Dutch as second language

6 ECTS credits
180 h study time

Offer 1 with catalog number 4020126FNR for all students in the 1st semester at a (F) Master - specialised level.

Semester

1st semester

Enrollment based on exam contract

Impossible

Grading method

Grading (scale from 0 to 20)

Can retake in second session

Yes

Taught in

Dutch

Faculty

Faculty of Languages & Humanities

Department

Linguistics and Literary Studies

Educational team

Esli Struys (course titular)

Activities and contact hours

13 contact hours Lecture
13 contact hours Seminar, Exercises or Practicals
75 contact hours Independent or External Form of Study

Course Content

This course offers students a pedagogical framework for teaching Dutch as a second language (NT2) in Flanders and Brussels. In the first part of the course, a number of key concepts and theories in the field of second language acquisition and second language education are provided. The second part is built around a pedagogical framework for teaching Dutch, composed of six components: each of the four language skills (listening, speaking, reading, and writing), grammar and vocabulary. The third part of the course contains a few guest lectures or practical seminars about current topics in the domain of NT2, such as adult literacy acquisition or language acquisition ‘in the wild’. All these parts explore the connection between the study of second language acquisition and education, and actual teaching practices of NT2.

This course makes use of the principles of blended learning which means that students prepare the classes on their own or in group based on provided content, and then elaborate on this content during the lectures by means of interactive class discussions.

Course material

Digital course material (Required) : Aangereikt door de docent

Additional info

Esli.Struys@vub.be

Learning Outcomes

General competencies

Students know and have insight into the key concepts and theories in the domain of second language acquisition and second language education and they can apply these concepts and theories to the daily teaching practice of Dutch as a second language (NT2).

Students know the building blocks of an evidence-based pedagogical framework NT2 in the domains of language proficiency, vocabulary, and grammar; they have insight into the mutual relationships between these domains; and they can connect this framework to key concepts and theories in the domains of second language acquisition and second language education.

Students can apply their knowledge and they can reflect on the implications of an evidence-based pedagogical framework for NT2 teaching practices.

Students can communicate both orally and in written form the findings of recent scientific research in the domains of second language acquisition and second language education, and they can critically reflect on this research in light of NT2 teaching practices.

Grading

The final grade is composed based on the following categories:
Written Exam determines 100% of the final mark.

Within the Written Exam category, the following assignments need to be completed:

Paper with a relative weight of 20 which comprises 100% of the final mark.

Note: Paper with critical reflection on chosen article in the field of second language acquisition or education

Additional info regarding evaluation

All information regarding evaluation will be announced timely on the online learning platform. The student is responsible for ensuring that he/she is registered on the online learning platform. If the student encounters problems with the registration on the online learning platform, he/she is expected to notify the teacher as soon as possible by email.

The student will be graded for each evaluation component. If the student has not participated to one or more of the evaluation components, he/she will be given an ‘absent’ score. To evaluate the paper, the teacher will use software for detecting plagiarism. Students will have to assess other group members and themselves on a number of criteria. This will result in an individual score that will be used to modify the group score (= the intrinsic value of the group paper) for each individual group member. This individual modification will be executed by multiplication of the group score by the individual score. This modified score will have a weight of 30% in the final score for the whole course. If a student does not fill out the peer assessment within the set deadline, the teacher may decide to grant a null score to the student for that specific evaluation component. The teacher has the final say in this whole process and thus may decide to strengthen, weaken, or even not to take into account the obtained scores if they turn out to be unreliable. This decision will only be taken in exceptional circumstances, and must always be based on clear arguments, analyses, and/or additional observations/conversations.

The evaluation components are the same for the first and the second session. The results of individual components may, upon written request of the student via email, be transferred to the next exam session.

Allowed unsatisfactory mark

The supplementary Teaching and Examination Regulations of your faculty stipulate whether an allowed unsatisfactory mark for this programme unit is permitted.

Academic context