THE UNIVERSITY of EDINBURGH

DEGREE REGULATIONS & PROGRAMMES OF STUDY 2018/2019

University Homepage
DRPS Homepage
DRPS Search
DRPS Contact
DRPS : Course Catalogue : Moray House School of Education : Education

Postgraduate Course: Language and Communication (EDUA11240)

Course Outline
SchoolMoray House School of Education CollegeCollege of Humanities and Social Science
Credit level (Normal year taken)SCQF Level 11 (Postgraduate) AvailabilityAvailable to all students
SCQF Credits20 ECTS Credits10
SummaryThis course will introduce participants to key issues in relation to language learning and deafness. It should enable participants to take an informed view of what remains a controversial area within deaf education. The course will focus on the deaf individual's linguistic potential and the practical ways of enabling linguistic access. We will examine the nature and acquisition of both signed and spoken language and their use with deaf children and young people.
Course description a. Acquisition of first language(s) in hearing and deaf children
b. Analysing grammatical and semantic development in spoken English
c. British Sign Language in hearing and deaf families: grammatical and semantic analysis
d. Different approaches to language development with deaf children: oral / aural; Total Communication; sign bilingual.
e. Using assessment tools with deaf children, e.g. Monitoring Protocol, STASS, ACE, BSL Receptive skills, BSL vocabulary assessment.
Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
Pre-requisites Co-requisites
Prohibited Combinations Other requirements Undergraduate degree preferably in a social sciences subject.
Additional Costs No
Information for Visiting Students
Pre-requisitesNone
High Demand Course? Yes
Course Delivery Information
Academic year 2018/19, Available to all students (SV1) Quota:  None
Course Start Semester 2
Course Start Date 14/01/2019
Timetable Timetable
Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) Total Hours: 200 ( Lecture Hours 16, Seminar/Tutorial Hours 2, Supervised Practical/Workshop/Studio Hours 4, Online Activities 60, Formative Assessment Hours 1, Summative Assessment Hours 60, Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4, Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours 53 )
Assessment (Further Info) Written Exam 0 %, Coursework 100 %, Practical Exam 0 %
Additional Information (Assessment) Formative assessment: feedback on case study / report outline / language assessment used with a deaf pupil (LOs 1 - 5).

Summative assessment: for students who are teachers of deaf children: A case study of a child discussing their linguistic context, profile, challenges and strengths; drawing on assessments some of which have been conducted by the student, and using current research, policy and theory to discuss the implications of the assessment information for the child and the school service. (4,000 words 90%; LOs 1 - 5)

For students taking this course as an option: A report investigating the support for early language development in speech and / or sign in one country; using current research, policy and theory to discuss the implications of the current situation for deaf children, their families and the health and education system (4,000 words 90%; LOs 1 - 5).
For all students: In-class test (10%) analysing spoken child language (LO4)

Students on the Postgraduate Diploma Inclusive Education (deaf learners) who receive a mark of less than 50% have one opportunity to resit. They will receive a tutorial from the course tutor to discuss the resit, then usually a period of 4 weeks will be agreed for resubmission. If the student fails the resit, they will exit with a Postgraduate Certificate or transcript.

The mark which will appear on Euclid, the official space where marks are announced on MyEd will reflect the first mark. This mark is used to provide an average for the whole diploma. However, the resit mark will not be capped at 50% and it will also appear on the mark sheet put to the Inclusive Education examination board.

To read more about this exam regulation, please go to: http://bit.ly/2mJyIyS

The School Postgraduate Studies Committee at the School of Education agreed during 2015/16 that this regulation would come into force from 16/17. The British Association of Teachers of the Deaf (BATOD) argued that the mandatory nature of the qualification throughout the UK meant that it was essential that teachers of deaf children attain this minimum level for all specialist courses. The committee agreed that only one resit would be possible. Regulation 27.1 from the link above explains this.

Feedback Formative assessment - spoken and written feedback on the report / case study outline; spoken feedback on the assessment used with a deaf pupil.

Summative assessment - comments on the script in Turnitin and generic comments on the right hand panel in Turnitin following the School's generic postgraduate marking criteria.
No Exam Information
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
  1. Show an awareness of the linguistic potential of deaf pupils and the possible barriers to linguistic access;
  2. Demonstrate an understanding of key differences and similarities between spoken and signed language, and their acquisition;
  3. Develop an informed understanding of the different approaches to language within Deaf Education, including monolingual and bi/multi-lingual approaches;
  4. Demonstrate a critical awareness of different types of linguistic assessment; the ability to interpret the results of such assessments and some ability to carry out some forms of assessment and to make use of linguistic observations;
  5. Develop familiarity with approaches, techniques and resources, including technological resources, which can support the deaf child's language use.
Reading List
Crystal, D. (2003) The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the English Language. Chapter 17. The Sound system. pp. 236 - 255. 3rd edition. London: BCA / CUP.
DfES (2006) Early Support: Monitoring Protocol for Deaf Babies and Children. London: Department for Education and Science
Geers AE, Mitchell CM, Warner-Czyz A, et al. (2017) Early Sign Language Exposure and Cochlear Implantation Benefits. Pediatrics. 140(1):e20163489
McLeod, S. & McCormack, J. (2015) An Introduction to Speech, Language and Literacy. Oxford University Press.
Sutton-Spence, R. & Woll, B. (1999) The Linguistics of British Sign Language. Cambridge: CUP. Chapter 3 Constructing Sign Sentences. pp 41 - 64.
Tomasello, M. (2010) Language Development, In U. Goswami (Ed.) The Wiley-Blackwell Handbook of Childhood Cognitive Development, Second edition. Oxford: Blackwell. Chapter
Additional Information
Graduate Attributes and Skills Be able to communicate using oral and written methods to specialist (e.g., staff, fellow students) and non-specialist audiences (e.g., school staff, parents, research participants).
Be able to effectively work collaboratively with others, recognising the diversity of contributions individuals can make.
Be able to exercise substantial autonomy and initiative in academic activities, including decision making on the basis of independent thought.
Develop professional competencies required by qualified teachers of deaf and visually impaired children.
Special Arrangements Students will receive their own hard copy of the booklet on STASS in advance of the course starting (O'Neill, 2011).
A wide range of language assessment material is available in the Scottish Sensory Centre in Paterson's Land for students to review and borrow.
Additional Class Delivery Information This course runs every two years in semester 2. Block A is 3 days, followed by Block B several weeks later of 2 days. Each day runs 10 am - 4pm. The sessions are a mixture of lectures, seminars and workshops, some student-led. There are 4 invited speakers, e.g. a parent of a deaf child, an auditory verbal therapist, a BSL sign linguist.
Keywordsdeaf,spoken,British Sign Language,acquisition,assessment
Contacts
Course organiserMs Rachel O'Neill
Tel: (0131 6)51 6429
Email: rachel.oneill@ed.ac.uk
Course secretaryMs Marie Hamilton
Tel: (0131 6)51 6678
Email: marie.hamilton@ed.ac.uk
Navigation
Help & Information
Home
Introduction
Glossary
Search DPTs and Courses
Regulations
Regulations
Degree Programmes
Introduction
Browse DPTs
Courses
Introduction
Humanities and Social Science
Science and Engineering
Medicine and Veterinary Medicine
Other Information
Combined Course Timetable
Prospectuses
Important Information