Overview
In this unit, you will study aspects of language form, content, and use to develop an understanding of morphology, syntax, semantics, and pragmatics. You will learn how these subsystems of language help us to understand and express meaning in communication and will apply your learning to analyse English words and sentences. You will study how people acquire language, and how language varies across individuals, communities, social environments, and cultures.
Details
Pre-requisites or Co-requisites
There are no requisites for this unit.
Important note: Students enrolled in a subsequent unit who failed their pre-requisite unit, should drop the subsequent unit before the census date or within 10 working days of Fail grade notification. Students who do not drop the unit in this timeframe cannot later drop the unit without academic and financial liability. See details in the Assessment Policy and Procedure (Higher Education Coursework).
Offerings For Term 2 - 2023
Attendance Requirements
All on-campus students are expected to attend scheduled classes – in some units, these classes are identified as a mandatory (pass/fail) component and attendance is compulsory. International students, on a student visa, must maintain a full time study load and meet both attendance and academic progress requirements in each study period (satisfactory attendance for International students is defined as maintaining at least an 80% attendance record).
Recommended Student Time Commitment
Each 6-credit Undergraduate unit at CQUniversity requires an overall time commitment of an average of 12.5 hours of study per week, making a total of 150 hours for the unit.
Class Timetable
Assessment Overview
Assessment Grading
This is a graded unit: your overall grade will be calculated from the marks or grades for each assessment task, based on the relative weightings shown in the table above. You must obtain an overall mark for the unit of at least 50%, or an overall grade of ‘pass’ in order to pass the unit. If any ‘pass/fail’ tasks are shown in the table above they must also be completed successfully (‘pass’ grade). You must also meet any minimum mark requirements specified for a particular assessment task, as detailed in the ‘assessment task’ section (note that in some instances, the minimum mark for a task may be greater than 50%). Consult the University’s Grades and Results Policy for more details of interim results and final grades.
All University policies are available on the CQUniversity Policy site.
You may wish to view these policies:
- Grades and Results Policy
- Assessment Policy and Procedure (Higher Education Coursework)
- Review of Grade Procedure
- Student Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure
- Monitoring Academic Progress (MAP) Policy and Procedure – Domestic Students
- Monitoring Academic Progress (MAP) Policy and Procedure – International Students
- Student Refund and Credit Balance Policy and Procedure
- Student Feedback – Compliments and Complaints Policy and Procedure
- Information and Communications Technology Acceptable Use Policy and Procedure
This list is not an exhaustive list of all University policies. The full list of University policies are available on the CQUniversity Policy site.
Feedback, Recommendations and Responses
Every unit is reviewed for enhancement each year. At the most recent review, the following staff and student feedback items were identified and recommendations were made.
Feedback from Instructor reflection and student comments.
Some of the quiz questions were ambiguous.
It is recommended that quiz questions be reviewed for ambiguity and updated to increase clarity.
Feedback from Academic Learning Centre Workshop.
More guidance is needed in understanding assessment requirements.
It is recommended that an assessment video be created that guides students through the process of analysing and interpreting assessment requirements.
- Identify and analyse aspects of form, content, and use in simple and complex English words and sentences
- Describe how language develops and varies across time, speakers, communities, environments, and cultures
- Integrate a variety of evidence-based sources to support a claim related to language learning or diversity
- Cohesively and coherently communicate ideas using academic writing conventions
Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Learning Outcomes
| Assessment Tasks | Learning Outcomes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | |
| 1 - Online Quiz(zes) - 60% | ||||
| 2 - Essay - 40% | ||||
Alignment of Graduate Attributes to Learning Outcomes
| Graduate Attributes | Learning Outcomes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | |
| 1 - Communication | ||||
| 2 - Problem Solving | ||||
| 3 - Critical Thinking | ||||
| 4 - Information Literacy | ||||
| 5 - Team Work | ||||
| 6 - Information Technology Competence | ||||
| 7 - Cross Cultural Competence | ||||
| 8 - Ethical practice | ||||
| 9 - Social Innovation | ||||
| 10 - Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Cultures | ||||
Textbooks
There are no required textbooks.
IT Resources
- CQUniversity Student Email
- Internet
- Unit Website (Moodle)
- CQ U library all other resources
All submissions for this unit must use the referencing style: American Psychological Association 7th Edition (APA 7th edition)
For further information, see the Assessment Tasks.
b.zupan@cqu.edu.au
Module/Topic
What is Language?
Introduction to Words and Sentences
Chapter
Readings are provided on Moodle.
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Parts of Speech: Content Words
Chapter
Readings are provided on Moodle.
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Parts of Speech: Function Words
Chapter
Readings are provided on Moodle.
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Morphemes
Chapter
Readings are provided on Moodle.
Events and Submissions/Topic
Quiz 1 Opens at 8:00am 31 July (Monday)
Quiz 1 Closes at 11:00pm 1 August (Tuesday)
Module/Topic
Sentence Patterns of Language
Chapter
Readings are provided on Moodle.
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Phrases and Clauses
Chapter
Readings are provided on Moodle.
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Deixis and Reference
Speech Acts
Maxims of Conversation
Chapter
Readings are provided on Moodle.
Events and Submissions/Topic
Quiz 2 Opens at 8:00am 28 August (Monday)
Quiz 2 Closes at 11:00pm 29 August (Tuesday)
Module/Topic
Frames and Scripts
Coherence and Cohesion in Discourse
Narrative in Text
Chapter
Readings are provided on Moodle.
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Language Learning and Change
Chapter
Readings are provided on Moodle.
Events and Submissions/Topic
Quiz 3 Opens at 8:00am 11 September (Monday)
Quiz 3 Closes at 11:00pm 12 September (Tuesday)
Module/Topic
Language, Culture, and Identity
Chapter
Readings are provided on Moodle.
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Clinical Linguistics
Chapter
Readings are provided on Moodle.
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
No class. Use the week to complete your final quiz and finalise your essay for Assessment 2.
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
NOTE: The quiz will open and close one day later this week due to the public holiday on 2 October.
Quiz 4 Opens at 8:00am 3 October (Tuesday)
Quiz 4 Closes at 11:00pm 4 October (Wednesday)
Module/Topic
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
1 Online Quiz(zes)
You will have 4 online quizzes across the term. Each quiz may vary slightly in total points, but will be equally weighted toward your Assessment 1 grade. In other words, each quiz will be worth 12.5 of the 60 total marks for Assessment 1. This means that if, on quiz 1, you achieve 20/30 points, your grade will be recorded in gradebook as 8.33 for that quiz.
Each quiz will cover content from your recorded lecture material, your tutorials, interactive online content (i.e., H5P activities) and your readings. There are 4 quizzes in total. These quizzes are scheduled for Week 4, Week 7, Week 9, and Week 12. Quizzes 1 to 3 will open at 8am on Monday of the week for which it is scheduled and close at 11pm on Tuesday. In Week 12, the dates have been adjusted to accommodate the holiday on Monday 2 October such that the quiz will open at 8am on Tuesday of Week 12 and close at 11pm on Wednesday of that same week. A full schedule is provided for you on Moodle.
Once you start the quiz, you will have one hour to complete it.
This is a must-pass assessment task. This means you must achieve a total grade of 30/60 across the four quizzes this term in order to pass this assessment task and meet the requirements of the unit.
4
Other
Your quizzes are available via Moodle.
Results will be returned within two weeks after the closure of each quiz.
Quiz questions will include closed-type questions (e.g., Multiple choice, matching) and short answer questions. Points assigned are identified for each question. You will attain points for questions answered correctly.
- Identify and analyse aspects of form, content, and use in simple and complex English words and sentences
- Describe how language develops and varies across time, speakers, communities, environments, and cultures
2 Essay
For this written assessment, you need to write a formal descriptive essay (i.e. paper) on one of the following topics:
- Language assessment of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders Peoples (you can choose to focus on children or adults)
- Language assessment for Culturally and Linguistically Diverse clients (you can choose to focus on children or adults)
- Cultural considerations in language use
- Bilingualism in children
- Language difference versus disorder
- Language differences based on gender
Once you select your topic which is the general area you plan to write about, you need to identify a thesis. A thesis is more specific than a topic and can be described as the central point/assertion/idea you want to prove/argue/explain in your essay. Your essay can be no longer than 1200 words and must use APA 7 formatting (e.g., title page, 12-point font, double-spaced) and referencing. NOTE: You are required to paraphrase information from sources and should avoid the use of direct quotes. If direct quotes are used, that information will not be considered in the grading of the work.
This is a must-pass assessment task. You must achieve a mark of 20/40 to pass this assessment and meet requirements of the unit.
Detailed task instructions including a detailed rubric are provided on Moodle.
Review/Exam Week Wednesday (11 Oct 2023) 5:00 pm AEST
Your essay needs to be submitted via Moodle.
Your essay will be graded and returned to you within 2 weeks of submission.
1) Content (25 points)
This section includes the strength of the content you provided in your introductory paragraph and the clarity of your thesis statement. It also includes the strength of the claims/ideas used to support your thesis statement in the body paragraphs of your essay, including the quality of the evidence applied. In addition, your paper should demonstrate that you can integrate information to form a cohesive argument, and that you can analyse/interpret that evidence within the context of your thesis.
2) Academic Writing Style and Conventions (15 points)
This section focuses on the quality of your writing which includes the overall organisation of your paper (e.g., sequencing of ideas across the paper and within paragraphs). This section also includes your application of the information learned in class related to content (e.g., word choice), form (e.g., syntax, proper use of morphemes such as plural versus possessive ‘s’; proper use of verb tense), and use (e.g., coherence and cohesion in narrative text). This section also includes your use of APA formatting and referencing , both in regard to referencing where appropriate throughout the paper and accurate use of APA 7 for both in-text citations and recording references on your reference page.
Complete task instructions including a detailed rubric are provided on Moodle.
- Integrate a variety of evidence-based sources to support a claim related to language learning or diversity
- Cohesively and coherently communicate ideas using academic writing conventions
As a CQUniversity student you are expected to act honestly in all aspects of your academic work.
Any assessable work undertaken or submitted for review or assessment must be your own work. Assessable work is any type of work you do to meet the assessment requirements in the unit, including draft work submitted for review and feedback and final work to be assessed.
When you use the ideas, words or data of others in your assessment, you must thoroughly and clearly acknowledge the source of this information by using the correct referencing style for your unit. Using others’ work without proper acknowledgement may be considered a form of intellectual dishonesty.
Participating honestly, respectfully, responsibly, and fairly in your university study ensures the CQUniversity qualification you earn will be valued as a true indication of your individual academic achievement and will continue to receive the respect and recognition it deserves.
As a student, you are responsible for reading and following CQUniversity’s policies, including the Student Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure. This policy sets out CQUniversity’s expectations of you to act with integrity, examples of academic integrity breaches to avoid, the processes used to address alleged breaches of academic integrity, and potential penalties.
What is a breach of academic integrity?
A breach of academic integrity includes but is not limited to plagiarism, self-plagiarism, collusion, cheating, contract cheating, and academic misconduct. The Student Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure defines what these terms mean and gives examples.
Why is academic integrity important?
A breach of academic integrity may result in one or more penalties, including suspension or even expulsion from the University. It can also have negative implications for student visas and future enrolment at CQUniversity or elsewhere. Students who engage in contract cheating also risk being blackmailed by contract cheating services.
Where can I get assistance?
For academic advice and guidance, the Academic Learning Centre (ALC) can support you in becoming confident in completing assessments with integrity and of high standard.
What can you do to act with integrity?
