About This Course
Bangor University’s Masters in Bilingualism provides a comprehensive, varied and flexible programme of training in multi-disciplinary topics associated with the study of bilingualism and multilingualism, including issues relating to language, education, and cognition. This degree and its coursework, training, independent study and dissertation component provides students with the necessary theoretical, analytical and methodological tools and skills to undertake advanced research in an area of bilingualism or multilingualism.
We are an accessible, friendly department whose staff who are passionate about passing on their expertise and subject knowledge and committed to delivering the highest quality learning experience for our students. Our research informs our teaching provision at all levels, with our students benefitting from enthusiastic staff at the cutting-edge of academic enquiry and developments. Our staff is committed to providing an excellent student experience with strong personalized student support throughout the duration of your MA in Bilingualism studies.
Following taught components, students on this degree will complete an independent research-based Masters level dissertation project. The staff in our Department provide excellent personalized supervision and academic support for dissertations on wide range of bilingualism and multilingualism topics using applied, theoretical, experimental, corpus-based or ethnographic methodological frameworks. These include are not limited to:
- psycholinguistics
- child language acquisition
- 2nd language acquisition
- bilingualism and multilingualism
- discourse analysis
- Cognitive Discourse Analysis (CODA)
- Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA)
- multimodal analysis
- TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language)
- SLA and language teaching
- corpus linguistics
- language and communication
- phonetics & phonology
- morphosyntax, semantics and pragmatics
- language variation and change
- language and communication
- language disorders
- Welsh linguistics.
Students on our Bilingualism MA can use state-of-the-art learning facilities which include:
- A professional grade sound / recording studio and speech laboratory (with Yamaha, Alesis and RØDE recording equipment)
- An eye tracking laboratory (with a Tobii Pro X2-60 eye tracker)
- An event-related potential (ERP) laboratory (with an actiCHamp Plus ERP machine)
- And dedicated corpus-linguistics software and resources.
Our staff also have expertise in and provide support for:
- Statistical software such as: SPSS, R-Statistics and Excel.
- Experimental psychology software such as E-Prime, GORILLA Experiment Builder, Open Sesame and Webexp.
- Acoustic and phonetic analysis software such as: Audacity, Praat, and SIL Speech Analyzer
- Standardised psychometric /language tests (e.g., EVT, BPVS, NARA, WISC, K-BIT, TROG, CELF)
- A wide range of specialized corpora and concordance software including CHILDES and CLAN
At Bangor you will be part of a vibrant, innovative post graduate research community which is supported through various events throughout the year, ranging from individual talks to informal seminars and workshops to large conferences. Many of these are open not just to academic staff, but also to students and to the general public.
Course Duration
1 year full-time, 2-3 years part-time.
Course Content
What will you study on this course?
Compulsory Modules
Methods in Lang & Bilingualism - In this module students will learn about a range of experimental research methods that are currently used in the psychological study of language and bilingualism (and a sampling of current theoretical questions), considering experimental design and the strengths and weaknesses of each approach.
Linguistics Research Methods - This module provides the necessary foundations, training and tools to design and carry out qualitative, quantitative, experimental or ethnographic research within linguistics, as well as the training and experience to develop, design and carry out an independent Master’s level research-based dissertation project employing the usual conventions in linguistic / applied linguistic literature.
MA/MSc Dissertation - In this module students will conduct a small-scale, yet significant piece of individual research to an advanced level and write a 15-20,000-word dissertation on it. Students are assigned a member of staff whose research interests best and/or most closely connects with the topic as a supervisor. The supervisor will assist the student to focus the scope, methodology and content of their dissertation, as well as giving advice throughout the project. Under the guidance of the supervisor, students will focus and fine tune their research question, survey relevant literature, plan the project, decide on a methodology, consider the need for ethical approval and act accordingly, collect and analyse data (depending on the nature of the research) utilizing an appropriate analytic framework, and write up the project to form the dissertation which will address the research question in light of the findings
Optional Modules
Modules vary from year to year, they include:
- Language and Communication
- Historical Linguistics
- Psycholinguistics
- Language Change
- Language Contact & Bilingualism
- Child Language Acquisition
- Language Disorders & Bilingualism
- Bilingualism and Acquisition Issues
- Speech Science
- Phonology in Bilingual Acquisition
- L2 Speech Learning
- Welsh Linguistics
- Cognitive Discourse Analysis
- Using Corpora: Theory & Practice
- EFL Theory
- SLA and Language Teaching
- Teaching EFL
- Language Technologies/Technolegau Iaith
Non-native English speakers may be asked to take zero-credit courses with ELCOS to help with their English, unless exempted by their tutor.
*Course content is for guidance purposes only and may be subject to change*
Modules for the current academic year
Module listings are for guide purposes only and are subject to change. Find out what our students are currently studying on the Bilingualism Modules page.
Course content is for guidance purposes only and may be subject to change.
Entry Requirements
A 2.ii undergraduate degree or equivalent in a relevant subject (e.g. Linguistics, Modern Languages, Translation, Psychology, English Language/Literature, English Education/English Language education).
Applications from working professionals with non-graduate qualifications will be considered on an individual basis. Please contact us for more information.
For students whose first language is not English an IELTS score of at least 6.0 (with no element below 5.5) is required.
Careers
Bangor’s MA in Bilingualism will give you a detailed understanding of issues related to bilingualism and multilingualism and the ability to conduct research in these areas. Students also gain key intellectual skills such as examining and evaluating theories and empirically based models and hypothesis. When combined with a range of transferable skills such as computer literacy, working with data, information retrieval, critical analysis and problem solving.
Graduates find career opportunities in communications, teaching, speech and language therapy, publishing, research, and the transferable skills acquired through this programme are beneficial in a range of other careers, including advertising, journalism, consulting etc. After successful completion of the MA in Bilingualism, you may also decide to pursue an academic career, by applying for a place on the PhD in Bilingualism.
