Sociolinguistics and English Language Education
I) The goals of the assignment
This assignment is designed with 3 main objectives:
1. to deepen your understanding of the key issues covered in the course;
2. to enable you to demonstrate an ability to formulate an informed interpretation of language in society based
on concepts and issues introduced in the course.
3. to allow you to critically reflect on the implications of sociolinguistic issues for TESOL.
The assignment may be a maximum of 3,000 words (excluding references) on a chosen topic from the
following list:
1) A critical reflection on your own language use in a given period of time.
2) A sociolinguistic portrait/analysis of a setting or of a recorded event
3) British English/American English Vs. local varieties of English
4) Standards, norms and models in language education
5) Mother tongue and English medium education
6) Language use, attitudes and identity
7) Native English Speaker Teachers (NETs) vs. Non-native English Speaker Teachers (NNET)
8) Others please check with the course lecturer
II) The recommended procedure
1. Choose the main topic of your essay.
2. Review the different levels (or areas) of discussion that correspond to the general parts upon which the
course is structured (i.e. key disciplinary terms, languages in the globalised world; language variation and
English language education; language-in-education policies and practices)
3. Decide whether there is one (or more) of these general levels that you would like to specifically address
when approaching your chosen topic (e.g., for the topic of mother tongue education in Hong Kong, one may
decide to consider one or more of the following issues: a) official institutional policies in Hong Kong
education, or b) the specific sociolinguistic and educational situation of a given community in Hong Kong,
or c) the case of a group of multilingual students/teachers in a given school/classroom, or d) the case of a
teacher/student, etc.
4. Identify the key issues, debates and discussions in the existing literature, regarding your chosen topic and
level of discussion.
5. Reflect on the implications of the issues being identified for TESOL.
6. Draft an essay plan and structure the discussion around sections, according to the specific key issues
emerging from your choices.
7. Write up the essay based on your essay plan and proofread the language and references carefully.
Some advice about the assignment
1. Begin with an introduction and summary of the essay, clarifying its purpose and organisation.
2. Include a conclusion.
3. Use APA citation and referencing conventions.
4. Format the assignment according to the requirements listed in this document.
5. Use the technical language of sociolinguistics. For terms that may be ambiguous or may have several
meanings, be sure to carefully define what you mean.
6. Proofread your assignment carefully and/or get peer feedback to ensure that the essay is clear and the
sentences are grammatical.
7. Do not go beyond the 3000-word limit (excluding references and appendices).
Content of the essay
1. Introduction (200-400 words approx.)
a. Provide an introduction to the key topics and issues addressed in the essay.
b. Include an overview of the structure of the text.
2. Main body (2000 words approx.)
a. Identify and elaborate the key issues, debates and discussions in the existing literature, regarding
your chosen topic and level of discussion.
b. Detail some of the most important controversies and academic approaches/angles to the issue(s)
discussed (i.e. try to keep a balance between voices/arguments involved) and structure these according
to corresponding subsections.
3. Conclusion (500 words approx.)
a. Summarise the issues discussed throughout the essay.
b. Highlight some insights and implications that can be drawn.
c. Refer to possible gaps and/or needs for future work, if any.
4. References (references are excluded from the word count)
a. Provide a full reference list of ONLY the articles, books or other sources that you have referred to in
your essay.
b. Please format your reference list according to academic conventions, e.g. the APA format as shown
in the following websites)
