by Cora Rutledge

If you are fascinated by languages and cultures, the new major concentration in applied linguistics in the English department may be for you. Adding the minor in TESOL as well will prepare you to teach English as a Second or Foreign Language to adults in many settings around the world. 

Our courses explore such topics as:  

  • connections between language and culture 
  • cross-cultural communication 
  • language and gender 
  • second/foreign language acquisition theory, methods and materials for teaching English  
  • linguistic structure, including phonetics, phonology, syntax, and semantics. 

This 36-hour concentration will be joining the existing five in the English major. It will be available to add officially in August 2019, but if you want to get started, you can register for some of the required classes.

Here are three courses for Fall 2019 that require no pre-requisites.

  • ENG 220 – Language and Society
    • Section 1: MWF 10:00-10:50
    • Section 2: TR 11:00-12:15
  • ENG 320 – Introduction to Linguistic Science
    • Section 1: MWF 2:00-2:50
  • ENG 321 – English Linguistics
    • Section 1: MWF 12:00-12:50

What You Will Learn

Linguistics is the scientific study of human language, and it’s applied in many fields, including the teaching and learning of foreign languages, speech pathology,  advertising, and computational linguistics. The program is designed to provide a foundation in linguistic structure and the role of language in culture and communication.

It’s a great major for students seeking careers in global settings or considering graduate studies in linguistics and related fields. The new concentration features aspects of both linguistics and applied linguistics.

Linguistics Courses

  • ENG 320 Intro to Linguistic Science
  • ENG 321 English Linguistics
  • ENG 332 Phonetics and Phonology

Applied Linguistics Courses

  • ENG 220 Language and Society
  • ENG 436 Theory and Research in TESOL
  • ENG 444 Senior Seminar

Along with the required courses listed above, students will choose 18 credits from directed electives available through ten departments.

Directed Elective Courses

  • ENG 205 World Literature
  • ENG 230 Reading and Writing about Lit
  • ENG 210 Intro to Rhetoric and Writing
  • ENG 213 Intro to Digital Literacies
  • ENG 322 Lang and Cross-Cultural Comm
  • ENG 323 Discourse Structure and Strategies
  • ENG 328 Language and Gender
  • ENG 335 Writing and Reading Public Discourse
  • ENG 400 Special Topics in English
  • ANTH 101 Intro to Cultural Anthropology
  • AR 334 Ethnic Cultural Ling Arab
  • COMM 290 Intercultural communication
  • CS 120 Computer Science
  • FR 337 Phonetics
  • GER 337 Phonetics
  • JAPA 337 Japanese Linguistics
  • SP 337 SP Phonetics and SLE
  • SP 340 Survey in Spanish Linguistics
  • SPAA 260 Speech Acoustics
  • SPAA 270 Language Development

What you can do with the major

A major concentration in Applied Linguistics is great background for graduate study in TESOL, Linguistics, and Applied Linguistics, as well as for translation, some types of work in industry, and other foreign-language-related work. The addition of a minor in TESOL will prepare students to teach English as a Second or Foreign Language at the adult level in the U.S. and abroad.  With the TESOL add-on license, it is also possible to teach in the public schools. With further study, you could be on a career path in publishing, gaming, acting, and journalism.

Interested? You can check out the course descriptions and sign up!