Dr. Sankó Gyula / Courses taught | Institute of English and American Studies

BA PROGRAMME

AN10003BA Skills Development: Writing & Composition. Year 1, B.A. (előadás Tóth Ágostonnal közösen)

In this course, the students are introduced to the skills and formats of academic writing in English, leading to the kinds of writing expected of college students. Students practice a variety of writing formats primarily in exposition, argumentation, and critical analysis, including the following 5 pieces of writing: categorical proposition, process analysis, discrimination analysis, literary analysis, and persuasive analysis. In the latter part of this course, the students are introduced to research skills and writing supported by research, as well as documentation and MLA/APA formats. Students will practice techniques of invention, organization, and revision, and will undertake such composing activities as topic selection and development, audience analysis, organization and development of ideas in short essays, grammar, spelling, and mechanics in writing.

 

AN10006BA Skills Development: Advanced Writing and Composition, 1st year, B.A. (nyelvészet sáv, harmadév)

After the first terms’s introductory course into writing, which focussed on paragraph writing and individual genres (rhetorical strategies, treatment of material), this course moves beyond, but relies on what has been covered in the first term’s material. Following an in-depth treatment of, and practice in, argumentation (supporting claims with evidence, being mindful of audience and purpose, strategies as well as fallacies of argumentation), a considerable amount of time is dedicated to revision. The third part of this course deals with the theory and practice of summary writing, a skill tested in the end-of-year EYE examination. The fourth major part of the course is the research paper, ( library search, documenting sources, etc.). The nature of the course suggests that there will be weekly practial assignments along with in-class discussions. To help students master argumentation, selected chapters from the Opposing Viewpoints Series will be used, which will enhance their understanding of their own views by encouraging confrontation with opposing views.

 

AN10004BA Grammar in Context. 1st year, B.A. (elsőéveseknek)

Unlike traditional grammar-teaching, the course wishes to examine and practise the use of grammar in authentic passages, audio and DVD materials. Also, it focuses on communication, activation of the material mastered through pair-work and lock-step processing, whereby secondary but equally important targets such as speaking /listening skills may improve and vocabulary may be expanded as well. This life-like approach draws on real language, situations, topics and both vocabulary of journalism and colloquial conversations /monologues, and will hopefully contribute to enhancing language skills through a grammar focus.

 

AN2001BA English Pronunciation

The aim of this course is to provide an insight into the major aspects of English pronunciation and to help acquire a better English pronunciation by elucidating basic phonetic features of English and relying on the application of digital materials. As there are no lectures on the subject, part of each class will be devoted to theoretical discussion, however, there is bound to be a bias towards the practical aspects of phonetics. It is expected that students will improve their pronunciation both on segmental and suprasegmental levels. The major stages of the process will involve the classification of speech sounds in English, sensitizing students in terms of perception, reception, recognition and production (articulation), and the conscious application of basic phonological and phonetic rules. There is a strong emphasis on vocal production and students should expect exposure to articulatory exercises, drills and tasks.

 

AN10002BA Skills Development: Listening & Speaking (elsőéveseknek)

AN18002BA Skills Development: Listening & Speaking Seminar For first-year BA students The main goal of the course is to develop students’ listening and speaking skills so that they can meet the standards of the EYE examination. In terms of specific details, the course is targeted at listening for gist, listening for specific information, inferring speakers’ attitude and/or opinion and focusing on relevant and appropriate information. As is pointed out above, the listening part is exploited for speaking about relevant topics as well. Students will be exposed to a variety of English to be able to grasp both the major points as well as detailed information they may be required to understand. In addition, discussing the issues raised will help them prepare for the oral part of the EYE examination too.

 

• AN24000BA Introduction to applied linguistics
• ANL24000BA Introduction to applied linguistics
• AN28011BA Introduction to applied linguistics
• ANL28011BA Introduction to applied linguistics

Lecture (Taught together with Ágoston Tóth)
This course augments the curriculum of the Introduction to Linguistics course with an introduction to linguistic disciplines that are more applied and/or more interdisciplinary in nature. It provides the groundwork for future studies in a wide range of disciplines: language typology, psycholinguistics, neurolinguistics, sociolinguistics, first and second language acquisition, discourse analysis, lexicography, as well as computational linguistics.

 

AN34006BA Information Technology in Language Education. 3rd year, B.A.

This course is designed to expose the student to the different uses of information and communication technologies and to help moderately experienced Internet users learn how to use the Web for effective independent language learning activities. The course will cover a range of useful technology-related skills applicable ii their language learning practice. Participants will learn theoretically and hands on how to search and evaluate internet (text, sound and multimedia) resources, how to use various synchronous and asynchronous communication tools (interact through e-mail, text chat, voice chat, etc.) for learning English, as well as how they can use PowerPoint effectively for creating their own presentations. The course will combine technical training with methodological insights into effective autonomous learning.

 

AN40002BA Language Acquisition 3rd year, B.A.

Most people learn one or more languages during their lives, and linguists tend to agree that knowing a language is thanks to the interplay of environmental factors and biology. Researchers, however, often disagree to what extent and how nature and nurture influence the language learning process. The aim of the course is to investigate how a child learns a first language, and how a child or an adult learns a second language. First and second language acquisition processes will be compared, similarities and differences in the processes, and in ultimate attainment will be pointed out. How a language other than the mother tongue (second language or L2) is acquired is the main concern, which the course approaches by taking a historical perspective. It looks at how the use of a given linguistic framework and learning theory has influenced the explanations offered by second language acquisition (SLA) researchers. Influences on the process of second language acquisition such as the effects of the first language, input factors, the age of acquisition, motivation, aptitude, and some other individual learner differences will also be examined.

 

BA BUSINESS ENGLISH SPECIALIZATION

AN35006A ESP: English for Tourism

There is a constant demand for working in tourism, as tourism and hospitality industries are the world’s largest employers. By developing specialized English language skills, the English for Tourism course offers students some advantages in these competitive industries. Students skilled in the language of tourism may find work in event and conference management, sporting events and festivals, hotels and resorts, restaurants, or event and conference management more easily. The course focuses on tourism in Hungary. Besides teaching the language necessary for describing the features and sights of the three main geographical and touristic regions of the country, gastronomy(food and beverage services), and various forms of accommodation services, it introduces participants to the linguistic skills needed in the various forms of tourism, such as wellness, medical, wine, rural, cultural, equestrian, or bicycle tourism. Beyond the linguistic skills mandatory in the tourism and hospitality industry, the course will assist students to develop some of the background regional and cultural knowledge about Hungary Participants will be given opportunities to practice the relevant language skills by offering “guided tours” to their peers and by participating in discussions about particular touristic services..

 

MA PROGRAMME

FULL-TIME MA IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING

Language Technology in the Classroom This course will explore ways in which new information and communication technologies (ICT) can facilitate the practice of all four language skills, thus enhancing the effectiveness of both autonomous and classroom second language learning. Following the task-based principle, students will be provided plenty of opportunities for hands-on experience to get to grips with on-line (Internet) computer applications. The course will teach basic and advanced Internet literacy skills in using the World Wide Web for ELT purposes: efficient searching of the WWW; evaluating WWW2.0 EFL/ESL resources, as well as using different Internet services for computer-mediated synchronous and asynchronous communication. The course will also address the problem of trying to integrate ICT into existing language teaching methodologies; the pedagogical challenge of using the computer in the language classroom; and sensitizing students to the best possible strategies of autonomously exploiting the new learning environment to the full.

 

AN1150MA The Mental Lexicon and L2 Vocabulary Acquisition. 2nd year

The aim of the course is to familiarize students with current issues and experimental findings of psycholinguistic research related to the organization and function of the L2 mental lexicon as well as with some of the latest research results concerning the learning and teaching of L2 vocabulary. The following questions will be addressed: How is our mental lexicon organized? How is semantic and formal knowledge represented, and how can we access lexical information? How does lexical memory work, and what intralingual issues may represent a challenge in the memorization of L2 vocabulary? The course will offer a survey of research into the learner’s lexical development with special regard to the role of form and meaning in the function of the mental lexicon. In addition, the seminar will take a contrastive perspective exploring the relation between the L1 and L2 lexicons and analyzing their structural differences through practical examples. The application of new technologies in L2 vocabulary acquisition will also be discussed. The course comprises seminar input with active participation in class discussions. Micro-teaching practice and project work are also expected of all students to ensure maximum coverage of the syllabus

 

MA IN ENGLISH STUDIES, APPLIED LINGUISTICS STREAM

AN4008MA The Mental Lexicon and L2 Vocabulary Acquisition. 2nd year

The aim of the course is to familiarize students with current issues and experimental findings of psycholinguistic research related to the organization and function of the L2 mental lexicon as well as with some of the latest research results concerning the learning and teaching of L2 vocabulary. The following questions will be addressed: How is our mental lexicon organized? How is semantic and formal knowledge represented, and how can we access lexical information? How does lexical memory work, and what intralingual issues may represent a challenge in the memorization of L2 vocabulary? The course will offer a survey of research into the learner’s lexical development with special regard to the role of form and meaning in the function of the mental lexicon. In addition, the seminar will take a contrastive perspective exploring the relation between the L1 and L2 lexicons and analyzing their structural differences through practical examples. The application of new technologies in L2 vocabulary acquisition will also be discussed. The course comprises seminar input with active participation in class discussions. Micro-teaching practice and project work are also expected of all students to ensure maximum coverage of the syllabus

 

AN4009MA Language and Communication. 2nd year

The course offers students an interdisciplinary study of the intricate relationships between language and communication, focusing on certain aspects of communicative competence (pragmatic and sociocultural abilities), a review of communicative models, perception and communication (concepts of time and space, as well as other aspects of non-verbal communication). The course modules also include the comparison of human and animal communication, factors facilitating or hindering successful intercultural communication, features and effects of interpersonal communication (communication and relationships), gender differences in speech and nonverbal communication, and some up-to-date phenomena of electonically mediated communication expanding our communication options and influencing our daily lives. The course aims to foster in students an understanding of the nature of human communication by examining the processes how people create, send, receive and are affected by verbal and nonverbal messages as well as to strengthen students’ critical and analytical skills in the field.

 

AN5109OMA(L), AN4011MA Second Language Acquisition

Seminar

Building on the prior, basic knowledge gained in the course called Language Acquisition, this course aims to familiarize students with some current issues in language acquisition studies based on recent results of SLA research. It is hoped that students will gain deeper insight into the way in which languages are learned and acquired by studying bilinguals and polyglots, investigating learner beliefs, formulaic language and third language acquisition. In addition, such internal variables as age, gender, and linguistic talent (language aptitude) will also be examined in order to inspect how these factors contribute to the variability observed in rates and outcomes of language learning.

 

AN4004MA Information and Communication Technologies in Language Learning

Seminar for 2nd year MA students.

Recent technological developments have created new environments and hitherto unimaginable possibilities for second language learning. This course explores ways in which new information and communication technologies (ICT) can facilitate the practice and development of language skills, thus enhancing the effectiveness of both autonomous and classroom second language learning. Following the task-based principle, students will be provided plenty of opportunities for hands-on experience to get to grips with on-line (Internet) computer applications, which will be complemented by regular reading tasks on the topic, including relevant state-of-the-art research on SLA, psycholinguistics and LT methodology. The course covers areas as broad as Corpus Technology, Web Quests, Podcasts, Videos, Mobile Communication, CMC, Blogs/Vlogs, Community Sites, and Wikis. It aims to sensitize students to the best possible strategies of autonomously exploiting the new learning environment to the full (information gathering through hypertext, exploiting multimedia facilities, engaging in international communication and cooperation, etc.), which (combined linguistic and technological) skills are of vital importance at the beginning of the information-centered 21th century.

 

AN1007MA Advanced Research Methods in Linguistics (elsőéveseknek)

Seminar for 1st year MA students (Team-taught with Ildikó Csépes, Helga Koczog, and Ágoston Tóth) (elsőéveseknek)

The course is aimed at familiarizing students with the main principles of research design and data analysis used in different areas of linguistics. We cover techniques in the preparation, implementation and documentation of academic work. We will survey various methods of gathering linguistic data, including interviews, questionnaires and corpus compilation. A component of the course is devoted to the examination of how to produce and use questionnaires in second language research: it deals with the construction, administration, and processing of questionnaires in both quantitative and qualitative research methodology. In order to highlight various options in data analysis, basic statistics will be introduced such as calculating descriptive statistics (mean, mode, median, measures of variability), comparing means and frequencies, correlations. A substantial part of the material is devoted to general topics in research methodology. Finding relevant scientific literature involves the use of library catalogues, full-text databases and scholarly search engines. When we collect relevant literature, advanced bookmarking and compilation of citation databases may help a lot and will prevent us from ignoring existing research in the field. We will also discuss aspects of creating APA-compliant manuscripts. The course also introduces students to the ethics of human subject research. It will cover, through case studies, major research ethical problems and concepts such as informed consent, scientific fraud and misconduct, just selection of research subjects, ethical aspects of study design, privacy and confidentiality. Students will be familiarized with the different types of plagiarism as well as tips on how to avoid plagiarizing.

 

PART-TIME UPGRADING COURSE FOR UNIVERSITY DEGREE

ANL40001 Introduction to Applied Linguistics. 2nd year, Upgrading Course

The course aims to introduce students to the realms of Applied Linguistics. Besides providing an overview of the history and some of the most prominent interpretations of the term ‘Applied Linguistics’ itself, it will attempt to shed light on the relationship of pure, theoretical linguistics and applied linguistics, and also deal with the relationship between applied linguistics and language teaching. The course will examine the scope of applied linguistics as an academic discipline, especially within the field of language teaching. Among other things special attention will be paid to Discourse Analysis attempting to describe language above sentence level. Pragmatics and Sociolinguistics representing other aspects of context-dependent language use; Second Language Acquisition, and Psycholinguistics dealing with the intellectual and affective domains, as well as the cognitive processes of language learning and teaching. By the end of the course students will have been familiarized with the different interpretations of Applied Linguistics, its scope, and get a general idea about some of its most characteristic fields.

 

BTANL40010 Second Language Acquisition. 3rd year, Upgrading course

This is an introductory course in second language acquisition (SLA) dealing with how people learn foreign/second languages. It aims to present an overview of current perspectives in the field of second language acquisition. The course also aims to examine the internal and external factors involved in the process of second language acquisition as well as to dispel popular myths about the nature of language learning. It will survey SLA research carried out over the past 20 years to identify the various linguistic, environmental and personal factors that are thought to be important, and the theories of SLA that have been proposed. These will then be discussed in terms of what they imply for the classroom teaching of students of different ages and levels to raise EFL practitioners’ awareness about their own language learning/teaching situation of English as a foreign language.

 

• FIVE-YEAR PROGRAMME
• BTANTK49434 Using Video in the Language Classroom. 5th year, ELT Methodology Elective.

This course will look at a variety of techniques for exploiting the use of video in the classroom, both ELT-specific and authentic materials. Trainees become familiar with a range of published video materials and learn how to integrate them into their teaching programmes. The course also aims to demonstrate how to select ’off-air’ excerpts suitable for ELT, design worksheets to enhance these video sequences, and also provides trainees micro-teaching opportunities to practise how to use such materials effectively

 

BTANTK49444 Teaching and Learning English Vocabulary. 5th year, ELT Methodology Elective.

This course is designed to familiarize trainees with some of the current ELT methodology approaches to the instruction of lexical items. It aims to prepare trainees for a successful teaching experience by assisting them in collecting, creating and adapting instructional techniques as well as materials appropriate to primary and scondary school EFL courses. Trainees will also be shown how to use new technologies both during preparation and in the lesson, and they will be provided several opportunities to do micro- and mini-teaching practice. To ensure maximum coverage of the syllabus, project work will also be expected of all students.

 

CORRESPONDENCE MA FOR TEACHERS OF ENGLISH

BTANL1070MA The Mental Lexicon and L2 Vocabulary Acquisition

The aim of the course is to familiarize students with current issues and experimental findings of psycholinguistic research related to the organization and function of the L2 mental lexicon as well as with some of the latest research results concerning the learning and teaching of L2 vocabulary. The following questions will be addressed: How is our mental lexicon organized? How is semantic and formal knowledge represented, and how can we access lexical information? How does lexical memory work, and what intralingual issues may represent a challenge in the memorization of L2 vocabulary? The course will offer a survey of research into the learner’s lexical development with special regard to the role of form and meaning in the function of the mental lexicon. In addition, the seminar will take a contrastive perspective exploring the relation between the L1 and L2 lexicons and analyzing their structural differences through practical examples. The application of new technologies in L2 vocabulary acquisition will also be discussed. The course comprises seminar input with active participation in class discussions. Micro-teaching practice and project work are also expected of all students to ensure maximum coverage of the syllabus

 

UNDIVIDED FIVE-YEAR ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHER TRAINING PROGRAMME

UAN5109OMA Second Language AcquisitionSeminar

Building on the prior, basic knowledge gained in the course called Language Acquisition, this course aims to familiarize students with some current issues in language acquisition studies based on recent results of SLA research. It is hoped that students will gain deeper insight into the way in which languages are learned and acquired by studying bilinguals and polyglots, investigating learner beliefs, formulaic language and third language acquisition. In addition, such internal variables as age, gender, and linguistic talent (language aptitude) will also be examined in order to inspect how these factors contribute to the variability observed in rates and outcomes of language learning.

 

AN3100OMA Language Teaching Methods

Seminar For third-year students

This seminar aims to familiarize students with the most influential trends in language teaching methodology. Participants will have an opportunity to experience a variety of teaching methods as some of the classes will be conducted in the same fashion as is prescribed by a particular method. In some cases participants will have the opportunity to view and discuss video-recorded lessons. Reflections on and a critical evaluation of the methods demonstrated are aimed to increase participants’ awareness of the strengths and weaknesses of each method discussed. The teaching methods will include the following: The Grammar Translation Method; The Direct Method; The Audiolingual Method; The Silent Way; Community Language Learning; Suggestopedia; Total Physical Response; and The Communicative Approach.

 

OAN1080MA & AN3101OMA ELT Methodology 1

Seminar For third-year students

The course aims to provide students with a broad perspective of current classroom practice and to introduce them to basic principles by which they can evaluate the alternatives and their application. It will familiarize students with the most influential trends in language teaching methodology and the various theories of language and language learning behind them, as for a good understanding of the workings of the various methods, teachers need to be aware of the strengths and weaknesses of their application. The course will introduce the essentials of a communicative curriculum in FL teaching by focusing on what constitutes communicative competence and by exploring various issues in classroom management and of developing linguistic competence (the principles and practice of teaching pronunciation, vocabulary and grammar). Participants will be encouraged to evaluate and discuss various principles behind selecting and applying teaching techniques, especially from the point of view of ensuring learner involvement and enhancing motivation for learning. Trainees will be expected to perform micro teaching sessions, which will only have a formative place on the course (they will not be used for the purpose of evaluation). Assessment is based on session participation, written assignments, a progress report and an end-of-term test.

 

Language Awareness

Seminar

The primary goal of this course is to provide students with ample opportunities to (i) synthesize existing knowledge of the English descriptive grammar (ii) put theory introduced in (Second) Language Acquisition into practice, and (iii) critically approach current grammar teaching. Students are hoped to significantly improve their grammar awareness in the course of classroom discussions and through various in-class and take-home exercises requiring critical thinking and analysis. Input for these exercises and discussions will be provided by students’ presentations, videoed lesson extracts, and activities from various coursebooks.

 

DISTANCE LEARNING DEGREE PROGRAMME

ANT320 Second Language Acquisition

The governing principle behind the organisation and structuring of this course has been consciousness raising, i. e. to help teachers transform their covert theories about language learning (which are usually based on their experience and often very accurate) into an explicit form by examining the second language learning process, its participants and the outcome. In this way teachers are hoped to become more critical towards their own work as well as more susceptible to change within the language teaching branch. Contradictory as it may sound, at the same time it is also hoped that teachers with a sound, explicit theory are less likely to jump on the bandwagon of the next language teaching fashion without first carefully considering and weighing the various aspects and influences of the new trend. The course content, therefore, will be characterised by a classroom perspective. The course will be introduced by the comparison and contrast of first and second language acquisition processes and the study of learner language development including error analysis, interlanguage, as well as rule-governed and formulaic processes. The next 2 units examine internal factors of SLA, namely the role and effect of the first language and the comparison of the Universal Grammar Model and the Cognitive Theory Model of Language acquisition. After the overview of the external factors affecting SLA unit 7 deals with individual differences in second language acquisition. The final unit is on the comparison of the natural and instructed second language acquisition processes.