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DEPARTMENT CURRICULUM, INSTRUCTION AND TECHNOLOGY IN EDUCATION ED 815 (003): LANGUAGE IN SOCIETY CRN: 064154 SPRING 2011 SYLLABUS
Dr. Santoi Wagner Office location and phone: 469 Ritter Hall (phone tba) [e-mail] Office hours: Mon 2-4pm, and by appointment Class (section 003) meets MWF 11am-11.50am, Ritter Hall 106 Course description: The purpose of this course is to use scientific methods to challenge common myths and beliefs about language and to help students gain a better understanding of how language works as human behavior. The main objectives of the course are to help students: (1) expand their knowledge about diversity of the world languages, bi- and multilingualism, and language structure, learning, and use; (2) develop their ability to collect, analyze, and interpret language data using a variety of approaches and methodologies; (3) reflect critically on language issues and learn to apply their knowledge in real-world contexts, making informed decisions about language and education policies, and intercultural communication in the workplace. In addition, students completing this course will demonstrate enhanced information literacy skills in locating, accessing, evaluating, and using information of various kinds, including both primary and secondary sources, scholarly and popular sources, and in documenting sources used to fashion their arguments. Course readings: (required) (1) Yule, G. (2010). The study of language (4th Ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN-10: 0521749220, ISBN-13: 978-0521749220. [referred to as "Yule"] (2) MacNeil, R., & Cran, W. (2005). Do you speak American? New York: Harcourt. ISBN-10: 0156032880, ISBN-13: 978-0156032889. [referred to as "DYSA"] Additional assigned readings will be posted on Blackboard or on E-Reserve. Course expectations and policies: All participants in this course will show mutual respect for one another and for course instructors and guest speakers at all times. Students are expected to arrive to class on time, prepared to participate actively in class discussions and activities, and to share the responsibilities of collaborative projects. All assignments must be turned in on the date they are due unless I give permission before the due date for a late submission. Do not wait until after the due date. Please do not ask for an extension unless there is an extreme situation. When an extension has not been granted, grades on assignments will be lowered because of lateness (one grade for each day late, e.g., B to B-). It is important that you let me know if you have questions about the concepts and assignments being discussed. Please come and see me in office hours with questions if raising them in class is difficult. I will email the class with reminders about assignments, readings, and other issues related to the class. Please check your TU email regularly.
2 Any student who has a need for accommodation based on the impact of a disability should contact me privately to discuss the specific situation as soon as possible. Contact Disability Resources and Services at 215-204-1280 in 100 Ritter Annex to coordinate reasonable accommodations for students with documented disabilities. Freedom to teach and freedom to learn are inseparable facets of academic freedom. The University has adopted a policy on Student and Faculty Academic Rights and Responsibilities (Policy # 03.70.02) which can be accessed through the following link: http://policies.temple.edu/getdoc.asp?policy_no=03.70.02 Academic Honesty: As noted in the University's Undergraduate Bulletin (http://www.temple.edu/bulletin/Responsibilities_rights/responsibilities/responsibilities.shtm #honesty): Plagiarism is the unacknowledged use of another person's labor, another person's ideas, another person's words, another person's assistance. Normally, all work done for courses -- papers, examinations, homework exercises, laboratory reports, oral presentations -- is expected to be the individual effort of the student presenting the work. Any assistance must be reported to the instructor. If the work has entailed consulting other resources -- journals, books, or other media -- these resources must be cited in a manner appropriate to the course. It is the instructor's responsibility to indicate the appropriate manner of citation. Everything used from other sources -- suggestions for organization of ideas, ideas themselves, or actual language -- must be cited. Failure to cite borrowed material constitutes plagiarism. Undocumented use of materials from the World Wide Web is plagiarism. Academic cheating is, generally, the thwarting or breaking of the general rules of academic work or the specific rules of the individual courses. It includes falsifying data; submitting, without the instructor's approval, work in one course which was done for another; helping others to plagiarize or cheat from one's own or another's work; or actually doing the work of another person. Plagiarism on any assignment will result in a grade of F (zero) for that assignment; the instructor may also report the student to the University Disciplinary Committee. Plagiarism is a very serious offense and will be treated accordingly. Course grades: Letter grades for the entire course will be assigned as follows: 92.5% and higher = A 80% - 82.49% = B67.5 67.99% = D+ 90% - 92.49% = A77.5% - 79.99% = C+ 62.5 67.49% = D 87.5% - 89.99% = B+ 72.5% - 77.49% = C 60% - 62.49% = D82.5% - 87.49% = B 70% - 72.49% = C59.99% and lower F Course grades will be based on the following components: Attendance and class participation: 10% Quizzes 10% Homework assignments 10% Written Assignments (2 x 8%) 16% Presentations (2 x 5%) 10% Midterm exam 22% 2
Language in Society ED 815 Spring 2011 S. Wagner Final exam 22%
Attendance and class participation: Attendance in this course is required and will be recorded. You are expected to complete all assigned readings before each class meeting, to attend all classes, and to participate in all course activities and discussions. There are many ways to participate during class in whole-class and small-group activities; asking questions, commenting on the thoughts of others, or discussing tentative, speculative ideas is valued as much as stating original, completely formed thoughts. Please note that if you miss a class session, it is your responsibility to follow up on the work that you missed (e.g., by reviewing the powerpoint, checking with a classmate). Quizzes: Short quizzes (between 10-20 mins) will be administered during the semester based on the readings, class discussions, and activities. Quizzes will consist of short answer questions. Quizzes may be on an individual or group basis. Students must achieve 70% in a quiz in order to earn credit for that quiz. Quizzes are graded credit /no credit. The quiz grade for the semester will be calculated as the percentage of quizzes for which students have achieved credit out of the total number of quizzes administered (usually 6-8 quizzes). Students who miss class or who arrive late will not be given the opportunity to make up the quiz. All quizzes are CLOSED BOOK. Homework assignments: There will be short homework assignments, in addition to required readings, to be completed in preparation for the following class. Assignments may be in the form of postings to the discussion board, preparing responses to reading questions, collecting data, etc., and will generally be graded credit/non-credit. The homework grade for the semester will be calculated as the percentage of homework assignments completed out of the total number of assignments given (usually 8-10 assignments). Extra credit assignments may be available during the semester. Written Assignments: There will be two written assignments: (1) an analysis of language from an interview you will conduct (due Feb 21st), and (2) a multilingual neighborhood visit report (due Apr 20th). The written assignments will be explained to you in class, and guidelines provided. Assignments will be due at the beginning of class as noted in the syllabus. All written assignments must be submitted to me as hard copies unless otherwise specified. Do not plan to email any assignments to me unless you have extenuating circumstances that have caused us to make this agreement. Please do not submit assignments in any kind of binder or folder. Assignments will be graded according to the rubrics supplied in the guidelines. Presentations: You will work with other students to deliver two presentations: (1) an analysis of language use from a TV program/movie (due Mar 2nd and Mar 4th), and (2) a description and evaluation of a language myth (scheduled for Fridays, beginning Feb 4th). Presentations will be assessed by both the instructor and the class. Guidelines and grading rubrics will be posted to BB. Student Module of CITI Program & Informed Consent Document: When we collect data from learners, we must abide by Institutional Review Board (IRB) policies and procedures. The IRB oversees the protection of human research subjects. As such, you must (1) complete the Student Module of the CITI Program; and (2) Prepare an informed consent document and have it signed by your learner. There is a sample informed consent document in the Contents section of BB. Instructions for completing the CITI Program: (a) Go to www.citiprogram.org (b) Register as a new user, then log in Page 3 19:26:25
4 (c) Click on "Add a course or update your learner groups". This will bring up a series of questions. Click "Students conducting no more than minimal risk research." for Question 1, and "I have NOT completed the CITI Basic Course of Temple University." for Question 2, and this will then enroll you in the section "Students conducting no more than minimal risk research" (d) Complete this Stage I Basic Course and print verification of completion to bring to class on Mon, Jan 31. The human subjects research approval quiz is a prerequisite to the first written assignment. All students must take this web-based quiz. You are not required to do any reading for your written assignments beyond assigned course readings (including those on Blackboard and E-Reserve). You may choose to do additional readings, but must write within the length constraints of the assignment. Whenever you quote, paraphrase, summarize or refer to any work that is not your own, you must cite it. Given the short length of our written assignments, you should provide citations in the following abbreviated way: 1. Last name of author, year of publication, page number for articles and books assigned for class (whether the primary textbook or a reading on BB) 2. Complete URL for links assigned for class or provided on the Blackboard list of external links for class. Here are examples of citations of works assigned for class: As Yule argues (2010, p. 37), "xxx yyy xxx." Ethnologue (http://www.ethnologue.com/14/show_iso639.asp?code=ar accessed February 6, 2009) documents 70 dialects of Arabic. No "Works Cited" or "References" page is required when you only refer to materials read or viewed in class. When you cite something that we have not read or viewed for class, you must cite it in accordance with APA style, providing full documentation, and a "References" page. See the Temple University Writing Center website: http://www.temple.edu/writingctr/handouts/citationguides/APAGuideColor.pdf for more details. Exams: Midterm and final exams may consist of the following components: students identification: must provide brief explanation (1-2 sentences) of linguistic terms and concepts short answers: students answer questions in paragraph-length discourse about the notions and concepts studied in the course mini-essay: students write essays of 3-4 paragraphs, describing a language-related process or presenting their own position on a controversial language-related issue data analysis: students analyze language in a social context (text provided in the exam). The midterm examination will be a take-home exam and distributed on Fri., Mar 4th. You may use your notes, class powerpoints, and the course book and readings, but you may not consult ANY person on your work for this examination. The take-home is due at the beginning of class on Mon., Mar 14. No late exams will be accepted without prior agreement. 4
Language in Society ED 815 Spring 2011 S. Wagner The final examination will be administered as per the registrar's schedule on Fri., May 6th, 10.30am 12.30pm. The exam will be CLOSED BOOK. You will be allowed to bring in one page of notes as a memory aid. No laptops will be allowed. Students who do not show up for the final exam will be given a zero unless they have a legitimate documented emergency.
SCHEDULE OF TOPICS AND READINGS
UNIT 1. INTRODUCTION
Focus: What is this course about? How is it structured? What is language? What are some of the key concepts/questions considered in this course? Wed., Jan 19 Reading: Syllabus (please print and bring to class)
UNIT 2: LANGUAGES OF THE WORLD
Focus: How many languages are there in the world? What is the difference between a language and a dialect? Which languages have the most speakers? Where did language come from? Fri., Jan 21 Readings: Part IX of "The Languages of the World" in Crystal, D. (Ed.), The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Language. Cambridge University Press. Read (a) section 47 (How many languages?), (b) section 48 (How many speakers?) [BB] Mon., Jan 24 Reading: Yule, Ch. 1 OR (if you don't yet have the course book) Crystal, Part IX of "The Languages of the World", section 49 (origins of language) [BB]
UNIT 3. STRUCTURES AND SYSTEMS OF LANGUAGE
Focus: How are languages structured? What are phonetics, phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics, and pragmatics? Wed., Jan 26 Reading: Yule, Ch. 3: The sounds of language
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6 Fri., Jan 28 Readings: Yule, Ch. 4: The sound patterns of language; "Youse Tube" (2011, Jan) Philly Daily News article [BB]; Watch "Phulluhphyin Dolleck" and "Da Philly Accent inna Media" [BB] Mon., Jan 31: CITI program quiz due Reading: Yule, Ch. 5: Word formation, Ch. 6: Morphology (pp. 66-70 only); "Social" (2010, April) NYTimes article OR "Podium" (2010, Feb) NYTimes article OR "Beach-blanket lingo" (2010 Aug) NYTimes article [BB] Wed., Feb 2 Readings: Yule, Ch. 7: Grammar (pp. 80-87 only), Ch. 8: Syntax (pp. 96-100 only); DYSA, Ch. 1: The language wars; "The self-appointed Twitter scolds" (2010, April) NYTimes article [BB] Fri., Feb 4: Language myth presentation, group 1 Readings: Yule, Ch. 9: Semantics (pp. 112-116 only), Ch. 10: Pragmatics
UNIT 4. LANGUAGE VARIATION
Focus: Why do groups of people who apparently share "the same language" sometimes use it very differently? How do varieties of the same language differ in terms of phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics, and pragmatics? How does a particular language variety come to be regarded as the "standard" variety, while others are regarded as "non-standard"? How and why does language use relate to important social variables such as ethnicity, class, gender, and education? Mon., Feb 7 Readings: Yule, Ch. 18: Language and regional variation; DYSA, Ch. 2: Changing dialects: Dingbatters versus Hoi-Toiders Wed., Feb 9 Readings: DYSA, Ch. 3: Toward a Standard: Putting the "R" in "American" Fri., Feb 11: Language myth presentation, group 2 Reading: Yule, Ch. 19: Language and social variation Mon., Feb 14 Reading: DYSA, Ch. 6: Bad-mouthing Black English Wed., Feb 16 Readings: "DEA seeks Ebonics experts to help with cases" (2010) Yahoo News article [BB]; Watch videos "Fox News and Black English" and "Garrard McClendon on Black English" [BB] Fri., Feb 18: Language myth presentation, group 3 Readings: Yule, Ch. 20: Language and culture (pp. 274-277 only); "Sex, Lies and Conversation: Why is it so hard for men and women to talk to each other?" (1990, June) The Washington Post [BB]; Watch "Vintage Folgers commercial" and "Folgers Instant coffee commercial" [BB]
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Language in Society ED 815 Spring 2011 S. Wagner Mon., Feb 21: Interview assignment due Reading: Swann, J. (2000). Gender and language use. In R. Mesthrie, J. Swann, A. Deumert, & W. L. Leap (Eds.), Introducing sociolinguistics (pp. 216-247). Philadelphia: John Benjamins. [BB] Wed., Feb 23 Reading: Lippi-Green, (1997). Ch. 5. Teaching children how to discriminate. What we learn from the Big Bad Wolf (pp. 79-103). [BB] Fri., Feb 25: Language myth presentation, group 4 Readings: Watch "Winner of Dates to Remember - Andrew", "Odd Jobs Winner Alex", "Leah Winner Emergency". [BB]; Johnstone, B. (2008). The structure of narrative [BB]; Johnstone, B. (2008). The Hunting narrative [BB] Mon, Feb 28 Reading: Johnstone, B. (1997). Social characteristics and self expression in narrative. Journal of Narrative and Life History, 7(1-4), 315-320. [BB] Wed., Mar 2: Language use in TV/movies presentations Fri., Mar 4: Language use in TV/movies presentations (cont) and distribution of take-home midterm
UNIT 5. LANGUAGE LEARNING
Focus: How do babies acquire language? How do adults learn a second language? Is the process of language learning similar for adults and for children? Is there such as a thing as language learning talent? Is there really a critical period for second language acquisition? Is it harder for older adults to learn a language, and if so why? What does it mean to know a second language? What is the difference between competence and performance? Mon., Mar 14: Take-home midterm examination due at beginning of class Readings: Yule, Ch. 13: First language acquisition; "Understanding `Ba Ba Ba' as a key to development" (2010, Oct) NYTimes article [BB] Wed., Mar 16 Reading: Yule, Ch. 14: Second language acquisition Fri., Mar 18: Language myth presentation, group 5 Readings: "Learning language from an expert, on the Web" (2010, July) NYTimes article [BB]; "Expensive language lessons. Doesn't translate" (2010, April) NYTimes article [BB] Mon., Mar 21 Reading: Yule, Ch. 20: Language and culture (pp. 266-274 only)
UNIT 6. BI- AND MULTILINGUAL CHILDREN AND COMMUNITIES
Focus: Can children learn more than one language simultaneously? Is it true that bilingualism slows down language development? What factors might impact the extent of bilingualism in Page 7 19:26:25
8 children? How do people co-exist when there are two or more languages or varieties used in a particular community? Wed., Mar 23 Reading: King, K., & Fogle, L. (2006, April). Raising bilingual children: Common parental concerns and current research. CAL Digest [BB] Fri., Mar 25: Language myth presentation, group 6 Readings: Bonvillain, N. (2008). Ch. 11: Multilingual nations (p. 323-327 only) [BB]; Bonvillain, N. (2008). Ch. 12: Bilingual communities (pp. 368-375 on bilingual conversational strategies) [BB]; DYSA, Ch. 5: Hispanic immigration: Reconquest or assimilation? Mon., Mar 28: AAAL Conference Readings: McCormick, K., & Agnihotri, R. K. (2009, Sept). Forms and functions of English in multilingual signage. English Today 99, Vol. 25, No. 3 [BB]; Bonvillain, N. (2008). Ch. 12: Bilingual communities (pp. 359-368 on endangered languages and the international dominance of English) [BB]; "As English spreads, Indonesians fear for their language" (2010, July) NYTimes article [BB] OR "China bans English words in the media" (2010, Dec) BBC News article [BB] Wed., Mar 30 Readings: Bonvillain, N. (2008). Ch. 11: Multilingual nations (pp. 306-313) [BB] Fri., Apr 1: Language myth presentation, group 7 Readings: Li, D. C. S. (2009). Towards `biliteracy and trilingualism' in Hong Kong (SAR): Problems, dilemmas, and stakeholders' views. AILA Review, 22, 72-84 [BB].
UNIT 7: LANGUAGE IN EDUCATION
Focus: Do all children start school on an equal footing? What happens when children speak a nonstandard variety of the main language? How should we treat children who come from non-Englishspeaking families and are not yet fully competent in English? Mon., Apr 4 Reading: Lippi-Green, R. (1997). Ch. 6: The educational system (pp. 104-122 only) [BB] Wed., Apr 6 Reading: Adger, C. T. (2005). Language varieties in the school curriculum: Where do they belong and how will they get there? In J. D. Ramirez, T. G. Wiley, G. de Klerk, E. Lee, & W. E. Wright (Eds.), Ebonics: The Urban Education debate (2nd Ed.), pp. 96-108. Clevedon: Multilingual Matters. [BB] Fri., Apr 8: Language myth presentation, group 8 Reading: Bonvillain, N. (2008). Ch. 11: Multilingual nations (pp. 328-333 on Bilingual Education); "The best ways to teach young newcomers" (2009, March) NYTimes Room for Debate [BB]; Watch "Immersion" [BB]
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Language in Society ED 815 Spring 2011 S. Wagner Mon., Apr 11 Reading: Rymes, B., & Pash, D. (2001). Questioning identity: The case of one second-language learner, Anthropology & Education Quarterly, 32(3), 276-300 [BB] Wed., Apr 13 Readings: Lenker, A., & Rhodes, N. (2007). Foreign Language Immersion Programs: Features and Trends over 35 years, CAL Digest. [BB]; Malone, M., Rifkin, B., Christian, D., & Johnson, D. (2005). Attaining high levels of proficiency: Challenges for foreign language education in the United States, CAL Digest. [BB]
UNIT 8. LANGUAGE IN THE WORKPLACE
Focus: How do linguistic and cultural differences play out in multilingual multicultural workplaces? Fri., Apr 15: Language myth presentation, group 9 Readings: Lippi-Green, R. (1997). Ch. 6: The educational system (pp. 122-132 on Teacher Talk); "Pennsylvania English fluency in Higher Education Act 1990" [BB]; "Temple's ITA Program: Certification of EL fluency for Graduate Teaching Assistants" [BB] Mon., Apr 18: Working session for Multilingual Neighborhood Visit Report Wed., Apr 20: Multilingual Neighborhood Visit Report due Reading: Nashville voters reject English-only measure" (2009, Jan) CNN article [BB]; "Dallas police ticketed 39 drivers in 3 years for not speaking English" (2009, Oct) The Dallas Morning News [BB] Fri., Apr 22: Language myth presentation, group 10 Reading: Bonvillain, N. (2008). Ch. 12: Bilingual communities (pp. 375-381 on interethnic miscommunication) [BB]. Review Yule, Ch. 10 (pp. 135-136 on politeness). Mon., Apr 25 Reading: Bailey, B. (1997). Communication of respect in interethnic service encounters. Language in Society, 26, 327-356 [BB]. Wed., Apr 27 Reading: Pavlenko, A. (2008). "I'm Very Not About the Law Part": Nonnative Speakers of English and the Miranda Warnings. TESOL Quarterly, 42, 1-10 [BB]. Fri., Apr 29 Reading (cont): Pavlenko, A. (2008). "I'm Very Not About the Law Part": Nonnative Speakers of English and the Miranda Warnings. TESOL Quarterly, 42, 10-30 [BB]. Mon., May 2: Final review Fri., May 6: Final Examination 10.30am 12.30pm Page 9 19:26:25
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