School of English
Module manager: Professor Fiona Douglas
Email: f.m.douglas@leeds.ac.uk
Taught: Semester 2 (Jan to Jun) View Timetable
Year running 2025/26
Experience of language study at school or university, including English language or foreign languages.
| ENGL3489 | Dialect Hunting |
ENGL32152
This module is not approved as a discovery module
The University of Leeds is home to one of the most important studies of English dialects ever undertaken: the Survey of English Dialects. Beginning in the 1950s, with fieldwork carried out over more than a decade, the Survey was groundbreaking, giving insights into the dialects of England that are still used by scholars today. The fieldworkers, many of them University of Leeds alumni, travelled the length and breadth of the country pursing their dialect-hunting mission. All their fieldwork, including original notebooks, audio recordings, word, pronunciation and grammar maps, and drawings, plus later work down by students and staff of the Leeds Institute of Dialect and Folk Life Studies, are preserved in The Brotherton Library’s Special Collections. Seventy years later, the University’s Dialect and Heritage Project is back on the dialect hunt, sharing these unique historical dialect materials with local communities and collecting new present-day dialect, stories and memories. This module offers students the opportunity to learn about the work of University of Leeds dialect hunters, past and present, to study some of the fascinating dialects they encountered, and to explore and exploit the rich linguistic and cultural heritage archives their fieldwork created. You will also undertake your own piece of dialect research, joining the long and proud tradition of University of Leeds dialect hunters. Please note this is an optional module and runs subject to enrolments. If a low number of students choose this module, then the module may not run and you may be asked to choose another module.
The module aims to familiarise students with the extensive collections of dialect research held at the University of Leeds. It will consider the contexts, motivations, methodologies, and people that sit behind these studies, and explore the unique archives and resources they created. Students will have the opportunity to visit Special Collections to see the unique historical parts of the Leeds dialect collection up close and will also have access to present-day materials collected by the Dialect and Heritage Project. Students will be encouraged to develop a mini dialect project, undertaking their own dialect-hunting fieldwork, and will be invited to add their research to ongoing dialect scholarship at Leeds.
On successful completion of the module, students will be able to:
1. Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of research on the dialects and cultural heritage of England.
2. Critically evaluate primary research materials, past and present, making comparisons across time and place as appropriate.
3. Develop an independent mini dialect research project.
Skills Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of the module, students will be able to:
4. Demonstrate an understanding of knowledge drawn from complex debates.
5. Develop interdisciplinary research skills.
6. Communicate ideas effectively in speech and writing.
Details of the syllabus will be provided on the Minerva organisation (or equivalent) for the module.
| Delivery type | Number | Length hours | Student hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| Poster session | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Fieldwork | 1 | 10 | 10 |
| Lecture | 6 | 1 | 6 |
| Practical | 1 | 2 | 2 |
| Seminar | 10 | 1 | 10 |
| Private study hours | 170 | ||
| Total Contact hours | 30 | ||
| Total hours (100hr per 10 credits) | 200 | ||
Assignment 1 (poster) on WIP on students’ individual mini research projects will give them peer, group and tutor feedback opportunities.
| Assessment type | Notes | % of formal assessment |
|---|---|---|
| Coursework | Assignment 1 | 25 |
| Coursework | Assignment 2 | 75 |
| Total percentage (Assessment Coursework) | 100 | |
Normally resits will be assessed by the same methodology as the first attempt, unless otherwise stated
Check the module area in Minerva for your reading list
Last updated: 16/07/2025
Errors, omissions, failed links etc should be notified to the Catalogue Team