This course introduces students to language change. It considers how and why languages change and the role of language contact. It also presents different theories and methodologies useful for historical and comparative linguistic investigation. Students will investigate a number of related existing languages from language families around the world, and seek to reconstruct substantial elements of earlier proto-language stages in terms of phonology, morphology, lexicon, and historical dialectology.

This course is designed to enable students to design appropriate programs and course sets for ES/FL programs. In addition to examining general English programs, the course focuses on English for Specific Purposes and, in particular, needs analyses and custom course design.

Students examine and evaluate various theories of testing in ESL. Methods of testing grammar, speaking, listening, reading, and writing skills are introduced; criteria for ensuring reliability and validity are explained and then used by students.

Students are exposed to a variety of ESL materials, and learn how to evaluate appropriateness and quality prior to implementation. Issues of audience need, philosophy, and application are discussed. Extension of published materials are examined.

Second language learning and acquisition is an intricate process that involves the dynamic interaction of individual and social variables. This survey course considers a wide range of theories, models, and research that have been proposed to account for this process. Participants are guided to evaluate and consider the implications of different perspectives for second language teaching in a variety of contexts.

This course offers an overview of teaching strategies and methodology in TESOL. The focus is on teacher development, utilizing Christian values, and developing leadership skills in the field.

This course examines the philosophical bases of human language and communication, with special attention to issues relating to semantics, discourse, lexicon, metaphor, and translation, etc.; all the areas that deal with meaning creation. There is a critical review of some major schools of thought within philosophy of language and hermeneutics. These are examined in light of current insights in text linguistics, cognitive linguistics, and integrational linguistics.

Discusses foundational principles of translation as cross-linguistic communication, with a focus on minority and minoritized language environments. Students will study the principles involved in understanding a message as originally communicated in one language and cultural setting, and in communicating that message in a very different language and culture. Students will apply theories from different schools of thought regarding communication and the idea of quality in translation.