Student Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion of a degree in linguistics, students will demonstrate knowledge and analytic skills in core and specialized areas of linguistics.
Core Linguistics
Students will develop:
- Ability to understand and articulate general issues concerning nature & function of language. These include the basic mechanisms common to all languages: The domains of phonetics, phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics, and pragmatics.
- Ability to acquire knowledge of the ways different human languages embody these mechanisms.
- Ability to analyze specific sounds & understand systematic properties of sound system of English.
- Ability to recognize and analyze the grammatical system of English and other languages.
- Ability to analyze the structure and function of language as used in natural discourse.
- Ability to compare and contrast languages in terms of systematic differences in phonetics, phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics, and pragmatics.
First and Second Language Development
Students will develop:
- Ability to understand and analyze the link between language and various dimensions of culture.
- Understanding of the cognitive and social dimensions of first and second language acquisition.
- Understanding of the principles of first and second language acquisition and to apply them in appropriate contexts.
- Understanding of the individual processes and strategies that affect the way people acquire and use first and second languages.
- Knowledge of how people acquire first and second languages and the implications for schooling and educational policy.
Language, Culture, and Communication
Students will develop:
- Understanding of the social functions of language and the roles they play in culture.
- Understanding and appreciation of how language and communication work to affect socio-cultural world.
- Ability to understand, appreciate and analyze the role of language in everyday interactions.
- Understanding of the values associated with ways of speaking and their social and personal consequences.
- Knowledge of contemporary issues in language policy and ability to take a public and professional role in these issues.
- Understanding of language variation, including historical and social and regional dialects.
- Understanding of the equality of all linguistic codes (languages, dialects, varieties, etc.).
Second Language Instruction
Students will develop:
- Ability to use, evaluate and adapt current language teaching methodologies.
- Ability to apply appropriate knowledge of language testing and language proficiency assessment.
- Ability to contribute to curriculum planning and program evaluation.
- Ability and experience to become better teachers of English learners.
Critical Thinking and Research in Linguistics
Students will develop:
- Ability to understand and evaluate current research methodologies and how they are applied to problems in linguistics.
- Ability to engage in scientific and academic scholarship that is designed to critically explore the different subfields in linguistics.
- Ability to question and challenge their current scholarly orientations with regard to issues in linguistics through research projects.
- Ability to evaluate language research and policy critically.
General Issues and Applications
Students will:
- Develop professionally through appropriate activities of application and research.
- Find career opportunities using linguistics in education, translation, computational linguistics, editing, and other professions.
- Apply linguistics in community settings.
- Develop proficiency in English and at least one or two other languages.
