Second Language Acquisition

After completing this course you will have:

• gained insight into the characteristics of second language acquisition and into different theoretical approaches to explaining these characteristics.
• learned to analyse and evaluate learner data and to judge what methods are appropriate to use in order to study various aspects of the acquisition process.

Admission to the language master program, LP or an other relevant master program.

Students must have ENG1100 - English Grammar, an introduction or similar knowledge.

Students at UiO must apply for courses in StudentWeb.

International applicants, if you are not already enrolled as a student at UiO, please see our information about admission requirements and procedures for international applicants.

The minimum number of attendants for the course is 3, the maximum 15.

The examination in this course is not available for external candidates. Only students admitted to the course may sit for the examination.

Seminar, two hours per week for 14 weeks, 28 hours in total.

Attendance is an obligatory class requirement (80%, 12 out of 14 seminars). Additional absences must be justified by documentation to the exam coordinator.

Students are required to give an oral presentation in class and to submit a written assignment. The presentation and the assignment must be approved by the course teacher for the student to be allowed to sit for the exam.

No examination support material is allowed.

You can usually resit an exam, but the conditions depend on whether you had a valid reason for absence from the regular exam. Read more about resitting an exam.

Grades are awarded on a scale from A to F, where A is the best grade and F is a fail. Read more about the grading system.

English

You may request an explanation of your grades, and you may also appeal against your grades or make a complaint about formal examination errors. Read more about explanations and appeals.

Evaluation

Feedback from our students is essential if we are to provide the best possible education. As a student at the University of Oslo you will be asked to participate in various types of evaluation of our courses. Every time a course is given, we ask students to participate in mid-term evaluations, and periodically we ask them to participate in periodic evaluation of the course.

Reports from periodic evaluations (in Norwegian)

Reading list:

• Mackey, Alison and Susan M. Gass (eds.). 2012. Research methods in second language acquisition: A practical guide. Wiley-Blackwell.
• Ortega, Lourdes. 2009. Understanding second language acquisition. Hodder Arnold.

Additional reading will consist of research articles from relevant journals. References and links will be made available over Fronter during the course.

If you have a disability or a health problem that entails significant inconvenience in an examination situation, you may be considered for special examination arrangements. Mothers who are breastfeeding may apply for extra time to complete the exam.

A student may sit this exam up to 3 times. If a student wishes to withdraw from the exam, s/he must do so in StudentWeb at least two weeks prior to the first day of the exam. Failure to do so will be counted as one of the three opportunities to sit the exam.

Once the course requirements have been fulfilled, they remain valid for the current and the two consecutive semesters when the course is given.