HENK00101U English - Free topic 1: Reading, writing and vocabulary acquisition

Foreign language acquisition: Course part A) Reading and Writing in a Foreign Language – Focus on Processes (Dorte Albrechtsen) and course part B) Vocabulary acquisition and foreign language teaching (Birgit Henriksen)

Course part A investigates the skills of reading and writing with a focus on understanding the complex nature of language production and reception processes in the foreign language and the mother tongue. Course part B explores theories of lexical competence, the importance of vocabulary knowledge for language use and the acquisition of vocabulary in a foreign language inside and outside the classroom.

Both course elements will look at the link between vocabulary and reading and writing and the pedagogical implications in relation to language teaching, with an emphasis on the importance of focus on form. In order to develop a critical understanding and evaluation of results of empirical investigations of reading, writing and vocabulary acquisition in a foreign language, various research methods exploring language use and acquisition will be discussed in both course sections.

Courses in foreign language acquisition give participants a theoretical background for understanding different issues related to the acquisition, use and teaching of English as a foreign language.