This specialisation focuses on how people use varieties of English and other languages in different contexts.You will learn theory and research practices from the fields of sociolinguistics, linguistic anthropology, life writing, and language pedagogy. You will study and write about connections between language variation and identities while considering applications for educational contexts. This specialisation provides a strong foundation for the Master’s programmes in multilingualism and language acquisition, intercultural communication, as well as the teacher training Master’s programme.

Block 1:

Sociolinguistics of Englishes: Language Variation, Contact, and Change (EN3V18004)

Part of the Social Life of English specialisation. You’ll study how language varies from speaker to speaker, as well as how and why it keeps on changing.

Block 2:

Language and identity: Researching and writing who we are (EN3V18005)

Part of the Social Life of English specialisation. Learn how to study the ways we use varieties of English and other languages to be different people in different contexts. Research and write about the linguistic choices we make in representing ourselves, others, and groups to which we may or may not belong.

Block 3:

Life Writing in English (EN3V18006)

Part of the Social Life of English specialisation. Stories drawn from lived experience are a powerful force in English-language cultures and societies. How do writers of biographies, memoirs, documentaries, and social media negotiate the need to ‘tell the truth’ of their experience with the desire to tell an engaging story?

Block 4:

English in Europe and Asia: Learners’ and Users’ Attitudes and Practices (EN3V18007)

Part of the Social Life of English specialisation. Learn how Europeans and Asians are developing their own kind of English to express who they are. We will be looking at education, popular music and the attitudes people have to English in their countries.