Investigating Spoken Language Thomas A.

Williams
ling, 1, lect, MAEN-AL Spring 2022

This lecture course covers a range of current topics in researching spoken language. It first lays the
groundwork for the course with broad theoretical and empirical considerations and then focuses on
particular approaches to investigating speaking, including ethnographic research, narrative inquiry,
discourse analysis, conversation analysis and corpus linguistics. Emphasis will regularly be placed on
applying theory to students’ current and future academic and professional practice.

It is expected that students will participate regularly in the lectures and be present on at least six
occasions but ideally on all of them.

The final grade is based on a final written exam.

1. Introduction
2. Researching speaking
Reading: Hughes, 2015
3. Conceptual and historical background
Reading: Hughes, 2011, Chap. 1
4. The research space
Reading: Hughes, 2011, Chap. 2
5. Approaches to researching speech
Reading: Hughes, 2011, Chap. 5
6. Research project ideas and frameworks
Reading: Hughes, 2011, Chap. 7
7. Ethnographic research
Reading: Starfield, 2015
8. Narrative inquiry
Reading: Barkhuizen, 2015
9. Discourse analysis
Reading: McCarthy, Matthiessen, and Slade, 2020
10. Exploring classroom discourse
Reading: Walsh, 2011, Chap. 1 (Introduction)
11. Pragmatics
Reading: Spencer-Oatey and Žegarac, 2020
12. Interaction analysis
Reading: Miller, 2018
13. Corpus linguistics
Reading: Reppen and Simpson-Vlach, 2020
14. Conclusions

Required reading

Barkhuizen, G. 2015. Narrative inquiry. In B. Paltridge & A. Phakiti (Eds)., Research methods in
applied linguistics (pp. 169–186). London: Bloomsbury.

Hughes, R. M. 2011. Teaching and researching speaking. Longman: Harlow (UK).* (*Chaps. 1, 2, 5 &
7)
Hughes, R. M. 2015. Researching speaking. In B. Paltridge & A. Phakiti (Eds)., Research methods in
applied linguistics (pp. 283–298). London: Bloomsbury.

McCarthy, M., Matthiessen, C., & Slade, D. 2020. Discourse analysis. In N. Schmitt & M. P. H. Rodgers
(Eds.), An introduction to applied linguistics (pp. 55–71). London: Routledge.

Miller, E. R. 2018. Interaction analysis. In A. Phakiti, P. De Costa, L. Plonsky, & S. Starfield (Eds.), The
Palgrave handbook of applied linguistics research methodology (pp. 615–638). London:
Palgrave.

Reppen, R., & Simpson-Vlach, R. 2020. Corpus linguistics. In N. Schmitt & M. P. H. Rodgers (Eds.), An
introduction to applied linguistics (pp. 91–108). London: Routledge.

Spencer-Oatey, H., & Žegarac, V. 2020. Pragmatics. In N. Schmitt & M. P. H. Rodgers (Eds.), An
introduction to applied linguistics (pp. 72–90). London: Routledge.

Starfield, S. 2015. Ethnographic research. In B. Paltridge & A. Phakiti (Eds)., Research methods in
applied linguistics (pp. 137–152). London: Bloomsbury.

Walsh, S. 2011. Introduction. In Exploring classroom discourse (pp. 1–23). Oxford: Routledge.