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The University of Hawai'i at Mānoa (UHM) is widely recognized
for its strength in language teaching and research, especially
in Asian and Pacific languages. The university's Department
of Second Language Studies (SLS) offers graduate programs
leading to the MA in second language studies,
the PhD in second language acquisition (SLA) and the advanced
graduate certificate in SLS.
The graduate faculty of the program is interdisciplinary
— drawn not only from the department but also from faculty
in the Departments of East Asian Languages and Literatures,
Educational Psychology, Hawaiian and Indo-Pacific Languages,
and Linguistics. The PhD program offers four areas of specialization:
Second Language Analysis — structural
analysis of learners' language development; comparison of
native and nonnative languages; second-language varieties;
differences arising from social and geographical contexts;
phonological, grammatical, and discoursal properties; typological
factors; putative universals.
Second Language Learning — studies
of the biological, psychological, social, and cultural factors
in the language-learning process; the role of universals;
interlanguages; the processes of comprehension and production.
Second Language Use — studies of
the social functions of second and foreign languages; pidgins,
Creoles, and dialect variation; roles of social and geographical
contexts; pragmatics; discourse analysis; cross-cultural
and inter-ethnic communication; sociopolitical factors.
Second Language Pedagogy — research
into language-learner needs (including immigrant needs),
formulation of needs-based curriculum objectives and syllabi,
computer-aided instruction, program administration, evaluation
and language assessment.
The department is associated with the Center
for Second Language Research (CSLR) and the National
Foreign Language Resource Center (NFLRC). The CSLR has
undertaken a wide variety of research projects and publications
on the topics of classroom research, pragmatics, language
socialization, propagation of Hawaiian language, and community
based language teaching. The NFLRC serves as one of a small
number of resource centers established to improve and enrich
foreign language education nationwide. The center engages
in research and materials development projects and conducts
summer institutes for language professionals. The center's
publications division distributes teaching materials, as well
as a series of technical and research reports. Students in
the department's graduate programs often work as research
assistants in the center.
Financial Support
The department strives to provide financial support for the
best qualified doctoral students throughout their course of
studies, by means of research and teaching assistantships.
Contact the department for additional information. Financial
support for certificate students is not available.
The PhD program in SLA participates in the Western Regional
Graduate Program administered by the Western Interstate Commission
for Higher Education (WICHE). The program enables legal residents
of WICHE member states to enroll in selected out-of-state
professional or graduate programs at reduced tuition rates.
For more information, see Financial
Matters < WICHE Program.
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