ObjectivesThis is a 'research-track' MA, providing training in theoretical, empirical and methodological aspects of First and Second Language Acquisition. It is intended in the first instance for postgraduate students who are intending to proceed to doctoral work, but it should also be of interest and value as a 'stand-alone' course, offering an in-depth survey of current research and research practice in this vital area of Cognitive Science.
Entry requirementsEntry requirements 2:1 Honours degree (or overseas equivalent) in Linguistics, Psychology, Cognitive Science, Philosopy and related disciplines. International students must also take a suitable language test, eg IELTS (minimum score 6.5) or TOEFL (minimum score 575; computerised version 232).
Academic titleMA Language Acquisition
Course descriptionCourse content
MA:
Three compulsory core modules:
-Research Support Module (Academic Year)
-Research Methods (Autumn Semester)
-Linguistic Theory and Language Acquisition (Autumn Semester)
Four optional modules selected from:
-Formal Linguistics for Language Acquisition (Autumn Semester)
-Current Research in Human Communication Sciences (Autumn Semester)
-Seminar in First Language Acquisition (Spring Semester)
-Linguistic Theory and Language Processing (Spring Semester)
-Second Language Acquisition (Spring Semester)
-Language and Mind (Spring Semester)
-History of English (Spring Semester)
-Discourse and Genre Analysis (Spring Semester)
-Language Testing (Spring Semester)
-Acquired Communication Disorders (Spring Semester)
-Developmental Communication Sciences(Spring Semester)
-Advanced Research Topics: (Spring Semester)
-Either "Spoken Language Processing by Mind and Machine" (Spring Semester) or "Dialogue Models and Dialogue Systems" (Spring Semester) plus Interface with Computer Science (Autumn Semester) Dissertation(Spring Semester/Summer)