The students write a concise project proposal for their MA thesis as well as selecting the subject and research metod with their teacher. They read academic journals on their subject/research method. The students will also make a teaching plan for six weeks, teach according to the plan and critically evaluate the result. This part of the course is in cooperation with teachers in The Faculty of Foreign Languages, Literature and Linguistics and teachers in Icelandic as a Second Language.

This is an overview course that introduces major theories of second language acquisition and how they influence language instruction. We will examine research on the cognitive, linguistic, individual, social and educational factors that affect the language learning process and language attainment. The role of input on language learning will be examined as well as the development of reading and writing skills in a second language. 

Students will participate in short seminars and conferences about new development in the field. The seminars will be partly funded through Erasmus and by other means. The goal is to give students an opportunity to converse and collaborate with Icelandic and international researchers on current issues in Second Language Studies.

We will discuss the history and empirical basis of Conversation Analysis (CA). The students will be trained in using the key concepts of CA. We will read and discuss the main research of CA-SLA (Conversation Analysis for Second Language Acquisition). The students will get training in collecting conversational data and transcribe the data according to CA standards. The students will be introduced to the CLAN software in a workshop to use for transcribing the data. The transcribed data will be analyzed in Data-sessions.

A practical course in teaching Icelandic as a second language for adults. We will discuss the four skills; reading, writing, speaking and listening comprehension. The students will be guided in teaching, making assignments and training these skills in Icelandic. An overview will be given of the morphological and phonetic systems in Icelandic. We will discuss methods of teaching grammar, i.e. when, how and what should be taught. The grammar teaching will be put into the context of the four skills. The teaching of pronunciation will be discussed with phonetics in mind. Icelandic vocabulary has certain aspects that will be discussed in the course: we will look at the acquisition of vocabulary as well as making of new words. The course will look at the teaching of vocabulary through reading and writing for different levels. Finally we will look at the role of literature and culture in teaching Icelandic as a Second Language.

A project is selected in consultation with a teacher, and that teacher must approve the student's research plans before she or he is permitted to register for a study of this kind.

A project is selected in consultation with a teacher, and that teacher must approve the student's research plans before she or he is permitted to register for a study of this kind.

This course covers the nature of vocabulary acquisition: how vocabulary develops, is learned and taught. Various factors will be analyzed in detail, including, the role of pronunciation, word frequency, various learning strategies for vocabulary growth and considerable attention will be drawn to current research methodology in Vocabulary Acquisition. Students will review research as well as conduct a mini study.

Taught on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 10 am (2. and 3. year students only)

Training in various aspects of the writing and editing of scientific texts. Various kinds of texts (non-fiction) examined and evaluated. Training in reviewing and commenting on scientific texts and in other aspects of editorial work. The main emphasis will be on the writing of articles, but other kinds of texts will also be considered, both shorter (conference abstracts, reviews) and longer (theses, books), as well as research proposals. Discussion of guidelines for the preparation of manuscripts. Types of plagiarism and how to avoid them and find them. Texts on different subjects will be used as examples, especially writings in linguistics, literature and history. The book Skrifaðu bæði skýrt og rétt will be used as a textbook (Höskuldur Þráinsson 2015).

This course is open to students of many MA programmes in the School of Humanities, cf. the regulations of the individual subjects. Students in the MA programmes in Icelandic literature, Icelandic linguistics, Icelandic studies and Icelandic teaching can take the course as part of the MA course requirements in Icelandic literature or Icelandic linguistics. Students in the MA programme in Icelandic teaching can, however, not have this course as the only linguistics or literature course in their MA.

Students will participate in short seminars and conferences about new development in the field. The seminars will be partly funded through Erasmus and by other means. The goal is to give students an opportunity to converse and collaborate with Icelandic and international researchers on current issues in Second Language Studies.

Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL) is a growing field of inquiry within Second Language Studies. We will discuss different opportunities multi-media has to offer in learning and teaching a second/foreign language for adults (at secondary and tertiary level). We will discuss the relationship between pedagogy, theory, and technology in online language learning and teaching. Furthermore, particular learning and teaching environments will be discussed, such as distance-learning and blended-learning. Students will also review different approaches to CALL research.

A project is selected in consultation with a teacher, and that teacher must approve the student's research plans before she or he is permitted to register for a study of this kind.

A project is selected in consultation with a teacher, and that teacher must approve the student's research plans before she or he is permitted to register for a study of this kind.

In this course, the focus will be on teaching Icelandic as a second language for adults. The course will cover the structure of the Icelandic vocabulary and word formation. Discussions will be held on how to teach vocabulary and comprehension regarding the different proficiency levels of students and various language skills. The role of literature and cultural literacy in this context will be examined. Also, the vocabulary of spoken language and listening comprehension will be covered. Consideration will be given to the presentation of vocabulary and the four language skills specified in the European Framework, and students will be guided regarding teaching methods, task creation, and assessment.

The course will look at theories in general about the acquisition of grammar in second language. The main focus will be on the Processability Theory, which presents a universal model on developmental sequences in grammar acquisition in L2. We will look at the background of the theory, and its development will be followed since it was first presented in 1998. The theory has been tested in various languages, including Icelandic. The basic elements of the theory, methodology and its application will be covered in detail. The results of research will be looked at and discussed how they can be used in describing the acquisition of grammar in Icelandic as a second language. Students receive training in the data collection and analysis.

Recent years have seen an increased focus on data collection and statistical analysis within the humanities. This is particularly apparent in growing branches such as psycholinguistics, cognitive literary studies and experimental philosophy, to name a few. The push towards quantitative methods occurs at a time where the validity and reliability of well-established statistical methods are called into question in other fields, with increased demands of replicability and open access as well as data protection and responsibility. In this course, students explore the value of quantitative methods in their field while getting training in the collection and analysis of data. A diverse set of research methods will be introduced, ranging from surveys to corpus analysis and experiments in which participants’ response to stimuli (such as words, texts or audio-visual materials) is quantified. Basic concepts in statistics will be reviewed, enabling students to know the difference between descriptive and inferential statistics, understand statistical significance and interpret visual representations of data in graphs. The course will be largely practical and students are expected to apply their knowledge of data collection and analysis under the instructor’s guidance. Students will work on a project within their own discipline but will also explore the possibility of cross-disciplinary work. Open source tools such as R Studio will be used for all assignments but no prior knowledge of the software or statistics in general is required. The course is suitable for all students within the humanities who want to collect quantitative data to answer interesting questions and could therefore be a useful preparation for a BA or MA project.

In this course we concern ourselves with how language and society interact by examining sociolinguistic methods and concepts with regard to international and domestic research in the field.

Among the topics discussed are language attitudes, language contact, dialects, language style and language management. We take a look at different manifestations of language use and language variation as well as contemplating on how factors such as environment, context and background of a language user potentially influence language use and choice of style.

We provide an overview of principal research methods, both quantitative and qualitative, discuss recent trends in sociolinguistics and evaluate methods and methodologies with respect to the particular research topic.

Besides presenting research on attitudes towards language and language use, considering both attitudes towards one’s own language and that of others, we consider possible outcomes of unconventional language use. Special emphasis will be put on considering the language use of those who speak Icelandic as a foreign language as well as the status of immigrants in Iceland.

Additionally, we address the current status of the Icelandic language, particularly in relation to English and other languages. Principles of language management are discussed along with people’s ideas and believes about language through time. In that respect, we have a look at Icelandic language policy, language management, language standardization and linguistic purism from different perspectives, e.g. a synchronic and diachronic angle as well as with regard to other speech communities. 

We will discuss language use of particular social groups (e.g. teenagers) in terms of its social meaning for the group on the one hand and for the speech community as a whole on the other hand.

Students are expected to complete group or individual tasks on questions and problems originating from topics and discussions in the class room.

The students write a concise project proposal for their MA thesis as well as selecting the subject and research metod with their teacher. They read academic journals on their subject/research method. The students will also make a teaching plan for six weeks, teach according to the plan and critically evaluate the result. This part of the course is in cooperation with teachers in The Faculty of Foreign Languages, Literature and Linguistics and teachers in Icelandic as a Second Language.

Students will participate in short seminars and conferences about new development in the field. The seminars will be partly funded through Erasmus and by other means. The goal is to give students an opportunity to converse and collaborate with Icelandic and international researchers on current issues in Second Language Studies.

We will discuss the history and empirical basis of Conversation Analysis (CA). The students will be trained in using the key concepts of CA. We will read and discuss the main research of CA-SLA (Conversation Analysis for Second Language Acquisition). The students will get training in collecting conversational data and transcribe the data according to CA standards. The students will be introduced to the CLAN software in a workshop to use for transcribing the data. The transcribed data will be analyzed in Data-sessions.

A practical course in teaching Icelandic as a second language for adults. We will discuss the four skills; reading, writing, speaking and listening comprehension. The students will be guided in teaching, making assignments and training these skills in Icelandic. An overview will be given of the morphological and phonetic systems in Icelandic. We will discuss methods of teaching grammar, i.e. when, how and what should be taught. The grammar teaching will be put into the context of the four skills. The teaching of pronunciation will be discussed with phonetics in mind. Icelandic vocabulary has certain aspects that will be discussed in the course: we will look at the acquisition of vocabulary as well as making of new words. The course will look at the teaching of vocabulary through reading and writing for different levels. Finally we will look at the role of literature and culture in teaching Icelandic as a Second Language.

A project is selected in consultation with a teacher, and that teacher must approve the student's research plans before she or he is permitted to register for a study of this kind.

A project is selected in consultation with a teacher, and that teacher must approve the student's research plans before she or he is permitted to register for a study of this kind.

This course covers the nature of vocabulary acquisition: how vocabulary develops, is learned and taught. Various factors will be analyzed in detail, including, the role of pronunciation, word frequency, various learning strategies for vocabulary growth and considerable attention will be drawn to current research methodology in Vocabulary Acquisition. Students will review research as well as conduct a mini study.

Taught on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 10 am (2. and 3. year students only)

Training in various aspects of the writing and editing of scientific texts. Various kinds of texts (non-fiction) examined and evaluated. Training in reviewing and commenting on scientific texts and in other aspects of editorial work. The main emphasis will be on the writing of articles, but other kinds of texts will also be considered, both shorter (conference abstracts, reviews) and longer (theses, books), as well as research proposals. Discussion of guidelines for the preparation of manuscripts. Types of plagiarism and how to avoid them and find them. Texts on different subjects will be used as examples, especially writings in linguistics, literature and history. The book Skrifaðu bæði skýrt og rétt will be used as a textbook (Höskuldur Þráinsson 2015).

This course is open to students of many MA programmes in the School of Humanities, cf. the regulations of the individual subjects. Students in the MA programmes in Icelandic literature, Icelandic linguistics, Icelandic studies and Icelandic teaching can take the course as part of the MA course requirements in Icelandic literature or Icelandic linguistics. Students in the MA programme in Icelandic teaching can, however, not have this course as the only linguistics or literature course in their MA.

.MA-thesis in Second Language Studies

Students will participate in short seminars and conferences about new development in the field. The seminars will be partly funded through Erasmus and by other means. The goal is to give students an opportunity to converse and collaborate with Icelandic and international researchers on current issues in Second Language Studies.

Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL) is a growing field of inquiry within Second Language Studies. We will discuss different opportunities multi-media has to offer in learning and teaching a second/foreign language for adults (at secondary and tertiary level). We will discuss the relationship between pedagogy, theory, and technology in online language learning and teaching. Furthermore, particular learning and teaching environments will be discussed, such as distance-learning and blended-learning. Students will also review different approaches to CALL research.

A project is selected in consultation with a teacher, and that teacher must approve the student's research plans before she or he is permitted to register for a study of this kind.

A project is selected in consultation with a teacher, and that teacher must approve the student's research plans before she or he is permitted to register for a study of this kind.

In this course, the focus will be on teaching Icelandic as a second language for adults. The course will cover the structure of the Icelandic vocabulary and word formation. Discussions will be held on how to teach vocabulary and comprehension regarding the different proficiency levels of students and various language skills. The role of literature and cultural literacy in this context will be examined. Also, the vocabulary of spoken language and listening comprehension will be covered. Consideration will be given to the presentation of vocabulary and the four language skills specified in the European Framework, and students will be guided regarding teaching methods, task creation, and assessment.

The course will look at theories in general about the acquisition of grammar in second language. The main focus will be on the Processability Theory, which presents a universal model on developmental sequences in grammar acquisition in L2. We will look at the background of the theory, and its development will be followed since it was first presented in 1998. The theory has been tested in various languages, including Icelandic. The basic elements of the theory, methodology and its application will be covered in detail. The results of research will be looked at and discussed how they can be used in describing the acquisition of grammar in Icelandic as a second language. Students receive training in the data collection and analysis.

Recent years have seen an increased focus on data collection and statistical analysis within the humanities. This is particularly apparent in growing branches such as psycholinguistics, cognitive literary studies and experimental philosophy, to name a few. The push towards quantitative methods occurs at a time where the validity and reliability of well-established statistical methods are called into question in other fields, with increased demands of replicability and open access as well as data protection and responsibility. In this course, students explore the value of quantitative methods in their field while getting training in the collection and analysis of data. A diverse set of research methods will be introduced, ranging from surveys to corpus analysis and experiments in which participants’ response to stimuli (such as words, texts or audio-visual materials) is quantified. Basic concepts in statistics will be reviewed, enabling students to know the difference between descriptive and inferential statistics, understand statistical significance and interpret visual representations of data in graphs. The course will be largely practical and students are expected to apply their knowledge of data collection and analysis under the instructor’s guidance. Students will work on a project within their own discipline but will also explore the possibility of cross-disciplinary work. Open source tools such as R Studio will be used for all assignments but no prior knowledge of the software or statistics in general is required. The course is suitable for all students within the humanities who want to collect quantitative data to answer interesting questions and could therefore be a useful preparation for a BA or MA project.

In this course we concern ourselves with how language and society interact by examining sociolinguistic methods and concepts with regard to international and domestic research in the field.

Among the topics discussed are language attitudes, language contact, dialects, language style and language management. We take a look at different manifestations of language use and language variation as well as contemplating on how factors such as environment, context and background of a language user potentially influence language use and choice of style.

We provide an overview of principal research methods, both quantitative and qualitative, discuss recent trends in sociolinguistics and evaluate methods and methodologies with respect to the particular research topic.

Besides presenting research on attitudes towards language and language use, considering both attitudes towards one’s own language and that of others, we consider possible outcomes of unconventional language use. Special emphasis will be put on considering the language use of those who speak Icelandic as a foreign language as well as the status of immigrants in Iceland.

Additionally, we address the current status of the Icelandic language, particularly in relation to English and other languages. Principles of language management are discussed along with people’s ideas and believes about language through time. In that respect, we have a look at Icelandic language policy, language management, language standardization and linguistic purism from different perspectives, e.g. a synchronic and diachronic angle as well as with regard to other speech communities. 

We will discuss language use of particular social groups (e.g. teenagers) in terms of its social meaning for the group on the one hand and for the speech community as a whole on the other hand.

Students are expected to complete group or individual tasks on questions and problems originating from topics and discussions in the class room.

.MA-thesis in Second Language Studies

The students write a concise project proposal for their MA thesis as well as selecting the subject and research metod with their teacher. They read academic journals on their subject/research method. The students will also make a teaching plan for six weeks, teach according to the plan and critically evaluate the result. This part of the course is in cooperation with teachers in The Faculty of Foreign Languages, Literature and Linguistics and teachers in Icelandic as a Second Language.

This is an overview course that introduces major theories of second language acquisition and how they influence language instruction. We will examine research on the cognitive, linguistic, individual, social and educational factors that affect the language learning process and language attainment. The role of input on language learning will be examined as well as the development of reading and writing skills in a second language. 

Students will participate in short seminars and conferences about new development in the field. The seminars will be partly funded through Erasmus and by other means. The goal is to give students an opportunity to converse and collaborate with Icelandic and international researchers on current issues in Second Language Studies.

We will discuss the history and empirical basis of Conversation Analysis (CA). The students will be trained in using the key concepts of CA. We will read and discuss the main research of CA-SLA (Conversation Analysis for Second Language Acquisition). The students will get training in collecting conversational data and transcribe the data according to CA standards. The students will be introduced to the CLAN software in a workshop to use for transcribing the data. The transcribed data will be analyzed in Data-sessions.

A practical course in teaching Icelandic as a second language for adults. We will discuss the four skills; reading, writing, speaking and listening comprehension. The students will be guided in teaching, making assignments and training these skills in Icelandic. An overview will be given of the morphological and phonetic systems in Icelandic. We will discuss methods of teaching grammar, i.e. when, how and what should be taught. The grammar teaching will be put into the context of the four skills. The teaching of pronunciation will be discussed with phonetics in mind. Icelandic vocabulary has certain aspects that will be discussed in the course: we will look at the acquisition of vocabulary as well as making of new words. The course will look at the teaching of vocabulary through reading and writing for different levels. Finally we will look at the role of literature and culture in teaching Icelandic as a Second Language.

A project is selected in consultation with a teacher, and that teacher must approve the student's research plans before she or he is permitted to register for a study of this kind.

A project is selected in consultation with a teacher, and that teacher must approve the student's research plans before she or he is permitted to register for a study of this kind.

This course covers the nature of vocabulary acquisition: how vocabulary develops, is learned and taught. Various factors will be analyzed in detail, including, the role of pronunciation, word frequency, various learning strategies for vocabulary growth and considerable attention will be drawn to current research methodology in Vocabulary Acquisition. Students will review research as well as conduct a mini study.

Taught on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 10 am (2. and 3. year students only)

Training in various aspects of the writing and editing of scientific texts. Various kinds of texts (non-fiction) examined and evaluated. Training in reviewing and commenting on scientific texts and in other aspects of editorial work. The main emphasis will be on the writing of articles, but other kinds of texts will also be considered, both shorter (conference abstracts, reviews) and longer (theses, books), as well as research proposals. Discussion of guidelines for the preparation of manuscripts. Types of plagiarism and how to avoid them and find them. Texts on different subjects will be used as examples, especially writings in linguistics, literature and history. The book Skrifaðu bæði skýrt og rétt will be used as a textbook (Höskuldur Þráinsson 2015).

This course is open to students of many MA programmes in the School of Humanities, cf. the regulations of the individual subjects. Students in the MA programmes in Icelandic literature, Icelandic linguistics, Icelandic studies and Icelandic teaching can take the course as part of the MA course requirements in Icelandic literature or Icelandic linguistics. Students in the MA programme in Icelandic teaching can, however, not have this course as the only linguistics or literature course in their MA.

Students will participate in short seminars and conferences about new development in the field. The seminars will be partly funded through Erasmus and by other means. The goal is to give students an opportunity to converse and collaborate with Icelandic and international researchers on current issues in Second Language Studies.

Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL) is a growing field of inquiry within Second Language Studies. We will discuss different opportunities multi-media has to offer in learning and teaching a second/foreign language for adults (at secondary and tertiary level). We will discuss the relationship between pedagogy, theory, and technology in online language learning and teaching. Furthermore, particular learning and teaching environments will be discussed, such as distance-learning and blended-learning. Students will also review different approaches to CALL research.

A project is selected in consultation with a teacher, and that teacher must approve the student's research plans before she or he is permitted to register for a study of this kind.

A project is selected in consultation with a teacher, and that teacher must approve the student's research plans before she or he is permitted to register for a study of this kind.

In this course, the focus will be on teaching Icelandic as a second language for adults. The course will cover the structure of the Icelandic vocabulary and word formation. Discussions will be held on how to teach vocabulary and comprehension regarding the different proficiency levels of students and various language skills. The role of literature and cultural literacy in this context will be examined. Also, the vocabulary of spoken language and listening comprehension will be covered. Consideration will be given to the presentation of vocabulary and the four language skills specified in the European Framework, and students will be guided regarding teaching methods, task creation, and assessment.

The course will look at theories in general about the acquisition of grammar in second language. The main focus will be on the Processability Theory, which presents a universal model on developmental sequences in grammar acquisition in L2. We will look at the background of the theory, and its development will be followed since it was first presented in 1998. The theory has been tested in various languages, including Icelandic. The basic elements of the theory, methodology and its application will be covered in detail. The results of research will be looked at and discussed how they can be used in describing the acquisition of grammar in Icelandic as a second language. Students receive training in the data collection and analysis.

Recent years have seen an increased focus on data collection and statistical analysis within the humanities. This is particularly apparent in growing branches such as psycholinguistics, cognitive literary studies and experimental philosophy, to name a few. The push towards quantitative methods occurs at a time where the validity and reliability of well-established statistical methods are called into question in other fields, with increased demands of replicability and open access as well as data protection and responsibility. In this course, students explore the value of quantitative methods in their field while getting training in the collection and analysis of data. A diverse set of research methods will be introduced, ranging from surveys to corpus analysis and experiments in which participants’ response to stimuli (such as words, texts or audio-visual materials) is quantified. Basic concepts in statistics will be reviewed, enabling students to know the difference between descriptive and inferential statistics, understand statistical significance and interpret visual representations of data in graphs. The course will be largely practical and students are expected to apply their knowledge of data collection and analysis under the instructor’s guidance. Students will work on a project within their own discipline but will also explore the possibility of cross-disciplinary work. Open source tools such as R Studio will be used for all assignments but no prior knowledge of the software or statistics in general is required. The course is suitable for all students within the humanities who want to collect quantitative data to answer interesting questions and could therefore be a useful preparation for a BA or MA project.

In this course we concern ourselves with how language and society interact by examining sociolinguistic methods and concepts with regard to international and domestic research in the field.

Among the topics discussed are language attitudes, language contact, dialects, language style and language management. We take a look at different manifestations of language use and language variation as well as contemplating on how factors such as environment, context and background of a language user potentially influence language use and choice of style.

We provide an overview of principal research methods, both quantitative and qualitative, discuss recent trends in sociolinguistics and evaluate methods and methodologies with respect to the particular research topic.

Besides presenting research on attitudes towards language and language use, considering both attitudes towards one’s own language and that of others, we consider possible outcomes of unconventional language use. Special emphasis will be put on considering the language use of those who speak Icelandic as a foreign language as well as the status of immigrants in Iceland.

Additionally, we address the current status of the Icelandic language, particularly in relation to English and other languages. Principles of language management are discussed along with people’s ideas and believes about language through time. In that respect, we have a look at Icelandic language policy, language management, language standardization and linguistic purism from different perspectives, e.g. a synchronic and diachronic angle as well as with regard to other speech communities. 

We will discuss language use of particular social groups (e.g. teenagers) in terms of its social meaning for the group on the one hand and for the speech community as a whole on the other hand.

Students are expected to complete group or individual tasks on questions and problems originating from topics and discussions in the class room.

The students write a concise project proposal for their MA thesis as well as selecting the subject and research metod with their teacher. They read academic journals on their subject/research method. The students will also make a teaching plan for six weeks, teach according to the plan and critically evaluate the result. This part of the course is in cooperation with teachers in The Faculty of Foreign Languages, Literature and Linguistics and teachers in Icelandic as a Second Language.

Students will participate in short seminars and conferences about new development in the field. The seminars will be partly funded through Erasmus and by other means. The goal is to give students an opportunity to converse and collaborate with Icelandic and international researchers on current issues in Second Language Studies.

We will discuss the history and empirical basis of Conversation Analysis (CA). The students will be trained in using the key concepts of CA. We will read and discuss the main research of CA-SLA (Conversation Analysis for Second Language Acquisition). The students will get training in collecting conversational data and transcribe the data according to CA standards. The students will be introduced to the CLAN software in a workshop to use for transcribing the data. The transcribed data will be analyzed in Data-sessions.

A practical course in teaching Icelandic as a second language for adults. We will discuss the four skills; reading, writing, speaking and listening comprehension. The students will be guided in teaching, making assignments and training these skills in Icelandic. An overview will be given of the morphological and phonetic systems in Icelandic. We will discuss methods of teaching grammar, i.e. when, how and what should be taught. The grammar teaching will be put into the context of the four skills. The teaching of pronunciation will be discussed with phonetics in mind. Icelandic vocabulary has certain aspects that will be discussed in the course: we will look at the acquisition of vocabulary as well as making of new words. The course will look at the teaching of vocabulary through reading and writing for different levels. Finally we will look at the role of literature and culture in teaching Icelandic as a Second Language.

A project is selected in consultation with a teacher, and that teacher must approve the student's research plans before she or he is permitted to register for a study of this kind.

A project is selected in consultation with a teacher, and that teacher must approve the student's research plans before she or he is permitted to register for a study of this kind.

This course covers the nature of vocabulary acquisition: how vocabulary develops, is learned and taught. Various factors will be analyzed in detail, including, the role of pronunciation, word frequency, various learning strategies for vocabulary growth and considerable attention will be drawn to current research methodology in Vocabulary Acquisition. Students will review research as well as conduct a mini study.

Taught on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 10 am (2. and 3. year students only)

Training in various aspects of the writing and editing of scientific texts. Various kinds of texts (non-fiction) examined and evaluated. Training in reviewing and commenting on scientific texts and in other aspects of editorial work. The main emphasis will be on the writing of articles, but other kinds of texts will also be considered, both shorter (conference abstracts, reviews) and longer (theses, books), as well as research proposals. Discussion of guidelines for the preparation of manuscripts. Types of plagiarism and how to avoid them and find them. Texts on different subjects will be used as examples, especially writings in linguistics, literature and history. The book Skrifaðu bæði skýrt og rétt will be used as a textbook (Höskuldur Þráinsson 2015).

This course is open to students of many MA programmes in the School of Humanities, cf. the regulations of the individual subjects. Students in the MA programmes in Icelandic literature, Icelandic linguistics, Icelandic studies and Icelandic teaching can take the course as part of the MA course requirements in Icelandic literature or Icelandic linguistics. Students in the MA programme in Icelandic teaching can, however, not have this course as the only linguistics or literature course in their MA.

.MA-thesis in Second Language Studies

Students will participate in short seminars and conferences about new development in the field. The seminars will be partly funded through Erasmus and by other means. The goal is to give students an opportunity to converse and collaborate with Icelandic and international researchers on current issues in Second Language Studies.

Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL) is a growing field of inquiry within Second Language Studies. We will discuss different opportunities multi-media has to offer in learning and teaching a second/foreign language for adults (at secondary and tertiary level). We will discuss the relationship between pedagogy, theory, and technology in online language learning and teaching. Furthermore, particular learning and teaching environments will be discussed, such as distance-learning and blended-learning. Students will also review different approaches to CALL research.

A project is selected in consultation with a teacher, and that teacher must approve the student's research plans before she or he is permitted to register for a study of this kind.

A project is selected in consultation with a teacher, and that teacher must approve the student's research plans before she or he is permitted to register for a study of this kind.

In this course, the focus will be on teaching Icelandic as a second language for adults. The course will cover the structure of the Icelandic vocabulary and word formation. Discussions will be held on how to teach vocabulary and comprehension regarding the different proficiency levels of students and various language skills. The role of literature and cultural literacy in this context will be examined. Also, the vocabulary of spoken language and listening comprehension will be covered. Consideration will be given to the presentation of vocabulary and the four language skills specified in the European Framework, and students will be guided regarding teaching methods, task creation, and assessment.

The course will look at theories in general about the acquisition of grammar in second language. The main focus will be on the Processability Theory, which presents a universal model on developmental sequences in grammar acquisition in L2. We will look at the background of the theory, and its development will be followed since it was first presented in 1998. The theory has been tested in various languages, including Icelandic. The basic elements of the theory, methodology and its application will be covered in detail. The results of research will be looked at and discussed how they can be used in describing the acquisition of grammar in Icelandic as a second language. Students receive training in the data collection and analysis.

Recent years have seen an increased focus on data collection and statistical analysis within the humanities. This is particularly apparent in growing branches such as psycholinguistics, cognitive literary studies and experimental philosophy, to name a few. The push towards quantitative methods occurs at a time where the validity and reliability of well-established statistical methods are called into question in other fields, with increased demands of replicability and open access as well as data protection and responsibility. In this course, students explore the value of quantitative methods in their field while getting training in the collection and analysis of data. A diverse set of research methods will be introduced, ranging from surveys to corpus analysis and experiments in which participants’ response to stimuli (such as words, texts or audio-visual materials) is quantified. Basic concepts in statistics will be reviewed, enabling students to know the difference between descriptive and inferential statistics, understand statistical significance and interpret visual representations of data in graphs. The course will be largely practical and students are expected to apply their knowledge of data collection and analysis under the instructor’s guidance. Students will work on a project within their own discipline but will also explore the possibility of cross-disciplinary work. Open source tools such as R Studio will be used for all assignments but no prior knowledge of the software or statistics in general is required. The course is suitable for all students within the humanities who want to collect quantitative data to answer interesting questions and could therefore be a useful preparation for a BA or MA project.

In this course we concern ourselves with how language and society interact by examining sociolinguistic methods and concepts with regard to international and domestic research in the field.

Among the topics discussed are language attitudes, language contact, dialects, language style and language management. We take a look at different manifestations of language use and language variation as well as contemplating on how factors such as environment, context and background of a language user potentially influence language use and choice of style.

We provide an overview of principal research methods, both quantitative and qualitative, discuss recent trends in sociolinguistics and evaluate methods and methodologies with respect to the particular research topic.

Besides presenting research on attitudes towards language and language use, considering both attitudes towards one’s own language and that of others, we consider possible outcomes of unconventional language use. Special emphasis will be put on considering the language use of those who speak Icelandic as a foreign language as well as the status of immigrants in Iceland.

Additionally, we address the current status of the Icelandic language, particularly in relation to English and other languages. Principles of language management are discussed along with people’s ideas and believes about language through time. In that respect, we have a look at Icelandic language policy, language management, language standardization and linguistic purism from different perspectives, e.g. a synchronic and diachronic angle as well as with regard to other speech communities. 

We will discuss language use of particular social groups (e.g. teenagers) in terms of its social meaning for the group on the one hand and for the speech community as a whole on the other hand.

Students are expected to complete group or individual tasks on questions and problems originating from topics and discussions in the class room.

.MA-thesis in Second Language Studies