Dr. Alison Long from Keele University visiting scholar from the Erasmus+ program holds an open lecture at UACS

Dr. Long was awarded a PhD by the University of Surrey, UK, in 2010, where she was supervised by Professor Greville Corbett. She is currently the Programme Director for Modern Languages at Keele University, UK, which offers classes in eight languages that students can study as part of their main degree programmes. She has been the languages and linguistics coordinator for the British Association of Slavonic and East European Studies (BASEES) for the last four years and, through this, became involved in creating a language for a BBC drama series which will be broadcast early in 2018.

From 10 to 16 Dec 2017, Dr. Long is visiting SFL through Erasmus+ agreement between University American College Skopje and Keele University.

She held an open lecture for all students on the topic “English Syntax: Changes and Problems for Language Learners”

English syntax is said to follow a fairly simple order – subject, verb, object. However, there are many aspects which cause considerable problems for second-language learners – one notable example is that of phrasal verbs, which are used constantly by native speakers, but which non-native speakers find extremely challenging.  Other difficulties include idiomatic variations (soldiers “make the ultimate sacrifice” but “give their lives”), articles (where – and why – to use the, a and an) and our use of auxiliary verbs (such as do). The most difficult are, of course, those elements which do not appear in the learner’s native language (often the case with articles), and therefore offer no point of reference. This lecture looked at some of the most difficult aspects for students of English as a foreign language, and suggested ways in which teachers (and students) can master them.