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LAN101 Introduction To Language and Grammar

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0% found this document useful (0 votes)
103 views

LAN101 Introduction To Language and Grammar

Uploaded by

chhimi.wangmo
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Module Code and Title : Introduction to Language and Grammar

Programme : Bachelor of Arts in Dzongkha and English


Credit : 12
Module Tutors : Chhimi Wangmo
Module Coordinator :

General Objectives: This module aims to introduce students to the definitions of language suggested by linguists and scholars and then
distinguishes between human language and animal systems of communication. The module, then, introduces learners to the fundamental
concepts of language such as phonetics, morphology, syntax, semantics, and pragmatics. Further students will be equipped with the skills to
use major types of English grammar such as functional and prescriptive grammar in their English usage to enable an effective communicative
process and interpretation of meanings in both academic context and real-life situations. In order to meet this objective, students will engage in
a variety of task-based activities.

Learning Outcomes: On completion of this module, students will be able to:


1. Define language, phonetics, morphology, semantics, and pragmatics;
2. Explain the key differences between human language and animal systems of communication;
3. Synthesize the basic composites of an English sentence;
4. Distinguish between a phoneme and a morpheme;
5. Distinguish between literal and contextual meaning;
6. Explain the difference between direct and indirect speech acts;
7. Produce clear and correct English sentences by using correct punctuation marks;
8. Identify and correct common grammatical errors in English

Learning and Teaching Approach:


Type Approach Hours per week Total credit hours
Lecture 3
Class discussion 1
Contact 105
Presentation 1
Class activity 2
Independent study Home-task 1 15
Total 120

Assessment Approach
A. Opinion-exchange tasks (10%)
This assessment task aims to make the grammatical study memorable by providing a personalised context. Students in pairs will engage in
discussions and exchange of ideas for ten minutes in front of the class. A maximum of five pairs can discuss during one session. The tutor and
students will be the judge and audience. The tutor will provide cue cards to the pair that contain personal topics such as, but not limited to,
hobbies, favourite authors, best artists, personal talent and other topics. This task will help students to develop complete sentences, use proper
subject-verb agreement, develop cohesive discourse and use proper collocations. The task will be assessed based on the following criteria:
 Focus on the topic 1%
 Use of complete sentences 3%
 Use of correct subject-verb agreement 3%
 Cohesion in discourse 1%
 Proper collocations 2%

B. Transfer of pictorial ideas into written discourse (10%)


Students will convert a posture of nature-related topics into continuous writing. This task aims to help students interpret the message and
develop a relationship between grammatical form and communicative function by transferring them into written form. The task will focus on the
use of different aspects of tenses. This task will be assessed based on the following criteria:
 Proper message 2%
 Grammatical and communicative relation 4%
 Correct uses of tenses 4%

C. Identification and correction of grammatical errors (20%)


Students will identify 10 errors (punctuation, tenses, subject-verb agreement, faulty parallelism, etc.) in the sentences and correct them. This
task will test students’ grammatical abilities, and it will be assessed based on the following criteria:
The task will be assessed based on the following criteria:
 Identification of the errors in the sentences 10%
 Correction of the errors in the sentences 10%
D. Oral presentation (10%)
Each student will make one 5-minute presentation. Students will choose topics related to the module, and it will test students’ ability to explain
prescriptive and functional importance of the topics and relate that to practical usage. The presentations will be assessed based on the
following criteria:
Introduction (2%)
 Greeting 1%
 Topic and overview 1%
Content (3%)
 Discussion and analysis of the topics 4%
 In-text citations 1%
 References 1%
Conclusion (2%)
 Concluding phrase 1%
 Summary 1%

E. Semester-end Examination (50%)


Students will write one semester-end examination for 50%. The examination will be of 2 ½ hour duration. This will check their understanding,
interpretation and analysis of the subject matter. Questions will cover all the subject matter of the module and will comprise short and long
answer questions.

An overview of the assessment approaches and weighting:


Areas of assignments Quantity Weighting

A. Class exercises 3 40%

B. Oral presentation 1 10%

C. Semester-end examination 1 50%

Total marks 100%

Pre-requisite: None
Subject Matter:
Unit I: Definition and characteristics of language
1.1 Definitions of language
1.2 Human language versus animal system of communication
1.2.1 Distinctive Properties of human language and animal system of communication
1.2.1.1 Displacement
1.2.1.2 Arbitrariness
1.2.1.3 Productivity
1.2.1.4 Cultural transmission
1.2.1.5 Duality

Unit II: Introduction to the structure of language: Phonetics, Morphology, and Syntax
2.1 Phonetics
2.1.1 Definition of phonetics
2.1.2 Definition of phoneme as the basic unit of sound
2.1.3 Differences between grapheme and phoneme
2.2 Morphology
2.2.1 Definition of morphology
2.2.2 Definition of morpheme as the basic unit of word
2.2.3 Differences between free and bound morpheme
2.2.4 Differences between phoneme and morpheme
2.3 Syntax
2.3.1 Definition of syntax as the construction of sentence
2.3.2 Concept of subject and predicate
2.3.3 Differences between word, phrase, clause, and sentence
2.3.4 Agreement in subject and verb
2.3.5 Basic English word order

Unit III: Introduction to the structure of language: Semantics and Pragmatics


3.1 Semantics
3.1.1 Definition of semantics as a study of meaning
3.1.2 Literal meaning versus contextual meaning
3.1.3 Conceptual meaning versus associative meaning
3.1.4 Surface structure versus deep structure
3.2 Pragmatics
3.2.1 Definition of pragmatics
3.2.2 Concept of ambiguity in language
3.2.3 Lexical ambiguities
3.2.4 Structural ambiguities
3.2.5 Concept of speech acts
3.2.6 Direct versus indirect speech acts

Unit IV: Punctuation


4.1 Background
4.2 Importance
4.3 Types
4.4 Uses of colons, semicolons, dashes, parentheses and ellipses

Unit V: Some common practical issues in the English grammar usage


5.1 Parallel structure
5.2 Tenses (Simple Past vs Present Perfect; Simple Past vs Past Perfect)
5.3 Use of articles
5.4 Confusing word pairs (practice vs practise, lose vs loose, affect vs effect, their vs there, etc.)

1. Essential Reading
Allen, R. (2004). Punctuation. Oxford University Press.
Cutts, M. (2013). The Oxford guide to plain English (4th ed.). Oxford University Press.
McIntosh, C. (Ed.). (2009). Oxford collocations dictionary for students of English (2nd ed.). Oxford University Press.
Murphy, R. (2015). English grammar in use (4th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
Swan, M. (2017). Practical English usage (4th ed.). Oxford University Press.
Thomson, A. J., & Martinet, A. V. (2009). A practical English grammar (4th ed.). Oxford University Press.

2. Additional Reading
Butterfield, J. (2013). Oxford A-Z of English usage. Oxford University Press.
Murphy, R. (2015). Essential grammar in use (4th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
Seely, J. (2013a). Oxford A-Z of English grammar and punctuation. Oxford University Press.
Seely, J. (2013b). The Oxford guide to effective writing and speaking (3rd ed.). Oxford University Press.

Date: 10 September, 2024

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