Mestrado Universitário em Linguística Aplicada ao Ensino do Inglês como Língua Estrangeira

A: APPLIED LINGUISTICS IN LANGUAGE TEACHING

1. Approaches to Language in the Classroom

   This subject provides an introduction to the most important current psycholinguistic and sociolinguistic theories. We examine how perceptions towards the nature of learner language have changed over the last few decades. The concept of interlanguage is explored in depth, and research into classroom interaction is critically reviewed. We also look at the role of input in language learning, and the current psycholinguistic notions of 'noticing' and 'restructuring' are presented.

2. Observation and Research in the Language Classroom

   This subject introduces the major research traditions and the views of knowledge that underpin them. Current approaches to classroom research are explored, as is the assumption that all observation is selective and culturally constructed. This subject provides a solid base of knowledge and techniques from which to approach your Research Project.

3. Learning Strategies

   This subject examines research into learning strategies, and considers how we can encourage our students to develop these further. Taxonomies of learning strategies are presented and related to current trends in ELT course books.

4. Assessment and Testing in the Classroom

   This subject looks at the purposes which assessment serves and describes current practices and trends in assessment and testing in ELT. The fundamental principles of testing are examined, and both formal and informal approaches to testing are explored.

5. English in the Community

   This subject on sociolinguistics looks at the social and cultural context in which language is situated and in which it is learned. The global position of English will be explored to gain a better understanding of its future status, its likely expansion or decline. We examine how gender and race affect language use, as well as the notion of language shift. Important current issues such as the social implications of bilingualism are also explored.

6. Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL)

   This subject introduces students to the ways in which computer software can be used to develop learners' language skills and examines how CALL relates to teaching methodologies. You will be made aware of the issues involved in using computers to assist language learning. You will evaluate software including developments in multimedia software and Internet applications.

B: TEACHING ENGLISH AS A FOREIGN LANGUAGE

1. Developing Language Skills in the Classroom

   This subject looks in detail at approaches to the teaching of the macro skills of listening, speaking, reading and writing in ELT. Current views based on recent research into these skills are presented, and the teaching of grammar and vocabulary are also examined. A range of practical classroom activities and teaching techniques for developing learners' use of the language are evaluated.

2. Content & Language Integrated Learning

   CLIL (Content & Language Integrated Learning) looks like a good candidate for the next revolution in language teaching, although its growing tentacles reach out into other areas of the curriculum and force us to consider more seriously the role of content, how we define that content, how we choose it and how we can teach it more effectively. CLIL also raises interesting questions about the relationship between language and cognition that are too often neglected at classroom level. This subject looks at its brief history, its theoretical bases, and how it might represent the future of language teaching.

3. Teaching English through Translation

   This subject starts with a brief history of translation as an introduction to how translation can be used in the EFL classroom. The differences between teaching translation as a subject per se and as a tool in the teaching of a foreign language are also explored, and different approaches to how translation can be used to enhance the learning process, even in communicative classrooms, are considered.

4. Tasks & Projects

   This subject presents an approach to teaching structured around tasks and projects. We examine the structure of a learning task, its components, and the effective sequencing of different types of tasks within units.

5. Teaching Pronunciation

   This subject provides a formal introduction to the field of phonetics and phonology in the English language. Aspects of phonology such as stress, intonation and sounds are examined in some detail. Current debates over the teaching of phonology are reviewed, and we examine the practical implications for the teaching of pronunciation in the classroom.

6. Curriculum and Course Design - Principles and Practice

   This subject looks at models of curriculum and course design, and their planning, implementation and evaluation in a variety of national contexts. Two main paradigms of curricula are presented, and the principles of syllabus design are examined in depth. An outline of the most significant syllabus types is provided.

C: RESEARCH PROJECT

1. Once you have completed the study programme for the Mestrado, you will need to carry out your Research Project The main aim of the project is to investigate in the field of teaching English as a foreign language. Your Course or University Co-ordinator selects and negotiates a topic together with you, as well as advising you on and monitoring the development of your work. The defence of the Research Project should either be done in the presence of a panel, via Skpye or by means of video conferencing.

Observação: O conteúdo do programa acadêmico pode estar submetido a ligeiras modificações, em função das atualizações ou das melhorias efetuadas.