Course syllabus

 

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SEMESTER 2, 2019

15 points

 
Course Convenor and Lecturer: Louisa Buckingham

Tutor: Judit McPherson

 

Course delivery format:

Weekly 2-hour lecture/ seminar

Additional online work expected

(Timetable and room details can be viewed on Student Services Online)

 Course Description:              

This course introduces students to theoretical and practical aspects of using technology for language learning and teaching purposes.

Technology can be used throughout all phases of language teaching: course design, course delivery, and course assessment. Increasingly, teaching staff in private-sector and tertiary institutions are expected to have at least entry-level user familiarity with a range of technological tools or applications, and they are required to broaden these skills on the job.

This course will enable students to develop confidence in their ability to integrate technology into their teaching, and in their capacity to explore other technological applications in response to workplace needs. Students will gain experience in using technology to support blended learning, to promote the development of particular skills, to facilitate greater learner interaction and engagement, and to create learning materials in a principled manner.

The course has a strong focus on the use of corpora to understand issues related to frequency and difficulty of language selected for teaching purposes, in particular vocabulary.  Teachers of English for Specific Purposes (ESP) typically makes use of corpora to identify the type of linguistic input their learners could most benefit from, and during this course students will learn how to construct and analyse a specialised corpus. 

From the language learning perspective, technology enables potentially limitless access to rich language input and provides students with the option of exercising greater autonomy and agency in the learning process.

Not all teaching-learning options involving technology are pedagogically sound, and nor do all lead to effective learning outcomes. During this course, students will critically reflect on the relative benefits of particular applications with reference to sound pedagogical principles.

This course will be mostly delivered on campus in the traditional face-to-face mode. A blended learning component has been included to allow students to experience distance learning through technology. With this aim in mind, two lectures/meetings will be delivered online.  A blended approach will be used for much of the supplementary coursework, such as student-centred exercises. These will be both delivered online and integrated into the face-to-face lessons.

It is recommended that students enrolled in this course have a laptop that they are able to bring to class when required. Students also need access to a reliable Internet connection for the out-of-class work.

All reading materials will be provided through Canvas.

Course outcomes

This course will enable to students to:
1. Become familiar with the use of particular applications.
2. Understand how particular technologies can be used to support learning.

3. Build confidence in using technology for both language teaching and learning.

4. Understand how to create a search a corpus for language teaching & learning purposes
5. Create language learning materials.
6. Critically reflect on the pedagogical strengths of particular applications.

7. Experience course delivery through technology as a language learner and as a student.
8. Use terminology (e.g., parts of speech, names for tenses, etc) to describe language with greater confidence. 

Assessment

This course has mostly practical assessments which involve the use of technology for didactic purposes. No traditional essay is required. 

For two assessments, students will create didactic materials that can be used in their own teaching, or as part of their teaching portfolio when applying for work. 

25% in-class test in final week. No final exam.

As assessments are innovative and not writing-centred, the traditional concept of wordcounts is difficult to apply. 

The total equivalent wordcount of all assessments, however, meets the UoA requirement for a maximum of 6,000 words. This information is provided to fulfill administrative requirements. 

 

Prescribed Texts:

No prescribed text. Reading texts (book chapters or articles) will be provided on Canvas.

 

 Workload and deadlines for submission of coursework:           

The University of Auckland's expectation is that students spend 10 hours per week on a 15-point course, including time in class and personal study. Students should manage their academic workload and other commitments accordingly. Deadlines for coursework are set by course convenors and will be advertised in course material. You should submit your work on time. In extreme circumstances, such as illness, you may seek an extension but you may be required to provide supporting information before the assignment is due. Late assignments without a pre-approved extension may be penalised by loss of marks – check course information for details.