This is an archived copy of the 2016-2017 catalog. To access the most recent version of the catalog, please visit http://catalog.uta.edu/.

Linguistics and TESOL - Undergraduate Programs

Overview

Linguistics is the discipline that studies the structures, acquisition, and histories of human languages around the world. Linguists are not, then, principally people who know many languages, but rather people who investigate how a language is organized and what features all languages exhibit.

The Department of Linguistics and TESOL at UT Arlington is especially concerned with the study of minority, often endangered, languages. The curriculum offers students enriching insight into the cultural diversity represented in the more than 6,000 living languages currently known on the planet. The department also presents current approaches to the teaching of English to speakers of other languages.

The study of linguistics prepares students for a variety of careers, among them teaching English to speakers of other languages in the United States and abroad, brand naming (lexicon work), information and intelligence analyst, language policy, forensic linguistics and the law, computer analysis of language, language education, and graduate study in linguistics. Above all, students in the Department of Linguistics and TESOL are made especially aware of the complex world in which we live by studying a universal and most definitive human experience: language.

Requirements for a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Linguistics

Pre-Professional Courses
General Core Requirements 42
Recommended Core Requirements
LING 2301INTRODUCTION TO THE STUDY OF HUMAN LANGUAGE3
LING 2371LANGUAGE IN A MULTICULTURAL USA3
Program Requirements
LING 3345CRITICAL REASONING IN LINGUISTICS 23
Select one of the following: 3
Sophomore level of a Foreign Language course when taken at UT Arlington
CORPUS LINGUISTICS
Electives 4
Professional Courses
Major
Linguistics course at the 2000 level3
LING 3311INTRODUCTION TO LINGUISTIC SCIENCE3
LING 3330PHONETICS AND PHONOLOGY3
LING 3340SYNTAX I3
LING 4347PRAGMATICS3
LING 3345CRITICAL REASONING IN LINGUISTICS3
or PHIL 2311 LOGIC
LING 4301PHONOLOGICAL THEORY I3
or LING 4303 SYNTAX II
Linguistics courses at 3000/4000 level12
Service-Learning Requirement (see below)3
Enhanced Language Requirement (see below)
Electives 4
Total Hours87
1

For a list of approved courses, contact the University Advising Center or the student's major department.

2

The department advisor must certify completion of this requirement.

3

If neither of these conditions are met, consult the advisor for ways to satisfy this computer competency requirement. The department advisor must certify completion of this requirement.

4

Sufficient number of hours to complete the total hours required for a degree.

Note: The 12 additional hours of linguistics courses at the 3000/4000 level may include linguistics courses offered by other departments, with approval of the department advisor, provided those courses do not satisfy either the Enhanced Language Requirement or the Minor. Under no circumstances can courses used for the Enhanced Language Requirement or Minor be used to satisfy requirements for linguistics major courses.

Service-Learning Requirement

This will be satisfied by the student enrolling in and earning at least a 2.0 in three hours of credit from a departmental course designated as "service-learning." A course may satisfy both the service-learning requirement and the hours requirements for the major. (For example, LING 3311 INTRODUCTION TO LINGUISTIC SCIENCE if taught as service-learning could satisfy the major requirement and the service-learning requirement.) The Department will maintain a list of courses and section numbers by semesters/year (i.e., Fall 2010) for verification of this requirement, and the department advisor must certify completion of this requirement.

Enhanced Language Requirement

The enhanced language requirement consists of coursework that covers the first year, second year, and third year levels of instruction in a single language. This requirement is equivalent of three years of language instruction, up to and including six hours at the 3000-level in a single language, where that language is not English and is not the student's home language. Classical, modern, signed or indigenous (for example, Native American) languages are all permissible languages to satisfy this requirement.

Requirements for a Minor in Linguistics

All undergraduate students who elect to minor in linguistics must take:

LING 2301INTRODUCTION TO THE STUDY OF HUMAN LANGUAGE3
LING 3311INTRODUCTION TO LINGUISTIC SCIENCE3
LING 3330PHONETICS AND PHONOLOGY3
or LING 3340 SYNTAX I
One course at the 4000-level with a LING prefix3
Any undergraduate level course bearing the LING prefix 16
Total Hours18
1

Students intending to pursue graduate study in linguistics should, however, follow a course program that includes these courses as part of their minor: LING 2301 INTRODUCTION TO THE STUDY OF HUMAN LANGUAGE, LING 3311 INTRODUCTION TO LINGUISTIC SCIENCE, LING 3330 PHONETICS AND PHONOLOGY, and LING 3340 SYNTAX I.

Minor

18 hours in an allied field (psychology, anthropology, philosophy, education, computer science, classical/modern languages, or another field approved by the undergraduate advisor). A student may choose to use the same 18 hours to simultaneously satisfy the enhanced language requirement and the minor requirement. However, if language courses are used to fulfill both the Enhanced Language Requirement and the Minor Requirement, the student must complete the remaining 18 hrs with a second minor, to maintain a total of 120 hours for the degree.

Requirements for an Undergraduate Certificate in TESOL

Students interested in receiving theoretical and practical training in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) are encouraged to consider this five-course certificate program. The Undergraduate Certificate in TESOL offers a sequence of courses which introduces linguistics, second language acquisition, and methods and materials in TESOL instruction, paired with the an internship required to consist of 60 hours of volunteer ESL/literacy teaching in a local community service organization. Students take:

LING 3311INTRODUCTION TO LINGUISTIC SCIENCE3
LING 4327SECOND LANGUAGE ACQUISITION3
LING 4353TEACHING ENGLISH AS A SECOND OR FOREIGN LANGUAGE3
LING 4354METHODS AND MATERIALS TO TEACH ENGLISH AS A SECOND OR FOREIGN LANGUAGE3
LING 4395INTERNSHIP IN TESOL3
Total Hours15

Ideally, students should start the sequence with LING 3311 INTRODUCTION TO LINGUISTIC SCIENCE and use LING 4395 INTERNSHIP IN TESOL as the final course in this sequence. This certificate is ideal for students interested in earning a credential to increase employment opportunities, such as teaching English abroad. This certificate can be paired with a bachelor's degree in another discipline. Students who are interested in earning the BA in Linguistics with the Undergraduate Certificate in TESOL may apply the 4000 level courses required by the certificate to the degree requirement of 12 hours at the 3000/4000 level. This optimal sequencing will allow students to graduate with a BA in Linguistics and an Undergraduate Certificate in TESOL without adding additional hours to their degree requirements. Contact the Undergraduate Advisor for more information on this program.