Universidad de Jaén

Unit 1. Past, present and future of the English language

1. Introduction
2. The past (From O.E. to the 20 ^th century)
3. The present (From WWII to the educational robotics revolution)
4. The future (Some speculative hypotheses)

Unit 2. The Janus-faced nature of English as a world language

1. Introduction: the expansion of English around the world
2. The significance of English in the world
3. English, power and inequalities
4. English, language diversity and language ecology

Unit 3. The World Englishes paradigm

1. Introduction
2. World Englishes

• Definition of World Englishes
• Pidgins and Creoles
• Streven’s world map of English
• Krachru’s theory revisited
• McArthur’s concept of World Standard English (WSE)
• Schneider’s postcolonial Englishes
• Modiano’s centripetal model of English
• English as a Lingua Franca (ELF) and English as an International Language (EIL)

1. Conclusion

The methodology of this course is based on a student-centred approach; the tutor is, therefore, a motivator and facilitator in the learning process. In a Master's course the role of the tutor is to create a conceptual framework, suggest possible implications and practical applications, and respond to students' ideas.

Course participants will be asked to be actively involved during the tutorials by reading the units and the assigned readings, doing the progress test, and completing different tasks in order to participate in the weekly scheduled tutorial session. During this weekly session students can and should take the initiative in presenting the important ideas of the unit.

They will also be invited to use the forum to discuss the aspects they consider relevant, to ask and answer queries, or to share resources and material.

Students with special educational needs should contact the Student Attention Service (Servicio de Atención y Ayudas al Estudiante) in order to receive the appropriate academic support

A combination of both formative and summative assessments will be employed on the basis of the following parameters:

• participants' interest and participation in the debates which will take place during each weekly scheduled tutorial session, including the completion of the weekly task(s) needed to prepare for this weekly debate (35%)
• a written final assignment of 2100-2900 words (60%)
• self-evaluation (5%)

To fulfil assessment criteria, an assignment should:

1. demonstrate a detailed and extensive understanding of the topic, its significance within the field of study in question and knowledge of appropriate literature
2. include evidence of the participant's critical understanding of the concepts and theories in question with no significant omissions
3. reflect the ability to develop critical insights into the concepts and theories in question and to relate them to particular cases and contexts
4. be written in an appropriate style and follow academic conventions, with high standards of English and presentation