AJc219 Functional Syntax

Faculty of Education
Spring 2023
Extent and Intensity
0/0/1. 4 credit(s). Type of Completion: zk (examination).
Teacher(s)
doc. Mgr. Martin Adam, Ph.D. (lecturer)
Guaranteed by
doc. Mgr. Světlana Hanušová, Ph.D.
Department of English Language and Literature – Faculty of Education
Contact Person: Jana Popelková
Supplier department: Department of English Language and Literature – Faculty of Education
Timetable
Fri 24. 2. 9:00–9:50 učebna 59, Fri 10. 3. 9:00–9:50 učebna 59, Fri 24. 3. 9:00–9:50 učebna 59, Fri 14. 4. 9:00–9:50 učebna 59, Fri 28. 4. 9:00–9:50 učebna 59, Fri 12. 5. 9:00–9:50 učebna 59
Prerequisites
Syntax A, Syntax B
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is only offered to the students of the study fields the course is directly associated with.
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
Course objectives
The course presents the English grammar as a tool which enables users of English to achieve their purposes in communication and tries to help language learners to realise that grammar is used in a different way in spoken and written interaction and is further modified by the context of language use. The student applies the knowledge gained in Syntax A and Syntax B courses and is able to put it into the communicative and functional context. Throughout the semester students are encouraged to link theory in the classroom to practice at schools via practical tasks. This course will raise students’ awareness of similarities and differences between English and their native language / mother tongue and thus enables them to identify potentially problematic areas for their future learners.
Learning outcomes
This course enhances the acquisition of linguistic knowledge and teaching competencies indispensable for the professional development of future teachers of English, in particular communication and interpersonal skills, collaboration and teamwork, flexibility and adaptability (viz Strategic Aim 1, Strategies 2030).
Students:
• are able to apply the acquired knowledge from normative syntax in practice, with an emphasis on the functional concept of language material and natural communication
• are able to express more accurately and sensitively their communication intention
• can analyze and interpret English texts at different linguistic levels
• are able to use knowledge from functional linguistics for didactic purposes - e.g. to create learning materials or a set of activities for individual phases of text work
Syllabus
  • Hypothetical Meaning. Fronting without Inversion. Fronting with subject-verb inversion. Fronting with subject-operator inversion. Extraposition of Clausal Subject. Passive Voice. Extraposition of Clausal Object. Postponement and discontinuities. Cleft Sentences Proper. Pseudo-cleft sentences. Existential sentences.
Literature
    required literature
  • DONTCHEVA-NAVRATILOVA, Olga. Grammatical structures in English : meaning in context. 3. vydání. Brno: Masarykova univerzita, 2012, 169 stran. ISBN 9788021057623. info
    not specified
  • YULE, George. Oxford practice grammar : with answers. Updated edition first publis. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2019, vii, 274. ISBN 9780194214766. info
  • COOK, Guy. Discourse. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1989, xi, 167. ISBN 0194371409. info
  • LEECH, Geoffrey N. and Jan SVARTVIK. A communicative grammar of English. 1st publ. London: Longman, 1975, 324 p. ISBN 0582552389. info
Teaching methods
Home assignments + home reading. Teaching methods: classroom discussions, lectures, students' presentations, home assignments, home projects, observations.
Assessment methods
A mid-term test + a credit test (practical analysis of authentic texts and their functional interpretation) + oral exam. More than two absences are not tolerated. Tests passmark: 70%.
Language of instruction
English
Further comments (probably available only in Czech)
Study Materials
The course is taught annually.
Information on the extent and intensity of the course: 12 hodin.
The course is also listed under the following terms Spring 2018, Spring 2019, Spring 2020, Spring 2022, Spring 2024, Spring 2025.
  • Enrolment Statistics (Spring 2023, recent)
  • Permalink: https://is.muni.cz/course/ped/spring2023/AJc219