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In fulfilling the mission of California State University as implemented by San José State University, the mission of the Department of Linguistics and Language Development is to foster understanding of language structure and use in the context of a technological and multi-cultural society.

The Department of Linguistics and Language Development emphasizes the following goals:

Instructional

• For all students:
  • acquisition of effective English Language skills for use in academic and professional settings.
  • development of methods of critical inquiry appropriate to a variety of intellectual endeavors.
  • an appreciation of the diversity and dynamic nature of languages and cultures in the U.S. and the world, including the context-specific appropriateness of varieties of English.
• For students of language development courses, an in-depth knowledge of academic English, including:
  • an understanding of the interrelationship between critical thinking/literacy in academic and professional settings.
  • an ability to produce appropriate and effective reader-based written English.
• For Linguistics majors, an in-depth knowledge of linguistics including:
  • an understanding of the processes of comprehension, production, acquisition, variation and change within human languages.
  • an ability to analyze a range of primary data in major areas of linguistics research to determine the ways in which language relates to cognition and society.
  • an understanding of the relationship between linguistic theories and areas such as artificial intelligence, cognitive science, language acquisition and learning, and language policy.
• For TESOL majors, an in-depth knowledge of theories and practices of language teaching and learning, including:
  • an understanding of the structures and functions of varieties of English in specific social settings.
  • an understanding, supported by field-based data, of the processes of first and second language development.
  • and ability to integrate theory and practice as an informed and reflective practitioner.

Scholarship and Professional Service

As a department, we aim:

• to foster a climate in which individuals and collaborative research and scholarship can be carried out and disseminated in all components of the department.
• to grow individually and collectively as academic and teaching professionals.
• to foster an environment of collegial exchange in which creative solutions to departmental, university, community and societal issues may emerge.
• to contribute to and promote interaction among the academic and social communities of which we are a part.