Authorised by Academic Registrar, April 1996
Synopsis There are two broad questions to which this subject will seek answers: (1) What role does language play in learning? and (2) Which conceptions of language (and linguistic analysis) and which conceptions of learning (and the study of learning) best enable us to establish useful connections between language and learning. The subject will pursue these questions on two levels: learning to use the systemic-functional grammar and discourse analysis of M A K Halliday and to apply it to texts produced by learners; as well as by analysing the broader issues raised in linguistics, learning theory, cognitive science and the theory of knowledge. The subject is structured in such a way that we move back and forth between practice and theory, exploring the extent to which the one might influence and change the other. Topics include content and form in language, linguistic relativism and universalism, language and thinking, the notion of rule and the nature of `error' in learning and language use, language `skills,' and the influence of sociolect and bilingualism on learning. No prior knowledge of systemic-functional linguistics, recent learning theory, cognitive science or theory of knowledge is assumed.
Assessment Two practical text analysis assignments (3500 words): 40% + Class paper (1500 words): 15% + Essay (4000 words): 45%