English 321W: Linguistics for Teachers

Instructor: Adrian Wurr * Fall 2002 * UNC-Greensboro

Section 2: T/TH 11:00 a.m. – 12:15 p.m. McIver 139B

Section 3: T/TH 12:30 p.m. – 1:45 p.m. McIver 325

Contacting Me:

Office: McIver 113 (Tel.: 334-3564)

Office Hours: Tues. & Thurs. 3:30-5:00 p.m. and by appointment.

E-mail: ajwurr@uncg.edu (best way to reach me)

Required texts:

Dennis Baron. Guide to Home Language Repair. NCTE 1994.

Lee Thomas & Stephen Tchudi. The English Language: An Owner’s Manual. Allyn and Bacon 1999.

**Selected readings (see attach list) on reserve at the Jackson library**

Recommended: David Crystal. The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Language. 2nd ed. Cambridge UP 1995.

Course Description

This course is about language, language use, and theories and applications of language study in the classroom. Across the semester we cover the history of the English language and of language teaching and participate in a personal exploration into and reflection on language acquisition. We examine definitions of language, communication, discourse, and literacy and the political ideologies implicated in those definitions. We investigate language structures and systems, including an understanding and application of phonology, morphology, and syntax. Finally, we explore the interrelationships of language and contexts, examining such issues related to language and language learning as dialects, multilingualism, gender, language standards and conventions (correctness/error), language variations/varieties, technology and language, oral/literate traditions, direct/indirect speech acts, etc.

Graded Work for This Course

Reading and Learning Responses 20%

Literacy and Language Learning Project 20%

Position/Philosophy Statement on Language and Literacy 20%

Group Presentation on Linguistics and Annotated Bibliographies 20%

Group Lesson Plan and Demonstration on Computers and Language 20%

Course Grade:

A = 90 – 100% C = 70 – 79%

B = 80 – 89% D = 60 – 69% F = 0 – 59%

Attendance and Preparedness

This course is interactive which means you will be participating in each class session through oral and written discussions and activities. I assume you will attend class regularly, but you have five absences for illness, car trouble, emergencies and the like. This means that there is no distinction between an “excused” and an “unexcused” absence; every absence counts. More than five absences lowers your course grade by an entire letter, so if your course grade averages out to a “B,” but you have more than five absences, you will receive a “C.” Be prepared to enter into the discussion in one form or another. If written assignments/paper drafts are due for group work and you are not prepared, I will consider you absent. If you miss a conference with me and do not call or contact me ahead of time, I will consider you absent. Any student who presents as his or her own work the efforts of another without precise acknowledgment is guilty of plagiarism.

Overview of Assignments

The purposes of the reading and learning responses are

1. to interact in writing with the reading assignments,

2. to reflect on language, its use/misuse/reuse,

3. to explore the relationship of language use across various contexts and within educational, political, cultural, social, and personal realms,

4. to interact with other students’ opinions and ideas through Blackboard.

You will also draft and revise two short texts across the semester:

1. a project that records some aspect of your language learning (literacy and language learning project);

2. a philosophy statement reflecting your position on language and literacy either for teaching or in society.

We will talk about these assignments, generate topics, and use various invention strategies to plan your texts and incorporate your research. The final drafts of these texts will be formatted appropriately and typed or word-processed.

In small groups, you will do two oral presentations: one in which you research and report on a linguistics topic (group presentation on linguistics) and one using Blackboard to generate and teach a language lesson that your group designs (group lesson plan and demonstration on computers and language). In the first, you will have some choice over your topic and the direction of your research that will culminate in an annotated bibliography. In the second, you will be grouped by future teaching interests and will design a language lesson on the computer that all of us will experience.

Learning Goals

Through the readings, assignments, and class activities in this course, you will

A. investigate language structure and systems, including an understanding and application of phonology, morphology, and syntax

B. examine definitions of language, communication, discourse, and literacy and the political ideologies implicated in those definitions,

C. learn about the history of the English language and its dialects,

D. participate in electronic discussions on language and education issues discussed in class

E. analyze language difference in specific cultural contexts and make decisions about the appropriate uses of standard and nonstandard usage with specific educational contexts,

F. research linguistics topics, share that knowledge through an oral presentation, and apply it to teaching language

G. communicate your knowledge, thinking, and language‑teaching plans in writing, in speaking, in gesture (and sign), and in other visual forms,

H. apply the NC Standard Course of Study for language arts and technology by developing a lesson plan, meeting several of the NC Advanced Technology Skills Competencies/ISTE National Educational Technology Standards for Teachers, and

I. work to integrate the language arts curriculum (composition/communication, literature, and language/grammar) as a means to teach language/grammar.

English 321W‑01: Linguistics for Teachers

Fall Semester 2002

Writing Assignments for the Semester (40% of course grade):

1. Literacy and Language Learning Project (20%)

This short project recounts in one or more ways your language education to this point. You might want to focus on one person, one concept, one event or one year in or out of school that shows how you learned to sign, speak, listen, write, and/or read. You might want to approach this across/over/through time, people, and events. It might deal with learning a second language. You need to decide on an appropriate audience for this project‑your future students, your family, a former teacher, friend, or person who influenced your understanding of language and learning. The forms for this text/project could be most anything: a children's book, a comic book (beyond strip), a longer poem or series of short poems, a letter to a parent or teacher, a speech on audio or videotape, an article for a specific magazine, a parody of a chapter of a textbook or case study, an allegory, a timeline, a collage, a scrapbook, a song with lyrics on audio or videotape, a skit recorded on videotape, a cookbook, a plan for a website, a board game, etc. What this project is not is a narrative essay or a chapter of an auto/biography. This is a creative project that reflects not only your history but also your understanding of how meaning arises from pictures, symbols, structures, and words. We will brainstorm ideas and talk about this assignment during class.

2. Position/Philosophy Statement on Language and Literacy (20%)

As the last paper for this course, you will write a position/opinion statement about some aspect/issue of language, linguistics, or literacy. It should be between four-to-six pages, double-spaced with one-inch margins. A personal position/opinion is a synthesis of learning, so cite your sources ‑ both internally and in a Works Cited according to the MLA style guide ‑‑ when referring to the theories, ideas, and words of others. This assignment asks that you draw on what you already know or have learned in this course and others.

If you plan to teach, you might write this as an open letter to your students. If you are a deaf interpreter, you might write this as a means of introduction to the person who will hire you. Although you may want to write about language and/or literacy and teaching and/or interpreting in general, you will want to narrow down your focus and explore it with specific examples. Look back at your readings and writings for this course. What mattered to you? What surprised you? What appalled you? There may be the seeds for your topic and approach already planted in one of your discussion responses or in your oral presentation research. Or by answering the following questions you may find a way to focus:

How would you describe the general principles you believe about language-oral, print, and sign? How are these principles related? What have you learned this semester that reinforced your beliefs or made you change them? What texts, what theories, and what people have influenced your beliefs? In what ways? What experiences with using language have you had that have influenced your position? Whether teacher or interpreter, how do plan to act on the above in your classroom?

English 321W

Linguistics for Teachers

Fall Semester 2002

Group Lesson Plan and Demonstration on Computers and Language

(20% of course grade)

In groups of three, you will design and demonstrate a lesson plan that teaches an aspect of language through the Blackboard (a web-environment instructional software) features available to you on the computer. You will have a total of twenty minutes for your demonstration. During that time, you will present the lesson to us and have us try out the activity--either all of the lesson or some part of it. You should think of us (your audience) as teachers and prospective teachers of language and the interactive segment on the computer should be set up for the students you envision doing this lesson. In other words, as teachers we will try out the lesson for the specified students, as if this were a staff development/in-service workshop.

You will prepare a print text as a handout that speaks to us as teachers. In other words, as teachers with this handout, we should be able to adapt your computer lesson for our own students and curriculum. Bring 26 copies.

The handout

1) has a title and lists your names,

2) identifies your student audience for this lesson,

3) states the NC Standard Course of Study competencies for the appropriate curricula and technology that you meet with this lesson,

4) lists your purposes and objectives of teaching this aspect of language through the computer,

5) explains why this aspect of language is important for those students to know,

6) outlines the guidelines and procedures for actually doing the lesson, and

7) defines the expectations you have for the students and the means of evaluation.

You might want to prepare and organize this handout in sections with headings. You may also want to include handouts that outline the Blackboard software directions, provide support materials or operate as models.

During class, we will set the groups, brainstorm ideas and topics, discuss this assignment, try out Blackboard and other computer features, and use class time for you to work together.

After your presentation, the class members will send you their responses and reactions via the mail system in Blackboard. Because each of you has an instructor’s/teaching assistant’s account in the software, the system will not insure privacy, so I will provide you with a written evaluation and grade via paper.

Group Presentations for English 321W

Linguistics for Teachers

In class we will be exploring topics that are intersections of linguistics and contexts: dialects, multilingualism, gender, language standards and conventions, language variations/varieties, technology, oral/literate traditions, direct/indirect speech acts, gesture and signing, etc. In groups of 4 to 5, you will research these topics and offer a 25‑35 minute presentation (I will cut you off at 35 minutes.) for the other class members.

The presentations should include (but not necessarily in this order):

1) a device to focus the audience, some means to determine any past experience or knowledge of the theories/concepts/information in the presentation, a clear statement of purpose, its link to other presentations/topics/readings in the course;

2) a means to explain and/or define the scope of your topic, what it entails, as a subset of linguistics or an interdisciplinary area (a handout, short intro., activity, etc.);

3) some examples/information on (and activity)

a. real world use

b. teaching

4) student/audience involvement (writing, discussing, analyzing, etc.);

5) motivation toward application or assimilation (Why is this important for us to know? How can we use it?);

6) an annotated bibliography and handouts (The bibliography should have five entries for each member of the group‑‑no more than one website and one media source per person); and

7) closure, summary, final checking for understanding.

Audio‑visual materials:

You have at your disposal the chalkboard. I can arrange for an overhead projector, a cassette tape recorder, CD player, a VCR and monitor, and a data projector (but no laptop), but you will need to let me know at least one week in advance, so I can schedule it.

You may arrange the seating/room in any way that's beneficial for your presentation. You have control over the format of the presentation time: it might include a panel discussion, a skit, an activity involving the audience, props, etc.

Plan on 26 copies for handouts and bibliographies.

English 321W‑01: Linguistics for Teachers

Reading and Learning Responses

Use these questions and directions as prompts for your ideas: You need not address every issue as they’re intended to get you started writing and responding.. Realize that you have an audience for these writings besides yourself. There are three types of reading and learning responses. 1) The first two responses need to be approximately 350 words (two hand-written pages or one and one-half word-processed, double-spaced with one inch margins). You can always write more to finish the thought you’re exploring. These are expected at the class time of the reading assignment. 2) For Blackboard discussion folder postings, your response should be around 175-200 words, and you need to write short interactive responses to at least 2 other postings. You have one week to post and respond to the two other students after the reading assignment is due for class. If you post after that time, your entry will be marked “late” and will affect your response grade. 3) For the linguistics presentations and computer demonstrations letters, see specific prompts for directions, which need to be followed. You do not need to write about your own presentation and demonstration.

1. After reading Dennis Baron’s chapters, write 5-to-10 rules or familiar language questions that you have learned from your schooling. This might include issues of writing‑spelling usage, punctuation, documentation, sentence structure, organization of text, use of examples/support, formatting, titles, etc.‑or of speaking-pronunciation, word choice, word order, etc. For instance, I learned to never start a sentence with a coordinating conjunction. But, I do it all of the time, don’t you? Then discuss what you see as the differences between language conventions and communication.

2. Using the information from CEL and EL, explain how you see the relationship of context to language use (spoken or written). How does the situation change the ways you and others speak or write? How are your school voices and texts different from other voices and texts you generate? To what extent do these shifts in voice signal shifts in authority and identity? As a prospective teacher, what do you feel your obligation is to help your students understand appropriateness in speech and writing? Cite examples from your life that show how language is appropriate or not, and what it means to “talk the talk and walk the walk.”

3. [Post in the Blackboard Discussion Folder titled “Parts is Parts”] Baron offers many examples of usage distinctions emphasizing underlying social assumptions about “proper” English whether spoken or written. He further exemplifies this emphasis on parts and pieces through his discussion of standardized testing. Goodman offers an alternative to this testing. Using examples from the readings and your own, discuss what you believe about a student’s language use, testing, and a teacher’s responsibility.

4. [Post in the Blackboard Discussion Folder titled “Literacy”] What assumptions do you think you hold about literacy? Do you agree that literacy is “emergent”? Knoblauch discusses four kinds of literacy that act as underlying assumptions when our society argues about curriculum in education. Which types of literacy do you value and why? In what contexts is each type valuable to society? As a language user and teacher, which kinds of literacy do you want to promote? Why?

5. [Post in the Blackboard Discussion Folder titled “CCCC Resolution.”] The CCCC resolution on language and teaching was adopted by its members and first published in 1974. Did the English teachers you had in high school and at college follow it? Use examples from your educational experiences to show when teachers supported aspects of this resolution and when they did not. Note: They may not have even addressed these issues directly, and they may not know this document exists; however, their teaching supports, goes against, or ignores aspects of this resolution. I suggest not using the names of the teachers you write about.

6. [Post in the Blackboard Discussion Folder titled “Speaking and Writing.”] After reflecting on one difference and similarity you know between speaking and writing, type in a line of poetry or literature, an adage, or a jingle that you like the “sound” of. Explain why you enjoy the sounds. What do oral language games (like Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers) help language users learn? Do you see a role for language games in your classroom or profession?

7. [Post in the Blackboard Discussion Folder titled “Dialects.”] What assumptions and stereotypes do you see in society and school that tie to intelligence and spoken or written language? Some believe that slow speech or a drawl equals stupidity. Some believe that clipped and brief responses represent coldness and distance. Have any of these been applied to you? If so, tell your story. As teachers, what should we be doing in the classroom with language variety to offset some of these stereotypes?

8. [Post in the Blackboard Discussion Folder titled “Proper English?”] How were you taught about language variety and dialect in high school? Were dialects and writing practices other than Edited American English valued? What do the terms “error” and “correctness” mean to you when dealing with language? Is there such a thing as unintentional error? If so, when might that happen; if not, why not? Try to include examples from both spoken and written language and try to think about error in terms of reading and listening. Do teachers unintentionally mishear or misread? Is this error?

9. [Post in the Blackboard Discussion Folder titled “Describing Language”] Webb uses descriptive linguistics (phonology, morphology, syntax, and pragmatics) to argue that Black English, like all languages, is a rule-governed? Provide any additional examples of Black English or other varieties of English you might be familiar with that might confirm, challenge, or complicate her thesis? How should schools and teachers appropriately apply this theory in practice? For example, should Ebonics be supported and encouraged in the classroom and language curricula? Why or why not?

10. [Post in the Blackboard Discussion Folder titled “Tune in”] Have you ever had difficulty understanding someone with an unfamiliar dialect, or struggled to catch familiar sounds and words in a foreign language? Why do you suppose parents and siblings are often able to interpret a baby’s first words when others cannot? Reflecting on one such experience, discuss what you think it means to “tune in” to spoken language and make sense of what we hear. Try offering examples of your own to help distinguish between a phoneme, morpheme, letter, and word.

11. [Post in the Blackboard Discussion Folder titled “Morph Play.”] Morphology deals as much with slang (you fill in the expression) and new words and expressions (“sound byte,” “pregnant chad”) as it does with Edited American English and technical jargon. Offer one example of slang and/or a newly coined word and provide a morphological analysis. Include its word classification(s). Try making up a new word and do the same analysis.

12. [Post in the Blackboard Discussion Folder titled “Technical Terms.”] You have been reading about phonology, morphology, syntax, and language varieties. What are your reactions to the readings and class activities? Why do you think state certification standards (and those who set them) require that you be aware of these concepts? What connections do you see between the classroom, language learning, and these concepts?

13. [Post in the Blackboard Discussion Folder titled “Teaching Language.”] Of the twelve guidelines that Weaver offers, which ones do you want to incorporate into your teaching and why? Provide examples and ideas of how you might achieve these goals in your future classrooms. In addition, Baron talks about the “double standard” of plagiarism. How do you deal with these issues (we the literature we teach practices one approach, while we preach another) in your classroom? What experiences have you had as a student or teacher with these issues? How might Weaver’s guidelines help with this double standard?

14. Using examples from your own experience. Write about how communication happens beyond speech and writing. Categorize these examples as auditory-vocal, visual, or tactile.

15-19. For each presentation, use Blackboard email “select users” to write and send a letter to group members that states what you liked or found interesting about the presentation, what questions or connections have occurred to you because of it, and what was effective and not effective in the organization and content of the presentation, in the manner of presenters, in the use of audio-visual materials, and in the interactive nature of the presentation. In other words, you are offering praise, analysis, and suggestions for change. (NOTE: I expect these letters to be quite detailed and instructive for the presenters, approximately 200 words each. Remember to send your letters to me too or you will not get credit for them. Send each letter to yourself too, so that you can save them in a message folder (to print them out for your technology portfolio and to resend to someone in the case the letter doesn’t make it to each presenter.)

20. [Post in the Blackboard Discussion Folder titled “Why History?”] After reading Thomas and Tchudi’s “A Brief History of the English Language,” discuss why it’s important to know about the history of the language and its dialects. What do you want to know more about? What do you want your students to know and value about the English language?

Extra Credit (due by 11/12): After watching Mother Tongue and examining various language websites on the Internet, post your impressions about that history and about the multiple Englishes that occur around the world in the Blackboard Discussion Folder titled “Englishes”. What kinds of language changes did you learn about in the film? With our world becoming smaller everyday thanks to the Internet, the media, various forms of technology, growth in international business, etc., how do you think English will evolve and change in the future?

21-24. For each demonstration, use Blackboard email “select users” to write and send a letter to the group that states what you liked or found interesting about the lesson, what questions or connections have occurred to you because of it, and what was effective and not effective in the organization and content of the presentation, in the manner of presenters, in the use of electronic materials, and in the interactive nature of the presentation. In other words, you are offering praise, analysis, and suggestions for change. (NOTE: I expect these letters to be quite detailed and instructive for the presenters, approximately 100 words each. Remember to send your letters to me too or you will not get credit for them. Send each letter to yourself too, so that you can save them in a message folder (to print them out for your technology portfolio and to resend to someone in the case the letter doesn’t make it to each presenter.)

G = Guide to Home Language Repair; CEL = The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Language;

EL = The English Language: An Owner’s Manual

DATE	TOPIC	READINGS	JOURNAL
T 8/20	When did you learn grammar?
TH 8/22	Rules versus conventions	G 1-21	#1
T 8/27	Language contexts and language play; Language Project Overview	CEL 48-65; EL 67-73 (74-104 recommended)	#2
TH 8/29	Language, education, and authority	G 22-80; Reserve 1	#3
T 9/3	Literacy & education	Reserve 2	#4
TH 9/5	Teaching language in school	Reserve 3	#5
T 9/10	Speaking versus writing	CEL 180-183; G 112-120; EL 309-342	#6
TH 9/12	Language projects due for class share; Watch “American Tongues” on closed reserve in TLC
T 9/17	Accounting for language differences	CEL 82-3; EL 277-308	#7
TH 9/19	Propriety and poetry in language variations	G 95-111; CEL 71-75	#8
T 9/24	Describing Language	Reserve 4; EL 31-66; CEL 90-1, 162-3	#9
TH 9/26	Language structures: Phonology; Linguistics Group Presentation Info	Reserve 5	#10
T 10/1	Language structures: Morphology	G 121-158; Reserve 6	#11
TH 10/3	Rethinking the Teaching of Grammar;	CEL 94-9; EL 205-238	#12
T 10/8	Rethinking the Teaching of Grammar; Set groups and topics for presentations	G 81-94; Reserve 7	#13
TH 10/10	Library Orientation & Research: Meet in library (Journals #3-13 due by 5 p.m.)
T 10/15	FALL BREAK
TH 10/17	Semiotics, signing, & gesture; Philosophy Statement Info; Group work	CEL 403-407 & 222-7	#14
T 10/22	Class canceled; continue group work
TH 10/24	Presentations #1-2		#15-16
T 10/29	Presentations #3-4		#17-18
TH 10/31	Presentations #5-6		#19
T 11/5	History of the English Language; (Extra Credit: See Mother Tongue in TLC and complete related worksheet & journal)	EL 139-164	#20
TH 11/7	Learning Language through Computers: Meet in McIver 231 through 12/3
T 11/12	Learning Language through Computers
TH 11/14	Learning Language through Computers
T 11/19	Computer Teaching Demonstrations 1-3		#21
TH 11/21	Computer Teaching Demonstrations 4-6 Draft Philosophy Statement due		#22
11/26-28	THANKSGIVING BREAK
T 12/3	Computer Teaching Demonstrations 7-8 Critique of Blackboard; Journals #14-24 due		#23-24
TH 12/5	Philosophy Statement & course evaluations

JACKSON LIBRARY – THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA AT GREENSBORO

RESERVE READING LIST page 1

Course(s): English 321w sections 02 & 03

Instructor(s): Adrian Wurr

Reserve List for (circle or underline term; enter year): Fall Spring Summer Year: 2002

CALL NUMBER	LOAN PERIOD	AUTHOR	TITLE
Personal Copy	Closed	Bullock, Devyn T., Daughtry, Ashley G., Smith, India, R., Hodgman, Donna S., & D’Souza, Sonja	Annotated bibliography: Identifying, teaching, and mainstreaming children with learning disabilities	FYI
Personal copy	Closed	College Composition & Communication	Students’ right to their own language	Reserve 3
P29.C64 1997	Closed	Crystal, David	Cambridge encyclopedia of language	On-going
Photocopy	Closed	Goodman, Ken	Phonology: The sound system	Reserve 5
Photocopy	Closed	Goodman, Yetta	Kid Watching	Reserve 1
Photocopy	Closed	Harste, J. C., Woodward, V. A., & Burke, C. L.	Rethinking development and organization	Reserve 2
Photocopy	Closed	Knoblauch, C. H.	Literacy and the politics of education	Reserve 2
Photocopy	Closed	Parker, K. & Riley, K.	Phonology	Reserve 5
Photocopy	Closed	Walker, Ariane	Philosophy Statement	FYI
Photocopy	Closed	Weaver, Constance	Learning theory and the teaching of grammar	Reserve 7
Photocopy	Closed	Webb, Karen	Black English: A discussion	Reserve 4
Photocopy	Closed	Yule, George	Words and word-formation processes	Reserve 6