Modules in the Učitelství pro ZŠ a JŠ Study Programme

Linguistics Module
Literature Module
Methodology Module
Practical Language Module

Linguistics Module

Pragmatics is a course that deals with the most important issues of this discipline, such as reference, deixis, presupposition, entailment, cooperative principle, implicatures, speech acts, politeness, with a particular focus on the use in the teaching profession. Students are required to pass a mid-term and a final test. The sources are Pragmatics by George Yule, Meaning in Interaction: An Introduction to Pragmatics by Jenny Thomas and Discourse Analysis by Gillian Brown and George Yule. Highly recommended is also The Study of Language by George Yule, as this is one of the compulsory general linguistic publications to choose from in preparation for the state final exams.

The objective of the course of Stylistics is to help students to identify and understand the distinctive features of English functional styles, to analyze differences between the styles and to be able to produce texts relevant to their functions. The compulsory reading is Peter Verdonk´s Stylistics, recommended are also David Crystal´s and Derek Davy´s Investigating English Style, Mick Short´s Exploring the Language of Poems, Plays and Prose, Stylistika anglického jazyka by Ludmila Urbanová, and others. The completion requirements include written assignments, presentations, compulsory reading and attendance, and an oral colloquy.

Lexicology introduces to the basic concepts of lexicology and lexicography, with special emphasis on relations between lexical items, neologisms, variation in vocabulary choice, language corpora and lexical cohesion. The recommended sources are Words, Meaning and Vocabulary: An introduction to modern English lexicology by Howard Jackson and Etienne Zé Amvela and Semantics by F.R. Palmer. Among recommended sources are Lexical Semantics by David Cruse, A Functional Onomatology of English by Josef Hladký and Milan Růžička, Vocabulary, Semantics and Language Education by Evelyn Hatch and Cheryl Brown, etc. The assessment in the course is continuous, based on performance at seminars, self-tests, as well as on the final exam consisting of an oral and a written part.

The course of Academic Skills – Writing follows the outline of a corresponding Moodl course, drawing mainly on Liz Hamp-Lyons and Ben Heasley´s Study Writing: A course in writing skills for academic purposes and Ludmila Urbanová and Andrew Oakland´s Úvod do anglické stylistiky. Selected materials also come from Academic Vocabulary in Use by Michael McCarthy and Felicity O´Dell. The course is aimed at enhancing the students´ ability to write academic texts, with correct choices of lexical and syntactic means, clear structure, appropriate level of formality and correctly acknowledged sources. To complete the course, students submit an academic text on one of the offered topics which contains the required formal and structural features.

Practical and Professional English is a course that develops students´ competence in English with emphasis on the language needed in the EFL classroom. The core textbooks are English for the Teacher: A language development course by Mary Spratt and English for Primary Teachers: A handbook of activities and classroom language by Mary Slattery and Jane R. Willis. The course is completed by a seminar essay and a final test; students also give a presentation during the semester.

Literature Module

The basic module for literature of English-speaking countries is based on the core subjects of Contemporary British Literature, Contemporary American Literature, and Literature for Children and Young Adults. These basic compulsory subjects are complemented with compulsory-optional courses in literature and culture, and extended in optional seminars, so they allow an individual approach to the field.

The master’s studies courses in literature aim to introduce the student to the ideas and pleasures which postmodern literature offers to adult readers. Literature for young readers spans literature from the Golden Age of childern’s literature to the present. Selected important texts are analyzed and discussed in classes. The student is lead to critical thinking in an approach to literature. Reading widely outside of classes is also encouraged.

The Department of English Language and Literature has established a new reference library, with many volumes of modern and contemporary literature in English, including a collection of literature for children and young adults that is the largest (among Faculties of Education) in the country.

The master’s thesis allows the student to explore a relevant field of literature and/or culture in depth. At its best, a thesis could introduce a new research topic, procedures, and findings; it could derive original and inventive conclusions, and so contribute to the development of the discipline.

Basic Support for the Core Subjects Includes

Damrosch, David , Kevin Dettmar, and Jennifer Wicke, eds. The Longman Anthology of British literature. 2nd ed. New York: Longman, 2002. Print.
English, James F., ed. A Concise Companion to Contemporary British Fiction. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing, 2006. Print.
Lauter, Paul, ed. The Heath Anthology of American Literature. Lexington, Mass.: D.C. Heath, 1990. Print.
Kallaidjian, Waller B., ed. The Cambridge Companion to American Modernism. Cambridge: CUP, 2005. Print.
Sim, Stuart, ed. The Routledge Companion to Postmodernism. Edited by Stuart Sim. 3rd edition. London and New York: Routledge, 2011. Print.
Nicol, Bran, ed. The Cambridge Companion to Postmodern Fiction. Cambridge: CUP, 2009. Print.
Grenby, M. O., and Andrea Immel, ed.s The Cambridge Companion to Children´s Literature. Cambridge: CUP, 2009. Print.
Reynolds, Kimberley, ed. Modern Children’s Literature: an Introduction. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2005. Print.
Alsup, Janet. Young Adult Literature and Adolescent Identity across Cultures and Classrooms New York: Routledge, 2010. Print.

Methodology Module

Below you can see an overview of what to expect from each semester of Methodology and your Teaching Practice at our department.

You can find all necessary documents for your teaching practice at the Teaching Practice page.

Practical Language Module

Practical Language in the master’s program is based around one content area: Practical and Professional English.

This means that there are expectations of you both in terms of language and in terms of the content that you are studying. You can find the objectives for both areas – what you will be expected to be able to do – on the page: Practical Language Objectives. Only the terms labelled as for the master’s program are relevant.