1. To familiarise students with varieties of Northern English in relation to Modern Standard English and other non-standard varieties.
2. To raise students' critical awareness of language variation.
3. To equip students with the theoretical and technological tools that will enable them to conduct their own case study and present, analyse, and discuss original data they collect themselves.

(LO1) Demonstrate a critical understanding of varieties of Northern English in relation to Standard English and other non-standard varieties of English.

(LO2) Detect and identify the distinctive features of the varieties of Northern English

(LO3) Construct a corpus of Northern dialect language data and conduct both quantitative and qualitative analyses of corpus data.

(LO4) Demonstrate a critical understanding of the historical, geographical, social and theoretical factors surrounding varieties of Northern English.

(LO5) Acquire and demonstrate skills using specialist software used in the field.

(S1) Time and project management - Personal action planning

(S2) Communication (oral, written and visual) - Report writing

(S3) Improving own learning/performance - Reflective practice

(S4) Information skills - Critical reading

(S5) Critical thinking and problem solving - Creative thinking

(S6) Communication (oral, written and visual) - Listening skills

Module topics will typically include:

• Discussion of the so-called “North-South Divide” in England and how this relates to language, cultural perceptions, and social values
• Northern English grammar and vocabulary – as well as the methods by which this may be investigated, particularly via the use of corpora and specialist analytical software.
• Northern English phonology – in particular the features that distinguish Northern areas from each other and from the rest of England (and Englishes elsewhere). This will also involve the use of specialist software to analyse things like vowel formant frequency (through the use of spectrographic analysis in Praat) as well as quantitative analysis techniques using additional specialist software. Furthermore, basic statistical analysis techniques and data manipulation and presentation methods using industry standard software like R will be discussed and demonstr ated, allowing students to gain experience with these analytical tools
• The origins of modern perceptions of Northern English – particularly in relation to the Industrial Revolution as well as the development of Standard English
• Theoretical frameworks like those of indexicality and enregisterment – paying particular attention to how these concepts relate to Northern varieties of English.

New topics will be introduced in lectures. These topics will have accompanying exercises that will be worked through and discussed in tutorials. Some tutorials may typically include practical sessions where students are shown how to use specialist resources (i.e. online corpora) and/or software (possibilities include Praat, R, NVivo etc.). Weekly readings will also accompany the topics introduced on this module and will complement and expand on material discussed in lectures and tutorials.

Lecture and tutorial content will all be ma de available electronically through Canvas. Weekly readings will (where possible) be made available from library e-books. Otherwise, all readings will be available as physical texts in the library. Wherever possible and appropriate, chapters, readings, etc. will be digitised via the library’s digitisation services.

Students are expected to do all assigned weekly readings. Additional texts on the reading list will be optional and predominantly used by students when doing their assessed work. However, students will also be encouraged to find their own supplementary resources in addition to that provided on the reading list.

Students may also be asked to complete readings in preparation for tutorials. Students will typically be given a worksheet to complete in advance of tutorials.

Students will also be expected to download lecture slides and tutorial material to supplement their learning and note taking. Lecture recordings (or equivalent) will be m ade available to students via the Stream Capture system after the lecture. It is expected that they will review these resources over the course of the semester and in preparation for their assessed work.

Teaching Method 1 - Workshop
Description: Workshops will cover a range of topics and activities to support the study of Northern English. They will often involve small group work as well as discussions and presentations.
Attendance Recorded: No
Notes: Workshops may include short talks or mini-lectures to prompt and inform discussion.

Teaching Method 2 - Tutorial
Description: Tutorials are typically oriented towards critical group discussion and analysis of language data in terms of the theoretical concepts introduced in the workshops, asynchronous content, and/or within the assigned readings.
Attendance Recorded: Yes
Notes: Tutorials will also involve training students to use the specialist analysis software mentioned in asynchronous content.

Teaching Method 3 - Other
Description: Asynchronous content (e.g. topic videos, instructional videos for software, etc.). Additional office hours will also be available weekly throughout the semester for additional student consultation and feedback.

Self-Directed Learning Description: Independent study time should be spent reading around the subject matter (indicative reading lists will be provided), preparing for the tutorials (directed reading) and working towards the assessment.

The majority of teaching will be delivered face to face on campus. Online delivery will be used to complement the on campus delivery and where technology affords a better learning experience.