Sultisz Nikoletta

T533P2
Module portfolio in Linguistics

In this assessment I am going to elaborate on my impressions of the

following courses I had during the previous semesters ; Introduction to English
Linguistics , Present-Day English 1: Phonetics and Phonology , Present-Day
English 2: Descriptive Grammar. What I have found useful and fascinating will be
highlighted through this paper , however , less interesting parts of these courses
will also be mentioned. Moreover , the paper will give an explanation of the topics
of the courses which were the most helpful in developing my language skills and
knowledge.
As to begin , during Introduction to English Linguistics , I have found the
topic of linguistic communication the most interesting. Through this part of the
course mainly the functions and types of signs were discussed along with the
general understanding of communication. Another useful topic was the design
features of languages , in which we have discussed the five main characteristics
of human languages as duality , productivity , displacement , arbitrariness and
patterning. What I found the least useful during this course was the mandatory
memorization of several topic related terms , since sometimes we ended up
confusing them.
Secondly , the course which I have discovered to be the most interesting and
useful was Phonetics and Phonology. This course contributed to a better
understanding of the English pronunciation , especially the standard Southern
British one. Being taught about the main characteristics of the British accent
made me mostly interested in different English accents as well as it has also
greatly developed my own pronunctiation. We had many

entertaining tasks

concerning speaking and pronuncing words the right way. We have also learnt
about exceptional English words being pronunced in unexpected ways , as
Norwich or Leicester. R-dropping , linking-r , intrusive-r , the pronunciation of
t

and l in different words were discussed. We have also learnt about the

pronunciation of the depending on whether it is followed by a consonant or a

vowel. Despite that I think this course was the most useful during the semesters ,
I have found the study of phonetic symbols difficult and useless , since it has not
helped deepening our language skills , just our rote-memorization. Another topic I
have not found interest in was the drawing of tree diagrams. I believe writing
small tests every seminar has helped learning the materials well.

Sultisz Nikoletta
T533P2
Module portfolio in Linguistics
Lastly , I would like to mention Descriptive Grammar. As far as I am concerned
, this course is crucial for understanding English grammar and hence using it
more accurately. Unfortunately , during this course , most of the students were
unable the follow the seminar , having been clueless about the topics. We were
constantly given papers with tasks , altough we have not been explained or
taught about anything concerning them. If we did not understand something ,
we were given vague explanations. However , through the given tasks , most of
us were able to understand the rules and patterns , especially those who had a
chance to take part in the lecture as well. Additionally , one positive attribution of
the seminar was its interactivity , requiring every single student to take actively
part in the seminar.
To sum up , I believe all of the materials included in these courses

are

significant and necessary for developing students knowledge of the language ,

despite the fact that some of them were presented in a rather dull and
indistinctive way.