Introduction to Linguistics: Learning Through Web Development (QAA 1,2,6)

Objective:

The website www.allaboutlinguistics.com has two aims:

• Promoting linguistics as a degree subject, and ensuring that applicants understand what studying linguistics involves and how it differs from and buildings on subjects they have studied at A-Level (like English Language, foreign languages, maths and sciences).
• Helping A-Level students to find out more about linguistics in a user-friendly and accessible way, to help them learn things that take them beyond their A-Level subjects, and give them ideas for projects they might do as coursework investigations if they are taking A-Level English Language.

Introduction:

The website www.allaboutlinguistics.com is built as an assessment by first year students in the School of English at the University of Sheffield as part of core module entitled 'Introduction to Linguistics'.

There isn't an A-Level in Linguistics available in the UK. This means that when students apply to study linguistics, Universities rely on their personalstatements to indicate an interest in linguistics and an understanding of what studying it will involve. AllAboutLinguistics.com aims to enthuse studentsabout linguistics and the possibility of studying it at degree level, through our students sharing the insight that they have gained as beginning linguistics students themselves.

Activity:

• Groups of students work on different topics to contribute to the overall website.
• The groups use Google Sites to create the website.
• Groups are able to see the whole site in development, including work by other groups, but can only edit their own section. This enables students to make links between topics, to link to work from other groups where relevant, and encourages a healthy level of competition between teams, increasing the overall quality of the content produced.

The development of this website is enterprising in many ways. The students have to ensure it met the many needs of its target audience (or 'customer'); they have to consider the appearance, identity and 'brand' of the site as well as its content.

Impact:

In 2012 the site was recognised as Overall Winner in a Google / Association for Learning Technology competition for innovative uses of Google Apps in Education.

Learner Outcome:

Through building the site, students have deepened their understanding of linguistics whilst also gaining valuable transferrable skills in project management, team working, use of web-based systems, and communication and collaboration tools. They have gone on to use these skills in other areas of their learning, and beyond in extracurricular work and employment.

The examples of curriculum development for enterprise related outcomes were originally outlined by Neil Coles at the International Enterprise Educators Conference under the heading 'From Archaeology to Zoology; an A-Z of enterprise in the curriculum'. For his work in contextualising enterprise for any subject, Neil won the 2013 National Enterprise Educator Award.

Resources:

Access to and understanding of Google Sites, or an equivalent platform.

References:

• All About Linguistics. [ONLINE] Available at: http://allaboutlinguistics.com/. [Accessed 13 August 2015].
• Discovering all about linguistics | Enterprise Education. 2015. [ONLINE] Available at: http://enterprise.shef.ac.uk/2012/11/discovering-linguistics. [Accessed 13 August 2015].
• University of Sheffield. English Language and Linguistics. 2015. [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/english/ugc/programmes/linguistics . [Accessed 13 August 2015].

Author:

With thanks to Mr Gary Wood, School of English, The University of Sheffield g.c.wood@sheffield.a.cuk