Overview
How does the body fit into communication? What do eye gaze and gestures contribute to spoken or signed interactions? Do we gesture differently when we are speaking with friends than with our boss or clients in a professional situation? Do speakers of different languages and with different cultural backgrounds gesture … For more content click the Read More button below.
In this unit we investigate the multimodal, embodied nature of language and its implication for cognition. Multimodality characterizes any kind of communicative practice that draws on linguistic, aural, textual, spatial and visual resources to compose messages. We consider the interaction of spoken language and speech-accompanying gesture, the nature of signed languages multimodality in Aboriginal Australia, and the role of gesture and joint attention in child language acquisition, among other topics. We investigate cultural and linguistic differences in the domain of multimodality and the methodologies which are employed to study multimodal communication.
You will use this knowledge to design a research proposal for analysing multimodal data and to describe the role and nature of multimodality and embodiment in communication.
Offerings
S1-01-CLAYTON-ON-CAMPUS
Rules
Enrolment Rule
Contacts
Chief Examiner(s)
Dr Anna Margetts
Unit Coordinator(s)
Dr Anna Margetts
Learning outcomes
On successful completion of this unit, you should be able to:
1.
Analyse the role and nature of multimodality in communication;
2.
Explain a range of theoretical and methodological approaches to studying multimodal language and cognition;
3.
Critically evaluate different approaches to representing multimodal data and apply these skills to a small data set of your own choosing;
4.
Design a research proposal, including research questions and appropriate methods for a small independent project in an area of your own choosing.
Teaching approach
Problem-based learning
Active learning
Assessment summary
Within semester assessment: 100%
Assessment
1 - Participation
2 - Online tests
3 - Presentation
4 - Research proposal
Scheduled and non-scheduled teaching activities
Lectures
Tutorials
Workload requirements
Workload
Learning resources
Required resources
Availability in areas of study
Linguistics and English Language