ENG 227 Syllabus, Fall 2011

ENGLISH DEPARTMENT http://www.flickr.com/photos/the_worm_turns/97814457/ INTRODUCTION TO LANGUAGE Course number: ENGL 227 Credits: 3 Faculty: Dr. Ulrike Pölzl, Fisk 207 Email: up00@aub.edu.lb Class times +rooms: SI 11:00-12:15 Tues/Thurs, Nicely 416 SII 09:30-10:45 Tues/Thurs, Nicely 416 Office hours: 14:15-15:15 Tues/Thurs @online 11:15-12:15 Wed Course description: This course is offered in a blended format in which 2/3 of course time is in-class face-to-face meetings and 1/3 of course time is online. The F2F meetings consist of interactive lectures (theory and practice), whilst the online activities are project work for a thematically related end of term presentation. ENGL 227 is a general introduction to language studies covering the most important topics that constitute the field of linguistics. During this course students will investigate specific ways how to describe and analyze language. These topics include phonetics and phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics, writing systems, language acquisition, sociolinguistics, and neurolinguistics. Why blended? Your professor decided to offer this course in a blended format in order to enable you to  participate actively in the learning process  practice and apply 21st century technology  explore linguistic themes in a student centered way  work in teams on exotic projects  manage your own time and be more flexible Required Reading: Fromkin, Victoria; Rodman, Robert & Nina Hyams (2010) An Introduction to Language. 9th edition. Thomson/Wadsworth. Teaching/Learning strategies: This course attempts to reconcile teacher centered and student centered approaches. Linguistic theory is introduced in lectures, whilst student practice their understanding of each topic mainly online. The interactive lectures will prepare students to work independently and in teams on an extraterrestrial linguistic project. Active class participation is a MUST. Online sessions will structure student projects in manageable steps. Lab sessions will serve as a platform for discussion and practice. Research results are presented in a mini conference at the end of the semester. The professor serves as an advisor and a resource, whilst the students are empowered to explore scientific facts creatively online. Assignments: Offline reading assignments: book chapters have to be read before class Online assignments: exercises, forum discussions, projects are on Moodle and have clearly indicated deadlines which have to be observed since no late work will be accepted! Please do follow the instructions given for each assignment PRECISELY as this will make part of your grade. Always check the rubric. In case of any doubt check the DATES and DEADLINE on Moodle! Projects: Students are expected to form teams (4 members) and engage in two different but related projects on Extraterrestrial Languages: RESEARCH ONLINE ACTIVITIES PRESENTATION FOR MINI CONFERENCE The team explores a planet, its life forms and their language scientifically and creatively. The topics to be analyzed relate to the course topics. The team adapts their online research activities to a power point presentation of 15-20 slides for a mini conference on campus. Instructions are presented in detail on Moodle! MOODLE PRESENCE: Moodle is an essential part of this course. Please check your Moodle once a day. Online activities are put on Moodle. Always read the instructions carefully and follow them precisely. Check the attached rubrics to know how you are being graded. SESSIONS OUTLINE: ENGL 227 is structured as 2/3 face to face 1/3 online Face-to-face sessions take place in Nicely, JAFET E-learning classroom and FISK lab 204. Place and day are indicated in the table below. Face-to- face sessions are marked as =F2F (since WITH me) SESSION SCHEDULE AND TOPIC OUTLINE WEEK DATE SESSION TOPICS/ASSIGNMENTS Week 1 27.9. =F2F Intro to ENGL 227 WHERE: NICELY 416 Moodle topic 1: Lecture topics and F2F dates will be outlined. 29.9. =F2F Intro to Blended WHERE: JAFET e-learning Moodle topic 2: The blended approach will be introduced plus weekly activities. Forums will be practiced. Week 2 4.10. =ON@ Online discussion WHERE: your own pc FLEXI TIME: 30.9.-5.10. Moodle topic 3: Read the articles assigned and post your own well informed opinion (300 words). Reply to at least two posts. Form teams of 4! 6.10. =F2F on The Origins of Language + What is Language (CH 6) WHERE: NICELY 416 Moodle topic 4: Read CH 6 before coming to this session! Theory is introduced followed by activities. Self assessment practice exercise on Moodle. Week 3 11.10. =ON@ Online activity WHERE: your own pc FLEXI TIME: 7.10.-12.10. Moodle topic 5: Work in teams (=team forum) and choose a planet. Explore the learning object to collect information on your planet and possible life forms. Follow the instructions precisely! 13.10. =F2F on Phonetics (CH 4) WHERE: NICELY 416 Moodle topic 6: Read CH 4 before coming to this session! Theory is introduced followed by activities. Self assessment practice exercise on Moodle. Week 4 18.10. =F2F on Phonology (CH5) WHERE: NICELY 416 Moodle topic 7: Read CH 5 before coming to this session! Theory is introduced followed by activities. Self assessment practice exercise on Moodle. 20.10. =ON@ Online activity WHERE: your own pc FLEXI TIME: 19.10.-24.10. Moodle topic 8: Work in teams (=team forum) and design a phonetic inventory as well as phonological rules for your extraterrestrial language. Follow the instructions precisely Week 5 25.10. =F2F on Morphology (CH 1 = pages on Moodle) WHERE: NICELY 416 Moodle topic 9: Read CH 1 before coming to this session!Theory is introduced followed by activities. Self assessment practice exercise on Moodle. 27.10. =F2F on Word Formation (CH 1 = pages on Moodle) WHERE: NICELY 416 Moodle topic 10: Read CH 1 before coming to this session! Theory is introduced followed by activities. Self assessment practice exercise on Moodle. Week 6 1.11. =ON@ Online activity WHERE: your own pc FLEXI TIME: 28.10.-2.11. Moodle topic 11: Work in teams (=team forum) and design a morphological structure as well as word formation rules for your extraterrestrial language. Follow Week 6 the instructions precisely! 3.11. =F2F on Syntax (CH 2) WHERE: NICELY 416 Moodle topic 12: Read CH 2 before coming to this session! Theory is introduced followed by activities. Self assessment practice exercise on Moodle. Week 7 8.11. Holiday no classes My advice: Study!  10.11. =ON@ Online project work WHERE: your own pc FLEXI TIME: 4.11.-14.11. Moodle topic 13: Work in teams (=team forum) and design a relevant syntax for your extraterrestrial language. Follow the instructions precisely Week 8 15.11. .=F2F 1st EXAM (Moodle multiple choice) WHERE: FISK 204 Moodle topic 14: Practice the self assessment activities on Moodle and reread the book chapters 17.11. =F2F on Writing Systems (CH 11) WHERE: NICELY 416 Moodle topic 15: Read CH 11 before coming to this session! Theory is introduced followed by activities. Self assessment practice exercise on Moodle. Week 9 22.11. Holiday no classes =ON@ Online activity WHERE: your own pc FLEXI TIME: 16.11.-23.11. Moodle topic 16: Work in teams (=team forum) and design a writing for your extraterrestrial language. Follow the instructions precisely! 24.11. =F2F on The Human Brain (Intro) WHERE: NICELY 416 Moodle topic 17: Read intro before coming to this session! Theory is introduced followed by activities. Self assessment practice exercise on Moodle Week 10 29.11. =ON@ Online activity WHERE: your own pc FLEXI TIME: 25.11.-31.11. Moodle topic 18: Work in teams (=team forum) and compare the human brain to the Alien brain. Follow the instructions! 1.12. =F2F on First Language Acquisition (CH 7) WHERE: NICELY 416 Moodle topic 19: Read the CH 7 before coming to this session! Theory is introduced followed by activities. Self assessment practice exercise on Moodle. Week 11 6.12. =F2F on Second Language Acquisition (CH 7) WHERE: NICELY 416 Moodle topic 20: Read the CH 7 before coming to this session! Theory is introduced followed by activities. Self assessment practice exercise on Moodle. 8.12. =ON@ Online activity WHERE: your own pc FLEXI TIME: 7.12.-12.12. Moodle topic 21: Work in teams (=team forum) and compare either FLA or SLA in Humans and Aliens Follow the instructions precisely! Week 12 13.12. =F2F on Pragmatics (CH3) WHERE: NICELY 416 Moodle topic 22: Read CH 3 before coming to this session! Theory is introduced followed by activities. Self assessment practice exercise on Moodle. 15.12. =F2F on Language in Society (CH 9) Moodle topic 23: Read CH 9 before coming to this session! Theory is WHERE: NICELY 416 introduced followed by activities. Self assessment practice exercise on Moodle. Week 13 20.12. =ON@ Online activity WHERE: your own pc FLEXI TIME: 16.12.-21.12. Moodle topic 24: Work in teams (=team forum) and compare either one speech act or dialect/lingua franca in Humans and Aliens. Follow the instructions on Moodle. 22.12. =F2F 2nd EXAM (Moodle multiple choice) WHERE: FISK 204 Moodle topic 25: Practice the self assessment activities on Moodle and reread the book chapters. Week 14 3.1. =ON@ Online project work WHERE: your own pc FLEXI TIME: 23.12.-4.1. Moodle topic 26: Streamline project activities to create a conference presentation of 15 PowerPoint slides which your group will present. 5.1. =ON@ Online project work WHERE: your own pc FLEXI TIME: 4.1.-9.1. Moodle topic 27: Streamline project activities to create a conference presentation of 15 PowerPoint slides which your group will present. Week 15 10.1. =F2F platform and peer review on presentation WHERE: JAFET e-learning Moodle topic 28: In this platform professor and students discuss and peer review the presentation. Follow instructions on Moodle. 12.1. =ON@ Online project work WHERE: your own pc FLEXI TIME: 11.1.-15.1. Moodle topic 29: Finalize your presentation implementing the suggested comments and corrections. Week 16 16.1 Mini-conference on Extraterrestrial Languages WHERE: WEST HALL Auditorium A WHEN: 9:00-12:30 Moodle topic 30: This is when you present the fruit of your labor! All students are requested to come and stay during the entire time. This syllabus is subject to change! Grading policy: The grade will be split into the following categories. Failing to perform in one of these categories implies losing X% of the final grade. Project and activity grades have rubrics. Please do consult those to know how to obtain the highest possible grade. Bargaining for grades or the shifting of grade percentages is futile… Project 60% Exams 40% Presentation 30% Online participation 30% First exam 20% Second exam 20% Grading system: Range Performance Designation Letter Grade Grade Points 90-100 Outstanding A 4.0 85-89 Excellent B+ 3.5 80-84 Very good B 3.0 75-79 Good C+ 2.5 70-74 Fair C 2.0 60-69 Weak D 1.0 Below 60 Fail F 0.0 Academic Honesty: Students are expected to follow the academic honesty policy in their academic conduct throughout the entire course. The most prominent cases of academic dishonesty are: cheating during exams, letting other students do one’s course work, or plagiarism. Cheating during an exam will result in the grade of “F”. Pair work (e.g. term paper), which is only done by one group participant will result in 0 points for the other. Plagiarism: (source: Undergraduate Catalogue 2010-2011, p 50) Students who fail to credit properly ideas or materials taken from another commit plagiarism. Putting your name on a piece of work-any part of which is not yours – constitutes plagiarism, unless that piece is clearly marked and the work from which you have borrowed is fully identified. Plagiarism is a violation of the University’s academic regulations and is subject to disciplinary action. Professor availability: Your professor is delighted to assist you in any work related way. Kindly remember that your professor is a free citizen rather than a work slave. Hence, professor availability is limited to free citizen hours = 9:00-16:00 Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. On the other days no emails will be answered due to research obligations and battery recharge time (smiling and fully functioning to attend to your study needs). Thus, no urgent work or work inquiries should be emailed during these days. Thank you! If you need to make an appointment outside office hours you are very welcome to do so via email or in class. Please state the exact time and day you want to have the appointment. Please formulate your email appropriately and be on time for your appointment. Thank you! Attendance: Attendance will be taken and the AUB attendance policy applies (see source below). Students are expected to attend all classes! In case of absence, it is the student’s responsibility to make up course work and to get information about any announcements made from fellow students or on Moodle. Students who miss more than one/fifth of the sessions in the first 10 weeks will be dropped from this course. They will subsequently receive a grade of “W”. (source:_http://www.aub.edu.lb/fas/fas_home/student_resources/Pages/ rules_and_regulations_highlights.aspx#attendance)