students are required to develop a suite of 8-10 hours of original learning materials on an English or Applied Linguistics topic (at senior secondary level or above) under the guidance of an assigned supervisor who provides advice on the process of producing the portfolio. They are expected to spend much of their time on materials development and independent writing.  The portfolio should be no more than 10,000 words.