VMU Case – ReOPEN

Language and Society

Authoring institution: Vytautas Magnus University

This course provides a basic user-friendly introduction to the study of language and the relationship between language and society. Since the course targets people who have no prior knowledge of the subject, it presents information in short units, introducing the major concepts in language study – the analysis of language use on different levels. To increase student engagement with the teaching materials, the course also includes practical activities involving data analysis and interpretation.

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Institution website

Teachers/Learners

Kind of recognition:

Formal educational system. Relevant study programs: Introduction to Sociolinguistics, English Philology Programme, VMU. Competences and learning outcomes might be recognized in:

formal education provider: Vytautas Magnus University
potential employers
all interested parties who view Facebook, LinkedIn, etc.

Credentialization

3 ECTS on the basis of 80 academic hours. Number of credits (ECTS) was issued based on:

completion of assignments and self-assessment quizzes (with the minimum of 60 % of correct answers)
research skills demonstrated in the written report submitted for the final exam
attendance of the course.

Learning outcomes/competences

Define the most basic linguistic terms
Explain the intricate links between language and society
Analyse language use in relation to social factors such as culture, age, status, etc.
Apply the knowledge of sociolinguistic theory, research methods, main concepts and terminology in data analysis

Badge description

This badge is to acknowledge that the student has successfully completed the online course “Language and society” and is competent in the study of language and the relationship between language and society.

The digital badge was issued to 4 learners in the first piloting round.

Challenges addressed:

difficult to balance the course for potential students coming from very diverse backgrounds and having different goals: tasks of different levels of difficulty were created; short videos and slides can be uploaded; students can portion the workload on their own since all the information is segmented into small units;
to ensure interactivity – forums were made with some topic suggested for discussion; however, the involvement was not high, so it needs to be rethought;
the most involving and engaging type of activities was quizzes – more tasks could be organized in this form.

Added value for the course author institution:

Recognition of the open course
Better visibility of the institution and the SoMu programme

Learners' feedback

Teacher

Jūratė Ruzaitė

Professor of the Department of Foreign Language, Literary and Translation Studies at Vytautas Magnus University, researcher at the Center of Intercultural Communication and Multilingualism.

Teacher

Violeta Kalėdaitė

Profesor at the Department of Foreign Language, Literary and Translation Studies at Vytautas Magnus University.

Education provider

About institution:

VMU is a comprehensive university devoted to excellence in teaching, learning, research, arts and innovation, and fostering critical thinking, imaginative response as well as the desire and capacity for lifelong learning of our students who will have an impact on the world, locally and globally.

Kind of recognition:

The course is linked to Introduction to Sociolinguistics (BA programme of English Philology at VMU) and Sociolinguistics and Multilingualism that is an international joint-degree master study program which is co-organized by Vytautas Magnus University (VMU, Kaunas, Lithuania), Johannes-Gutenberg University (JGU, Mainz, Germany), Stockholm University (Sweden), and the University of Tartu (Estonia).

Description of the process:

Recognition procedure explanation:

The students who complete the course will get registered in the database of VMU as enrolled students. They will receive credits which will be included in the university system. The study programme committee of English Philology will confirm the decision.

Added value for the institution recognizing the course:

The integration of non-formal education into formal education. As Vytautas Magnus University together with the Innovative Studies Institute developed the non-formal open learning study course “Language and Society” (3 ECTS), it can very successfully be integrated into the course “Introduction to Sociolinguistics” (5 ECTS) in the BA program of English Philology. The course “Language and Society”, in this case, will be part of “Introduction to Sociolinguistics”.

Employers

Language school "Speak up"

Institution recognizing the course:

Unique language school in Lithuania.

“Speak up” language school create a course for your individual needs. A course that is just for you.

Whether you are looking to improve your foreign language or prepare for an exam, “Speak Up” team has the right programmes and courses for you.

The aim is to make sure you maximise your potential in a fun, friendly and challenging environment. From the moment you begin a course “Speak Up” will help you become great learners and achieve your foreign language goals.

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