Seminars

Salford Linguistics Seminar Series 2012 – 2013

All seminars will be held on Wednesdays at 4.00pm in room M832

31 October 2012: SJ Hannahs, Newcastle University

A Northern Welsh Conundrum

14 November: Richard Breheny, UCL

Myths of Modularity at the Semantics-Pragmatics Interface

Across a very broad spectrum of theoretical positions in Semantics-Pragmatics, one typically finds an assumption of some form of modularity. In this paper I will present experimental research which points to the conclusion that compositional semantics and intention-based, inferential pragmatics cannot be disentangled either at the representational or the processing levels. Instead, the evidence supports a representationally integrated model in which on-line processes are simultaneously constrained by principles of semantic composition and pragmatic principles.

28 November 2012: Graham Hall, Northumbria University

Own-language use in ELT classrooms: exploring global practices and attitudes

For much of the last century, professional discussion, debate and research within ELT has assumed that English is best taught and learned without the use of the students’ own language(s), leading to the promotion of monolingual, ‘English-only’ teaching. In recent years, however, this monolingual assumption has been increasingly questioned, and a re-evaluation of teaching that relates the language being taught to the students’ own language has begun. Furthermore, there is an increasing recognition that what has been fashionable in ELT theory and literature does not necessarily reflect what actually happens in classrooms around the world.

Despite this recent interest, however, there is, as yet, very little data which actually documents the extent and purpose of own-language use in English language teaching. This project aimed to address this gap, whilst also providing a useful resource for teachers who see a place for the learners’ own language in their teaching. Drawing upon a global survey of almost 3,000 teachers in over 100 countries, the study therefore investigated the use of learners’ own languages within ELT and the perceptions and perspectives of own-language use held by English language teachers around the world. This talk will therefore address the potential dislocation between theory and practice and between theorists and teachers, recognize and appreciate existing own-language practices, and address the issue of teacher (and learner) ‘guilt’ about own-language use in ELT.

Salford Linguistics Masterclass Series 2012 – 2013

13 February 2013: Peter Sells, University of York

20 March 2013: Barry Heselwood, University of Leeds & Janet Watson, University of Salford: ‘Lateral consonants in two Modern South Arabian languages – Mehri and Jibbali: electropalatographic evidence’

8 May 2013: Grenville Corbett, University of Surrey (TBC)