LIN701

Coordinators: Dr Erin Pretorius & Dr Ajohche Awungjia
Collaborators: Dr Mooniq Shaikjee and the Linguistics postgraduate community

LIN701 is the core research module in the Honours programme in Linguistics. In 2024, I led a strategic overhaul of this module to enhance the quality and consistency of postgraduate research development, and to streamline support for both students and supervisors.

Previously, student engagement and research progress were uneven, partly due to fragmented support structures. Building on lessons from the LinXgen initiative (led by Dr Awungjia and others in 2023), we formally integrated research support and skills training into the LIN701 module structure. This redesign introduced a scaffolded learning model delivered through:

• A structured sequence of seminars and workshops, timed to align with each major research milestone - from topic selection and literature review to methodology, analysis, and presentation.

• An actively managed iKamva page, used to centralise announcements, track submissions, and host supplementary resources including videos, articles, and interactive exercises.

• Synchronised submission deadlines, ensuring regular feedback cycles and shared pacing across the Honours cohort.

• Supervisory support and peer learning, with built-in collaboration between Honours, Masters, and PhD students.

The redesigned LIN701 now mirrors the structure of other Honours modules by combining assessed submissions with interactive seminars. This shift has allowed us to:

• Promote steady research progress,

• Foster a sense of community among postgraduate students,

• Offer structured guidance to students with varying levels of prior research experience, and

• Lighten the end-of-year burden on supervisors by staging feedback throughout the year.
  
  

Learning Outcomes:
Upon completion of LIN701, students are expected to:

• Demonstrate a working knowledge of research methods in linguistics,

• Formulate a clear research question and aims,

• Conduct a literature review and design an appropriate methodology,

• Produce a complete research essay and present their findings professionally.

LIN701 represents a meaningful step toward enhancing the quality of postgraduate research training in the department while maintaining a strong commitment to student-centred pedagogy.