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ESOL 4020IA/6020IA: Cultural Perspectives for ESOL
Teachers
Summer II 2010 Dr. Lee Campbell Email: jlcampbe@valdosta.edu Read this syllabus especially
carefully: 1. DESCRIPTION: Culture and the relationships between culture, language, and education. Prospective ESOL teachers will investigate theories related to the nature and role of culture and cultural groups in the construction of learning environments that support linguistically diverse learners. The course will address developmental aspects of language and literacy with emphasis upon specific ways in which cultural identities affect language learning and school achievement. This course is designed for ESOL endorsement candidates. 2. TESOL STANDARDS: This course is one of three courses required for teachers or prospective teachers who want to add the English to Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) endorsement to their teaching certificates. ESOL 4020/6020 addresses the following standards for PK-12 education in ESOL established by TESOL and Georgia's Professional Standards Commission:
3. CONCEPTUAL STANDARDS: ESOL 4020/6020 is taught in accordance with the College of Education's conceptual framework standards (CFS): · I. CONTENT AND CURRICULUM: Teachers demonstrate a strong content knowledge of content area(s) that are appropriate for their certification levels. · II. KNOWLEDGE OF STUDENTS AND THEIR LEARNING: Teachers support the intellectual, social, physical, and personal development of all students. · III. LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS: Teachers create learning environments that encourage positive social interaction, active engagement in learning, and self-motivation. · IV. ASSESSMENT: Teachers understand and use a range of formal and informal assessment strategies to evaluate and ensure the continuous development of all learners. · V. PLANNING AND INSTRUCTION: Teachers design and create instructional experiences based on their knowledge of content and curriculum, students, learning environments, and assessment. · VI. PROFESSIONALISM: Teachers recognize, participate in, and contribute to teaching as a profession. 4. PRINCIPLES: ESOL 4020/6020 is taught in accordance with the following guiding principles of Georgia teacher education programs: · Dispositions Principle: Productive dispositions positively affect learners, professional growth, and the learning environment. · Equity Principle: All learners deserve high expectations and support. · Process Principle: Learning is a lifelong process of development and growth. · Ownership Principle: Professionals are committed to, and assume responsibility for, the future of their disciplines. · Support Principle: Successful engagement in the process of learning requires collaboration among multiple partners. · Impact Principle: Effective practice yields evidence of learning. · Technology Principle: Technology facilitates teaching, learning, community-building, and resource acquisition · Standards Principle: Evidence-based standards systematically guide professional preparation and development.
The study of linguistics and applied linguistics--and especially the study of language diversity--has historically been highly sensitive to the role of teacher disposition in language learning. Linguistics strongly advocates an objective approach to language free from negative preconceptions and prejudice. 5. UNDERGRADUATE OUTCOMES: Students in ESOL 4020 will meet the following target outcomes:
6. GRADUATE OUTCOMES: Students in ESOL 6020 will meet the following
target outcomes:
7. TEXTS, LIVETEXT, REQUISITES: Three textbooks are required:
In addition, students will read selected introductory articles (posted online) during the course’s first unit in order to familiarize themselves with qualitative—case study—research. It's
crucial that students get the texts ASAP. They can be obtained at VSU's
bookstore and various sites all over the web. No special dispensations
can be given students who for whatever reason cannot obtain texts
quickly. Students enrolled in ESOL 4020/6020 for the ESOL endorsement (the instructor assumes that almost all students enrolled in ESOL 4020/6020 are in the process of obtaining their ESOL endorsement, which is an add-on credential for a teaching certification) must also possess or obtain access to LiveText (at <www.livetext.com>), where they will post the final draft of their written project. The final draft must be posted to LiveText in order to be assessed with the program’s rubric and the general results archived for accrediting agencies. A five-year access to LiveText can be purchased online at its web site. Here are some other notes about the course:
8. ASSIGNMENTS: Because of the short seven-week summer term, ESOL 4020/6020 this course will focus on the application of major concepts in the study of language and culture to a written project--a case study--developed by each student. Students will
Students must complete assignments 1, 2, and 3 to earn at least a C in the course. 9. GRADING: Grades will be figured according to a 5-point GPA-like system in which 5=A+, 4.5=A-, 4=B, 3.5=B-, 3=C, 2.5=C-, 2=D, 1.5=D-, 1=F, and 0=not attempted. Thus, for an assignment worth 10 points, 10=A+, 9=A-, 8=B, and so on. For assignment worth 50 points, 50=A+, 45=A-, 40=B, 35=B-, etc., and for an assignment worth 2 points, 2=A+, 1.8=A-, 1.6=B, 1.4=B-, 1.2=C, 1.0=C-, .8=D, and so forth. There are 100 possible points in the class. Final grades will be determined by the following scale:
In terms of final grades, then, members wanting an A need about 90 points (the instructor will go a little below 90). To earn a B, a member needs 70; a C, 50. 10. SPECIAL SERVICES: Class members requiring accommodations or modifications because of a documented disability should discuss this need with the instructor at the beginning of the term. Class members who require assistance but who are not registered with the Special Services Program should contact VSU's Access Office. 11. APPLIED LINGUISTICS ON THE WORLD WIDE WEB AND GALILEO: The WWW offers a number of useful resources for students of linguistics and English language teaching. The instructor's homepage lists some potentially helpful links that have come to his attention. Galileo, of course, is the place to go for academic articles on applied linguistics. Start with an easy full-text search in JSTOR, for example. Search terms such as English, Spanish, bilingualism, biliteracy, family, culture, code-switching, and children present many useful results. 12. SOCIOLINGUISTIC THINKING: ESOL 4020/6020 asks you to engage in a particular kind of thinking: sociolinguistic thinking. Sociolinguistic thinking relates situational, social, and cultural variables (see Bonvillain 1) to linguistic acquisition, development, and behavior. I'd also add relevant psychological variables, so that's why my shorthand is psycho-sociocultural variables. Specifically, the course asks you to relate psycho-sociocultural variables to the language acquisition, development, and behavior of an English language learner (ELL). For example, silence and disfluent speech (linguistic variables) are not necessarily sure indicators of low English proficiency:
This is the cognitive goal of the course: train students to think about the relationship between linguistic variables and psycho-sociocultural variables. 13. CASE STUDY, PROPOSAL, PROGRESS REPORT: Students will demonstrate the thinking described in the previous section as they complete the major written project of the course, their case study of an ELL. In general terms, a case study is a kind of qualitative (as opposed to quantitative), descriptive (as opposed to experimental) research. Students will choose a human subject (an English language learner, for this course) and describe that person in terms of a number of variables that they have reason to suspect are important with respect to the subject’s language acquisition and behavior. Click here for a short guide to the case study assignment. As this is a dedicated course for the ESOL endorsement, all students must choose a PK-12 English language learner. The proposal for the case study won't be approved if a candidate does not satisfy this requirement. Evidence for endorsement candidates' appropriate field experience must be provided to accrediting agencies. So the first step in the case study is to get access to an ELL. Begin the search for a subject immediately. Contact elementary, middle, or high schools in your area in order to tutor a student or just engage in conversational English. Local migrant programs are also a possibility. Your contact with a PK-12 ELL does not have to take place in an educational setting as long as the subject is of the appropriate age, so your work with an ELL could be arranged through friends or acquaintances, a church, a daycare, or a place of business. Students should spend about sixteen hours tutoring, conversing with, observing, or otherwise interacting with the subject and/or the subject’s parents, caretakers, or teachers. The second step, as you meet and then begin to learn more about your subject, is to hypothesize the salient (1) linguistic and (2) psycho-sociocultural variables that you expect to see in your subject. You will make hypotheses about these variables in your case study proposal. Linguistic Variables · Vocabulary usage o Vocabulary usage progresses from little or no comprehension and use of English vocabulary (level 1), to comprehension and use of general English words (level 2), to specific English words (levels 3 and 4), and to technical English vocabulary (levels 5 and 6). Vocabulary usage concerns the areas of language called the lexicon and semantics. · Linguistic complexity o Linguistic complexity progresses from comprehension and use of single words and short phrases and utterances with contextual support (levels 1 and 2), to comprehension and use of longer, more varied sentence structures (including subordination, for example) and connected discourse (levels 3 and 4), to the ability to comprehend and create cognitively demanding discourse genres such as exposition and argument (levels 5 and 6). Linguistic complexity concerns the areas of language called syntax and communicative competence/pragmatics. It includes an ELL’s ability to engage in the turn-taking of conversation, to perform speech acts such as requesting and joking, and to understand culturally conditioned nonverbal communication, paralanguage, and politeness strategies. · Language control o Language control progresses from production of language that lacks comprehensibility because of phonological, morphological, or syntactic features of learner language—“errors” (levels 1 and 2), to language that displays fewer features of learner English and that is more comprehensible (levels 3 and 4), to language that is essentially as comprehensible as a native speaker’s (levels 5 and 6). Language control concerns the areas of language called phonology, morphology, and syntax. It should be noted that these linguistic variables interact with age/grade level, the four language domains/arts (speaking, writing, listening, and reading), and the five kinds of language use: (1) non-academic, conversational social-instructional language, (2) academic language of the language arts, (3) academic language of mathematics, (4) academic language of science, and (5) academic language of social studies. It should also be noted that all these variables concern English, the subject’s L2. The subject’s use, development, and maintenance of the L1 are also important linguistic variables. Acquisition of English as an L2 should be an additive rather than subtractive process. Code-switching, the alternation between languages or varieties, is a linguistic variable of bilinguals. The L1 also affects some features of learner English, including accent, word formation, and syntax. In sum, your proposal for the case study will make some hypotheses about your subject’s English language in terms of these variables. The progress report will describe the variables more closely, and the final case study will present a full portrait of your subject’s linguistic variables. Psycho-sociocultural Variables · Psychological variables o Psychological variables are features peculiar to an individual that may affect language acquisition and behavior. They include § Personality, such as degree of extroversion and willingness to take communicative risks § Intelligence and metalinguistic knowledge (explicit knowledge about language) § Aptitude for language acquisition, consisting of both strong analytical skills and a good memory § Learning styles § Learning strategies § Motivation for acquiring the L2 § Prior exposure to L2, educational background, and literacy in L1 § Age, which after about fifteen years old may prevent native-like attainment in areas other than accent · Social variables o Social variables are features of an individual’s relationship with the world around him or her that may affect language acquisition and behavior. They include § Home environment, including environmental print in L1 and L2 § Access to L2 social networks—the people with whom the learner engages in conversation in L2 § The situations in which the learner uses the L2 § The relative power and prestige of the L1 community and its language with respect to English § Attitude of community, teachers, and administrators toward L1 community and its language and the language policies and pedagogies that reflect this attitude § Attitude of the learner toward L2 community and English § Self-identity and group affiliation of the language learner § Gender roles, which may, for example, affect choices involving school and career § Kinds of L2 language use required, the major distinction being between nonacademic, conversational language skills and the much more demanding academic language of the classroom § Modification of L2 input · Cultural variables o Cultural variables are features of a community’s assumptions, beliefs, values, and desires that may affect language acquisition and behavior of an individual who is a member of the community. They include § Cultural categories expressed by a language’s lexicon, such as kinship terms, honorifics, and metaphors § Socially conditioned ways of engaging in conversation given participants and speech acts § Socially conditioned estimations of threats to face in conversation and politeness strategies needed to maintain face § Socially conditioned perceptions of ethnicity, class, and gender § Socially conditioned perceptions of formal education, literacy, and “life chances” (Valdes 170) § Socially conditioned perceptions of family structure, family member roles and responsibilities, and child rearing § Socially conditioned perceptions of teachers, classroom behavior, and pedagogies § Socially conditioned perceptions of nonverbal behavior, silence, paralanguage, intonation, proxemics, and chronemics These variables you want to observe and investigate in your English language learner as factors potentially affecting L2 acquisition and educational achievement in general. Students can investigate some of these variables directly by conversing with the subject. Others will have to be inferred indirectly. 14. LEADING AND PARTICIPATING IN FOCUSED DISCUSSIONS: Outcomes 1, 3, 5, 6, and 8 all explicitly concern teaching ELLs. The instructor wants the online discussions of A and V to concentrate on pedagogical implications of those books. Leading a focused discussion means selecting an issue or topic or two from a chapter and framing questions about them for discussion. The leader starts the discussion with a question or two and then responds several times to contributions, keeping the discussion on track and developing further relevant threads. To lead a discussion, simply create the first message and post it. The first person to post leads the discussion. Everyone needs to lead one discussion. There should be about 26 chapters from A and V to choose from. The instructor will lead for A 1 and V Preface and Introduction. Everyone needs to participate in at least 14 discussions besides the one led and besides those engaged in during unit 1. Participating in a discussion means posting at least one substantive message or reply to someone else’s message of some length. In short, participate in a couple of discussions during each of the eight units covering A and V (units 2 through 9). Please spread the participation around: check discussions and contribute to the one that needs some contributions. Don't everyone pile on one. Also, please watch your electronic etiquette. Try not to let your emotions get the best of you. Language is often an emotional topic for people, but linguistics is a social science: it attempts to investigate language objectively without preconceptions and prejudgments concerning what is “right” and “wrong.” We’ll have a few more chapters to discuss than students. So at the end of the term a few students can get a couple of extra credit points for leading an extra discussion. Everyone should participate
substantively in all three of the introductory discussions of the articles
posted online during unit 1. 15. SCHEDULE OF MODULES: The course is organized as a series of ten modules that involve readings, quizzes, discussions, and written assignments. Modules must be done in order and on time. Again, the Bonvillain text is abbreviated B, the Ariza book A, and the Valdes book V.
16. The instructor will use the following rubric to score the final draft of the case study (10 criteria at 5 points each, 50 points total).
17. INSTRUCTOR: The instructor was born to Canadian parents in Peoria, Illinois, May, 1960. Born in 1925, his parents told him stories of Manitoba during the Depression. The instructor listened to monophonic Beatles records on a portable turntable; watched the Vietnam War on the nightly news and his three older brothers’ reactions to it; played hockey on frozen ponds; saw the first Ali vs. Frazier fight live on European television; delivered papers spreading the news of Watergate (are there any paperboys left?); kept score in bowling with a pencil; learned to drive with a stick in a VW Bug and a three-on-the-tree Dodge; attended his first rock concert at Soldier Field in Chicago (Emerson, Lake, and Palmer; Foghat; J. Giles, Climax Blues Band) and saw his last a couple of years ago (Dylan and Haggard); typed college papers on a manual typewriter; bought his first computer at the age of 30—after completing his dissertation; and ran off his first class handouts with a ditto machine. Besides Peoria, the instructor has lived in Vancouver, British Columbia; Bogotá, Colombia; Geneva, Switzerland; Normal, Illinois; West Lafayette, Indiana; Milwaukee, Wisconsin; Arkadelphia and Hot Springs, Arkansas; Valdosta, Georgia; and Riverview, Florida, where he currently makes a home with his wife and three children born in 1995, 1998, and 2000, as well as two dogs and three cats. |
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