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Linguistics
Mailing Address: Gordy 383

About Linguistics

English Language Programs

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The Linguistics Department offers an M.A. in Applied Linguistics, a B.A. in Linguistics, a minor in Linguistics with four areas of concentration, a minor in Japanese, a five-course module in Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL), and a four-course module in Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL). The department also offers specialized language training in English as a Second Language (ESL), Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, and Swahili.

Linguistics Mission and Vision Statement

OHIO Linguistics Department—50 years of crafting theory-driven, empirically validated applications for critical language-related purposes.

Mission

Our mission is to develop and disseminate theory-driven, empirically validated applications for both language teaching and other language-related purposes. We provide professional-level teacher education to novice and experienced language teachers, offer language instruction to learners of Arabic, Chinese, English, Japanese, and Swahili, and provide outreach English language and teacher education training through grant-funded programs and to our partner institutions worldwide.

The Linguistics Department seeks to (1) engage students and faculty in linguistic theory and empirical research, (2) provide professional-level teacher education to novice and experienced language teachers, and (3) offer language instruction to learners of Arabic, Chinese, English, Japanese, and Swahili.

The three components of the department's mission are described in more detail below.

  • Engage students and faculty in linguistic theory and empirical research. The department values theoretical advances as well as exploratory and hypothesis-driven empirical research on the nature of language, language use, and language acquisition. The department's stance is that a solid understanding of linguistic theory and research is valuable not only to researchers but also to language learners and language teachers. The department offers courses in several core areas of linguistic inquiry: phonology, syntax, semantics and pragmatics, second language acquisition, sociolinguistics, historical linguistics, and psycholinguistics.
  • Provide professional-level teacher education to novice and experienced language teachers. Students in the teacher-education program represent diverse backgrounds and are recruited from around the world. The department offers teacher-education modules at both the undergraduate and graduate levels and provides extensive professional education in language pedagogy, technology-enhanced language teaching (TELT), and language assessment to its M.A. majors. Through global partnerships with foreign institutions, students also have opportunities to receive practical training as teachers of English as a foreign language in authentic foreign settings. Students who successfully complete the teacher-education program are competitive candidates for high-level language teaching positions around the world.
  • Offer language instruction to learners of Arabic, Chinese, English, Japanese, and Swahili. The department's ESL and EFL offerings attract and help retain international students at Ohio University, offer outreach services to non-English speakers living in the community (including spouses of international students and faculty), and prepare international students for enhanced academic performance and future professional success. The department's core foreign-language offerings provide students with new language abilities, multicultural experiences, opportunities to study abroad, and the ability to fulfill language requirements necessary for graduation. The department's offering in Swahili provides vital interdisciplinary support to the Center for International Studies and allows students to gain cultural insights and linguistic skills that are critical to the U.S. government's foreign diplomacy efforts.

Vision

Through our curriculum and through our research, we seek to further explore the multifaceted ramifications of the interface of language and technology in the areas of language teaching and learning, language sustainability, informal and professional communication, forensics, and computational linguistics.