Sign In
Skip Navigation Links.
Expand AboutAbout
Programs & Degrees
Our People
Expand Quick linksQuick links
Expand MediaMedia

Bachelor of Arts in English Language and Literature

College
College of Arts Humanities and Social Sciences
Department
Department of Foreign Languages
Level
Undergraduate
Study System
Courses
Total Credit Hours
123 Cr.Hrs
Duration
4
Intake
Fall & Spring
Location
Sharjah Main Campus Khorfakan
Language
English
Study Mode
Full Time

Bachelor of Arts in English Language and Literature

Program Outcomes
The program outcomes are:

Upon the successful completion of the B.A. in English Language and Literature program, students are expected to:
  1. Describe the sounds of English and pronounce words clearly and legibly in terms of segmental and supra-segmental features.
  2. Analyze words into their respective constituents and differentiate sense relations between lexical units.
  3. Analyze sentences into their basic constituents and produce well-formed sentences of various levels of complexity.
  4. Analyze language at the semantic, sociolinguistic, and discoursal levels.
  5. Write with clarity, precision, in a variety of forms and for a variety of audiences, well-organized paragraphs, essays (narrative, descriptive, comparative, etc.), reports or research papers.
  6. Differentiate between the major teaching methods and techniques and apply the appropriate teaching method/techniques in teaching specific language skills, taking into consideration language learning principles and styles.
  7. Prepare valid tests of different types to assess the various language skills.
  8. Read a variety of literary genres critically and proficiently to demonstrate in writing or speech the comprehension, analysis, and interpretation of those genres.
  9. Translate and interpret a variety of text types from English into Arabic and vice versa, using proper terminology and appropriate style.
  10. Use research skills and procedures to conduct research and deliver written and oral presentations.

Objectives

The objectives of the Department of Foreign Languages are:

• To develop the students' competency level in the four skills of listening, speaking, reading and writing and to equip them with all necessary tools for the appreciation of various kinds of imaginative writing in literature, and to train their critical taste and judgment.

• To raise students' awareness of the principles and strategies that underline effective academic and professional communication.

• To provide opportunities and resources for faculty and students to engage in research.

• To familiarize students with the major theories and trends in linguistics, and the applications of linguistic principles and findings to such areas as language learning and teaching, inter-language studies, contrastive analysis, etc.

• To create in the students an awareness of the principles and techniques of translation and to give them practical training in the translation of a variety of text categories.

 

Admission Requirements

In addition to satisfying the admission criteria stipulated in the University section on Admissions in this bulletin, the following additional conditions apply to students who wish to study at the Department of Foreign Language:

a) Department majors are required to successfully complete the following two courses in the first semesters of their official enrollment in DELL. These two courses are prerequisites to most linguistics, literature and translation courses.

- 0202108 - Extensive Reading

- 0202109 - Advanced Language Skills

b) Non-Arabic Speaking Students must pass the Arabic proficiency test administered by the Arabic Department.

 

Career Opportunities

Graduates of the Department of Foreign Languages will be able to pursue careers in English Language teaching, translation services agencies and, the travel, transportation and tourism industry, radio and television broadcast stations (as translators or newsreaders), and online translation.

 

Study Plan

Literature and Translation Program
The English Language and Literature – Literature and Translation program encompasses 123 credit hours distributed over four years, (8 semesters of study) in addition to a practical training that takes place on site at a specified workplace over summer after the student successfully completes 84 credit hours of coursework. The following study plan serves as a roadmap for a smooth progression toward graduation.


Course Descriptions
Courses offered by the English Language and Literature Department are designated by the code (0202ABC) where 02 indicates the College and 02 the programs.


Elective Core courses
Description of the elective core courses of which students are required to select 21 credits are given below.

 

0202108Extensive Reading(3-0:3)
A CALL-based course that focuses on extensive reading with the purpose of becoming familiar with understanding works of a literary nature. It aims to enrich the student's stock of vocabulary and to improve reading speed and comprehension through carefully selected interactive software and directed classroom discussion. Co-requisite: 0202109 Prerequisite: Pass the TOEFL. ​ ​
 

0202109
Advanced Language Skills
(3-0:3)
A CALL-based exam-preparation course that teaches advanced level grammatical structures, critical reading and cultivates written expression; trains in public speaking; gives standardized exam preparation; develops a specialized stock of vocabulary. Co-requisite: 0201108 Prerequisite: Pass the TOEFL. ​ ​
 

0202110Speech Communication(3-0:3)
Aims to develop self-confidence to speak in public; focuses on accuracy, clarity, and fluency in formal and informal contexts; fosters listening skills in academic settings as well as in social contexts. Prerequisite: Pass the TOEFL. ​ ​

0202212
Research Paper Writing
(3-0:3)
Introduces students to the tools and techniques of collecting and interpreting information; students learn how to narrow down a topic, assemble a bibliography, create a working plan for a research paper and organize material and integrate information from primary and secondary sources into a coherent academic paper. Prerequisite: 0202210.
 

0202221
Middle Eastern Literature
(3-0:3)
Introduces students to the literary achievements of major Arab and Middle Eastern writers, both classical and modern; explores the major themes and recurrent motifs that give this literature its distinctive quality; a variety of literary genres are studied. Prerequisite: 0202220.
 

0202222
20th Century American Literature(3-0:3)
Introduces students to the 20th-century development of literature in America, from naturalism through modernism and postmodernism; focuses on distinctly American strains of modernism and on understanding their relation to British and European modernism, as well as focusing on such concepts as modernization, modernity, and postmodernism. Prerequisite: 0202220.
 

0202230
Introduction to Language(3-0:3)
Introduces language as a concept and as a phenomenon; examines the development of human language, the development of writing, the acquisition of mother tongue and language change; studies the nature of language: sounds, words, sentences, and meaning. Prerequisites: 0202108 and 0202109.
 

0202231
Syntax 1(3-0:3)
An introduction to the descriptive analysis of sentence constituents which covers word classes, phrases, and sentence patterns. Prerequisite: 0202230.
 

0202232
Phonetics and Phonology
(3-0:3)
A basic introduction to speech and sound mechanisms; concentrates on principles of articulatory phonetics, IPA transcription, ear- training, distinctive feature theory, segmental phonological analysis and the writing of phonological rules. Special emphasis is given to the sounds and sound patterns of English. Prerequisite: 0202230.
​ ​
 

0202233
Morphology and Lexical Studies(3-0:3)
Introduces major types of morphological phenomena, their analysis and current theoretical approaches to handling them; focuses on inflection and derivation, the mechanisms for English word formation and their implications for the lexicon; meaning change across time and across dialects is also studied. Prerequisite: None.
 

0202310Advanced Writing(3-0:3)
Seeks to consolidate and develop writing skills acquired in the less advanced courses in the study plan; topics will include sophisticated issues that require careful planning. The course will also include writing an extended original easy on a topic acceptable to the instructor. This essay is in lieu of a final examination. Prerequisite: 0202210.
 

0202311
Debating(3-0:3)
Students are engaged in debating various issues suggested by the instructor or by other students; aims to train students to speak with greater command of spoken English on topics requiring the expression and defense of opinion; speakers are selected on two sides of an issue, each side defending its position while attempting to refute the other side's arguments. Prerequisites: 0202108 and 0202109.
 

0202331
Syntax 2(3-0:3)
Extends students' knowledge from Syntax 1; examines syntactic processes such as coordination and subordination
complexity and related logical connectors and ambiguity. Prerequisite: 0202231
 
 
02023332nd Language Learning(3-0:3)
Designed to provide prospective teachers with a theoretical base for understanding how a second language is learned; offers psychological, social and linguistic concepts and an overview of the major theories in the field of second language learning and teaching. Prerequisite: None.
 

0202332
Sociolinguistics(3-0:3)
An introduction to major topics in sociolinguistics: sociolinguistic goals, techniques, and levels of analysis; implications of the recognition of language as a social phenomenon and its importance in social interaction; functions of different speech varieties in human communities. Prerequisite: None.
 

0202323
Literature of Antiquity(3-0:3)
​Introduces students to the classics of antiquity; Greek and Roman civilizations are studied through representative texts that highlight the degree to which the Western literary tradition draws upon its ancient sources; literary techniques, genres, themes, and topics help elucidate the connection between the Age of Antiquity and later periods. Prerequisite: 0202220.
 

0202320
World Literature in English(3-0:3)
Introduces majors to literature written in English by authors from places other than Britain and the United States; focuses on the political and literary-historical context of these works and on themes common to the work of authors writing within a postcolonial framework, such as exile, psychic and linguistic displacement, and cosmopolitanism. Prerequisite: 0202220.
 

020232219th Century British Literature(3-0:3)
Deepens familiarity with central authors, works and issues and introduces them to the nineteenth century novel; focuses in particular on the development of the novel over the course of the century and on the different responses made by novelists, poets and writers of prose to the pressures of the period. Prerequisite: 0202220.
 

0202334
Error Analysis(3-0:3)
Introduces the concept of error in language learning; covers topics such as error vs. mistake, the significance of errors, attitudes towards errors, sources of errors, the process of analyzing errors, inter-language and types of errors (interlingual, intralingual, development and teacher- induced errors). Prerequisite: None.
 

0202340Translation Principles(3-0:3)
Contrastive analysis, stylistics, and lexical problems are discussed within the context of translating from English to Arabic and vice versa; types of translation are discussed. Basic techniques in the translation are used to produce supervised translations of various types of texts. Prerequisite: 0202108 and 109
 

0202341Media Translation
(3-0:3)
Applies the principles of translation learned in the pre-requisite to a variety of newspaper, radio, television, and public relations texts; attention is paid to the formats of hard news stories, feature articles, editorials, spoken and written language. Prerequisite: 0202340
 

0202421The Modern Novel(3-0:3)
Provides an introduction to, and a historical overview of, the development of the novel in the 20th century; representative works by major British and American novelists are studied, with emphasis on recurring themes and evolving narrative techniques; different types of novels, including the Bildungsroman, will be the object of close analysis. Prerequisite: 0202220
 

0202422Early American Literature
(3-0:3)
Introduces majors to representative authors, texts, and issues in English language American literature both before and after independence; covers the Puritan world view, reinterpretations of the Puritan legacy, the American Enlightenment, Manifest Destiny, the frontier, race, and slavery. Prerequisite: 0202220.
 

0202424Shakespeare(3-0:3)
Introduces students to the world of William Shakespeare; studies at least three plays by Shakespeare and several of his sonnets; plays vary from one semester to another, but they represent the major categories of his output: 
tragedies, comedies, and histories. Prerequisite: 0202220.
  

0202425Literary Criticism(3-0:3)
​Probes the history of literary criticism; approaches such as structuralism, post-structuralism, reception theory, sociology of literature and speech act theory are studied then applied to selected texts. Prerequisite: 0202220. ​
 

0202430Contrastive Linguistics(3-0:3)
​Introduces the hypothesis and methods of contrastive analysis and investigates differences between English and Arabic; focuses on selected areas of the sound system, word formation and grammatical and syntactic structures found in both languages. Prerequisite: 0202230. ​
 

0202431Methods of Teaching English(3-0:3)
​Designed for students preparing for a career in teaching; focuses on classroom techniques, instructional procedures, and teacher/learner behaviors that emerge when a variety of second language methodologies are used; covers a wide range of skill areas. Prerequisite: None. ​
 

0202432Language Testing(3-0:3)
​Aims at acquainting the students with the purposes and methods of language testing, construction and administration of different types of tests as well as interpretation of their results, techniques used in evaluating listening, speaking, reading and writing. The characteristics of good language tests will also be highlighted. Prerequisite: None. ​
 

0202434Discourse Analysis(3-0:3)
​The features of written and spoken discourse are discussed; an exploration of the continuum as well as the dichot- omy of spoken and written discourse; students learn to identify concepts like grounding, coherence and cohesion, topic and reference, and they learn how sentences can be manipulated to achieve these notions. Prerequisite: None. ​
 

0202440Translation of Business and Legal Texts(3-0:3)
​Applies the principles of translation learned in the pre-requisite to a wide variety of business and legal texts, focusing on specialized terminology as well as structural and stylistic features of these text types. Prerequisite(s): 0202340. ​
 

0202441Literary Translation(3-0:3)
​Applies the principles of translation learned in the pre-requisite to a variety of literary genres, with special emphasison figurative language, styles and aspects of creativity. Prerequisite: 0202340.
 

0202490Graduation Project
(0-6:3)
​Intended to consolidate research skills and methodologies acquired in previous courses; students are expected to produce academically sophisticated research papers; topics to be discussed will normally be in essays of three to four thousand words in length and should be related to the three main areas of specialization covered by the study program: literature, linguistics, and translation. Prerequisite: 0202212. ​