module specification

This module involves students undertaking a supervised but independent research study leading to a dissertation of around 15,000 words. It is the culmination of the taught part of the MA and offers students the chance to explore a disciplinary topic that is of particular interest or relevance to themselves.
Students can choose to write the dissertation in Arabic or English.

All taught modules for MA Teaching Languages (Arabic)

The module enables students to explore areas of interest and personal and/or professional relevance within a supported and supportive framework.  It aims to stretch students’ own expectations of what they can achieve and develops their Arabic disciplinary knowledge and understanding as well as their confidence in working with disciplinary theory.
Specifically it aims to:

• enable students to pursue an area of personal disciplinary interest in Arabic in a way that demands rigorous analytical and critical thinking and which encourages them to push their own personal and professional boundaries
• challenge students to formulate fresh and original questions, undertake research that addresses them and provide persuasive and academically sustainable arguments to support them
• consolidate and develop students’ ability to critically review and make use of an extensive and appropriate bibliography in their own work
• develop students’ own understanding of the relationship between research, theory, practice and ‘real world’ problems in Arabic
• develop students’ independence as self-directed and self-motivated professionals in problem posing and problem solving through the design, the undertaking and the writing about their research.

Although students are encouraged to conduct classroom research on aspects of Arabic language teaching and learning since they are deemed as supportive of their professional development, they can choose other relevant themes and areas such as Arabic linguistics, Arabic educational cultures, intercultural communication, and Arabic language testing and language assessment. Students draw on different data collection methodologies in collecting their data, as introduced during the Research Methods module, and use relevant paradigms in analysing their data. Though most dissertations involve data collection, some draw solely on library and other recorded resources.

As this is an independent research module, there are no timetabled taught elements. Research training is undertaken during the Research Methods Module during which students formulate their ideas for their dissertation. They are allocated an appropriate supervisor towards the end of the Research Methods module and have an initial tutorial to discuss the research proposal which comprises an assessed component of that module.
Students are entitled to up to six supervisory sessions whilst working on their research and this can be face-to-face and/or via email or Skype as some undertake their research out of the country.  Students are, however, expected to have at least three face to face tutorials.
The process is staged in so far as is possible and students are expected to bring specific pieces of work to each supervisory session. Students can show work to their supervisor (research tools, data, analytic frameworks, extracts from the writing etc.) for feedback and advice.

On successful completion of this module students will be able to:

1. suggest, design and undertake future research in the field of Arabic
2. describe, analyse and critically evaluate theory in Arabic and/or Arabic education  and use this in professional and personal decision making
3. write extensively and persuasively on debates and issues in the field of Arabic and/or Arabic education demonstrating the interface between practice, research and theory
4. make contributions to developments, debates and practices in the Arabic language and/or Arabic language education related issues in their own country and/or elsewhere
5. advance their knowledge and understanding and develop their research skills to match the demands of their professional life.
6. apply methods and techniques appropriate to their own research or advanced scholarship in Arabic and/or Arabic education
7. evaluate critically current research and advanced scholarship in Arabic and/or Arabic education
8. evaluate methodologies and develop critiques of them and, where appropriate, to propose new hypotheses.

Arrangements for formative and summative feedback

N/A (students produce their own bibliographies in consultation with their supervisors)