Special Topics in 2025-2026

This course offers an introduction to topics related to Indigenous languages in Canada and their intersections with applied and general linguistics. Through assigned readings, seminar discussions, invited speakers, and a semester-long Community Service Learning (CSL) project conducted in partnership with an Indigenous language organization in Canada, students will become familiar with the diversity and vitality of Indigenous languages in Canada, as well as broader connections with language education, language technology, and language advocacy and policy development.

• Instructor: Chris Cox
• Prerequisite(s): Third-year standing

AI is transforming research and practice in applied linguistics and discourse studies. It presents great potential and challenges for language learning and teaching, language assessment, discourse and data analysis, writing instruction and development, plurilingual development and communication, among other sub-areas. It calls for new policies in education and for language management. This course aims to develop critical AI literacies for using AI effectively, responsibly, and ethically. It will do so by examining what AI is, how it works, what it can do, and what it should do. Participants will be invited to explore specific applications of AI in selected areas of ALDS and experiment with AI tools critically and reflectively for their own learning, research, and practice as developing language professionals.

• Instructor: Guillaume Gentil
• Prerequisite(s): Fourth-year standing; open to graduate students

Have you ever had your errors corrected while learning a language? Was it helpful, or did it hold you back? If you’ve ever wondered about the role of corrective feedback in language learning and teaching, and want to explore it further, consider enrolling in this special topics MA-level course. This course provides an overview of the theory, research, and practice of corrective feedback in second language learning and teaching by addressing a range of core and developing corrective feedback areas and examining their theoretical and pedagogical implications. These topics will be explored through readings, lectures, guest-based events, hands-on experiences, as well as group and class discussions.

• Instructor: Eva Kartchava
• Prerequisite(s): No prerequisites for ALDS graduate students; permission of instructor required for other disciplines

From the global phenomenon of K-pop to a history that saw the peaceful impeachment of two presidents, and from one of the poorest countries in the world to the rise of global giants like Samsung and Hyundai – Korea is a land of fascinating contrasts and rapid transformations. Taught in English, this course offers an immersive introduction to Korea’s dynamic society, unique cultural identity, and Hangeul, its unique writing system invented by one person. Through engaging video clips, insightful articles, and authentic materials, students will explore captivating aspects of Korean etiquette, social customs, and vibrant pop culture. No prior knowledge of Korean is required.

• Instructor: Contract Instructor
• Prerequisite(s): None

Linguistic sound change over time is both random and regular, unpredictable and natural. Studying sound change informs our understanding of the history of languages and language families, as well as our theories of how sound systems work. In this course we will examine evidence for sound change, both over the short term (generations) and long term (centuries and millenia), and address central questions about it. When is it regular? What causes sound change? What do we learn from it? The course will draw on both instructor-led lectures and graduate student-led discussion of current articles. Students will be assessed via data-centered homework assignments and a final research paper.

• Instructor: Lev Blumenfeld
• Prerequisite(s): LING 3007 or LING 3810 or LING 4802; no prerequisites for LING graduate students; permission of instructor is required for other disciplines

This course provides an introduction to central concepts and common analytical techniques in corpus linguistics, an approach to studying language that involves principled collections of observations of language in use (corpora). Through a combination of assigned readings, seminar presentations, and a series of practical activities that introduce different techniques for corpus-assisted analysis, annotation, and corpus development, participants in this course will become familiar with a range of corpus-based methods that are commonly employed in language studies today.

• Instructor: Chris Cox
• Prerequisite(s): Third-year standing and ALDS 1001 or LING 1001; precludes ALDS/LING 3701

An interdisciplinary course exploring the language within its social and cultural settings. Students will develop basic proficiency while examining how language shapes identity, communication, and traditions.

• Instructor: Contract Instructor
• Prerequisite(s): None

In this course, we will take a hands-on approach to exploring experimental phonetic research in speech production and perception. We’ll focus on developing practical experience in designing experiments, collecting data, and analyzing results using professional research techniques.

• Instructor: Beth MacLeod
• Prerequisite(s): LING 2007

This course is concerned with universals in syntax. We will discuss the differences between absolute universals, strong tendencies, and implicational universals. We consider different kinds of explanations for universals  — should we look for explanations in grammar, cognition, or language use? An important part of the class will be to explore different syntactic formalisms. Specific topics will include animacy effects, case marking, agreement marking, and question formation. 

• Instructor: Ida Toivonen
• Prerequisite(s): LING 3004; no prerequisites for graduate students