COURSE SYLLABUS: ENGLISH 538, BILINGUALISM

Accelerated Career Enhancement (ACE TESOL Degree 2003)

USDE Grant: T195N020104

Salisbury University

Saturdays: 8:30 a.m.-11:00 a.m.; 1:00 p.m. - 5 p.m. (Henson Science:123)

Instructor: Dr. Clement Okafor

E-mail: caokafor@mail.umes.edu

Office Hours: Appointments

Course Materials

Course Requirements

Written Reaction Paper Due Date

Report Due Date

Institute 1

Institute 2

Institute 3

Institute 4

Institute 5

Course Description and Objectives

            This course examines the salient issues involved in bilingualism both at the individual and societal levels. Thus, it is a study of language within its social milieu.  Specifically, it examines the psycholinguistic and neurolinguistic factors involved in bilingual language situations. It begins with a review of the prevalent concepts of bilingualism and demonstrates that bilingualism is a social phenomenon.  Additionally, it examines the neuroanatomical organization in bilinguals as well as the issues of bilingualism and intelligence. Finally, it explores the evolution of various bilingual educational policies worldwide and concentrates on the bilingual educational practice in the United States.  By the end of the course, students should be in a position to apply the principles of bilingualism the current bilingual educational policies. The main objective is to enable the students to critique the current policies with a view to ascertaining to what extent they are best suited to the ESOL/TESOL situation in the schools in our rural environment.

COURSE MATERIALS

Required Texts:

Romaine, Suzanne 1995. Bilingualism, 2^nd Edition. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press.

Crawford, James 1999.  Bilingual Education: History, Politics, Theory, and Practice, 4^th Edition.  Los Angeles, CA:  Bilingual Educational Services.

Recommended Texts:

Hoffmann, C.  1998.  An Introduction to Bilingualism, 6^th Impression.  London: Longman.

Bialystok, E.  2001.  Bilingualism in Development.  Cambridge, England:  Cambridge University Press.

Watkins-Goffman, L.  2001.  Lives in Two Languages:  An Exploration of Identities and Culture.  Ann Arbor, Michigan:  University of Michigan Press.

Hamers, J. & Blanc M.  Bilinguality and Bilingualism, 2^nd Edition.  Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press.

ATTENDANCE POLICY

Students are required to attend every class meeting barring any emergencies.  There may be unannounced in-class assignments and such work will constitute part of the grade awarded for class participation.  If a student is absent on a day of an in-class assignment, she will receive a zero for that assignment.  Make-up work may be assigned only in cases in which the absence is for valid reasons.

            WRITING ACROSS THE CURRICULUM (WAC) STATEMENT

All written assignments in this course are in support of the university’s Writing Across the Curriculum Program.

ACADEMIC DISHONESTY/PLAGIARISM POLICY

The English Department takes plagiarism, the unacknowledged use of other people’s ideas, very seriously.  As outlined in the Student Handbook under the “Policy on Student Academic Integrity,” plagiarism may receive such penalties as failure on a paper or failure in the course.  The English Department recognizes that plagiarism is a very serious academic offense and professors make their decisions regarding sanctions accordingly.  Each of the following constitutes plagiarism:

1.      Turning in as your own work a paper or part of a paper that anyone other than

you wrote.  This would include but is not limited to work taken from another student, from a published author, or from an Internet contributor.

2.      Turning in a paper that includes unquoted and/or undocumented passages someone else wrote.

3.      Including in a paper someone else’s original ideas, opinions or research results without attribution.

4.      Paraphrasing without attribution

A few changes in wording do not make a passage your property.  As a precaution, if you are in doubt, cite the source.  Moreover, if you have gone to the trouble to investigate secondary sources, you should give yourself credit for having done so by citing those sources in your essay and by providing a list of Works Cited or Works Consulted at the conclusion of the essay.  In any case, failure to provide proper attribution could result in a severe penalty and is never worth the risk. 

SPECIAL NEEDS:   Any students with disabilities or other special needs, who require special accommodations and adjustments in this course, should share these concerns with the instructor as soon as possible.

STRUCTURE OF THE COURSE

The course is structured in such a way as to make the best use of the fact that all the students here are indeed seasoned teachers.  Hence, the course will entail individual as well as group presentations and ethnographic reports.

                        ESOL/TESOL: NCATE STANDARDS

This course is designed to meet the NCATE standards pertaining to the five domains that are listed in “TESOL/NCATE Standards for the Accreditation of Initial programs in P-12 ESL Teacher Education,” (2002) – Draft prepared by the TESOL task force on ESL  standards TESOL Inc.  These standards are located in the following web site: http://www.ncate.org/standard/new%20program%20standards/tesol.pdf

                        COURSE REQUIREMENTS

The final grade will reflect the performance in the following course requirements:

GRADING SCHEME

                                    90 – 100%                   A

                                    85 – 89%                     B+

                                    80 – 84%                     B

                                    75 – 79%                     C+

                                    70 – 74%                     C

                                    65 – 69%                     D

                                    0 – 64%                       F

1. Class Participation

The classes are modified seminars and students are required not only to attend classes but also to participate actively in all class activities. Students will be asked to generate ten interview questions to be administered during the ethnographically based project.  These questions can be drawn from one or both of the required texts. As from Institute 2, these questions should be submitted at the beginning of class. 

2. Individual Presentation

Each student is required to make a class presentation of approximately twenty-five minutes.  The presentations will begin during Institute 3, and a student may base her presentation on one or more interview sessions that she has had with a bilingual person.

3. Written Reaction Paper

Every student will submit a reaction paper on a topic to be assigned during Institute 2.  It should have the following three distinct components:

i.                     a brief overview of the salient issues in the reading

ii.                   a critical evaluation

iii.                  a practical application

The paper should be approximately three double-spaced typed pages and is due on June 14, 2003.

4. Field Observation/ Lesson Plan Due      June 21, 2003

Every student has an option to submit either a field observation report or a lesson plan. The field observation report will be based on at least three hours of observation in a regular class, which has LEP students or in an ESL special class.  The report should have the following components:

a)      a brief summary of the observed class experience

b)      an analysis of the principles of bilingualism applicable to the class visited

c)      an assessment of the class session, which indicates how you can ameliorate the observed weaknesses.

The lesson plan should demonstrate the use of principles and content learned in this course (Bilingualism) in order to teach a specific lesson on a topic of interest to you. Your plan should include two sections:

SECTION A

1. Lesson objectives
2. Since this is hypothetical, you can choose the grade level, and the anticipated level of proficiency in the language.
3. Maryland State Content Standards fort the specific content are of ESOL or a related content area if this is still being developed/or other relevant state standards.
4. Materials
5. Time
6. Procedures
7. Activities to be used
8. Assignments
9. Assessment Procedures
10. Accommodations
11. Closure/ Review

SECTION B

12. A post-reflective essay, which evaluates the benefits and potential pitfalls of your lesson.

1. Ethnographically Based Project

This is a biography of the bilingual person interviewed earlier by the student. It should be based on at least three interview sessions of one hour each and should be (approximately fifteen pages).  Each student is free to present the material in whichever way she chooses.  However, the report should reflect the following guidelines:

i.                     You may interview any one you consider to be bilingual

ii.                   This is not a group project; hence, two students are not allowed to interview the same bilingual person

iii.                  There are no age restrictions

iv.                 Your report should record the name and contact address of the bilingual person interviewed

v.                   The report should also record the location, time, date and duration of each interview session

Bear in mind that the objective of the project is to give you ample opportunity to demonstrate your firm understanding of the theory and application of bilingualism.  Hence, the report should apply the theories learned in this course to the specific language learning situation of the bilingual person interviewed.  Finally, it should state clearly the conclusions that you have made as a result of your experience during this project. Thus, the project should have the following components:

i.                     Theoretical underpinnings of the project, showing motivation for choice of the bilingual individual interviewed

ii.                   Clear statement of how the relevant theories apply to the language learning situation of the bilingual person interviewed

iii.       Specific deductions and recommendations based on the case study 

The project report is due on June 23.

6. The Final Examination

The final examination will comprise an in-class test that requires short answers and will be administered on June 23.

PROPOSED COURSE SCHEDULE:  This is subject to change.

INSTITUTE 1

May 31

INTRODUCTION TO BILINGUALISM

Theory

i.                     Some Introductory Problems and Issues

ii.                   Approaches to the Study of Bilingualism

iii.                  Definitions and Descriptions of Bilingualism

iv.                 Degree of Bilingualism

v.                   Mother Tongue: Definitions and Problems

Application

i.                     Bilingualism in America: A Forgotten Legacy

Discussion: Video: a)          Bilingualism: A True Advantage

                                          b)         Bilingual Education

INSTITUTE 2

June 7

The Bilingual Speech Community

Theory

i.                     The Socilinguistic Composition of Multilingual Countries

ii.                   Domains of Language Use

iii.                  Diglossia and Bilingualism

iv.                 Language Maintenance, Shift and Death

v.                   Borrowing and Interference as Individual and Community Phenomena

vi.                 Some Long-term Effects of Language Contact and Bilingualism

Application

            i.          The Evolution of Federal Policy

            ii.          English Only or English Plus

ii.                   The Bennett Years

Discussion: Video:

                 a)          Assessing Diverse Populations

b)                  Profile of Effective Two-Way Bilingual Teaching:

Sixth Grade

INSTITUTE 3

June 14

The Bilingual Brain and the Bilingual Individual

Theory

i.                     Types of Bilingualism

ii.                   Neuroanatomical Organization in Bilinguals

iii.                  Bilingual Speech Production and Processing

iv.                 Bilingualism and Intelligence

Application

i.                     The effectiveness Debate

ii.                   Basic Research on Language Acquisition

iii.                  Alternatives to Bilingual Education

Discussion:             Video: a)          Growing Minds: Cognitive Development in Early Childhood

INSTITUTE 4

June 21

Code-Switching and Communicative Competence

Theory

i.                     Code-Switching Defined

ii.                   Types of Code-Switching

iii.                  Linguistic Factors Constraining Code-Switching

iv.                 The Integration of Mixed Compound Verbs in Bilingual Discourse

v.                   Distinguishing Borrowing from Code-Switching

vi.                 Pragmatic Factors in Code-Switching

Application

i.                     Theory into Practice: The Case Studies Project

ii.                   Indian Bilingual Education

iii.                  Two-Way Bilingual Education

Discussion:             Video:              Educating Linguistically and Culturally Diverse Students 

INSTITUTE 5

June 23

Attitudes towards Bilingualism

Theory

i.                     Attitudes towards Bilingualism

 Application

i.                     Language Policy and School Reform

ii.                   Disaster at the Polls

Discussion

      i.          Conclusion

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