Faculty Development Plan
Jesse Egbert
Assistant Professor
Department of Linguistics and English Language
I.
TEACHING
Strengths. I enjoy the challenge of teaching. I feel grateful for the chance to interact with
students and share what I know with them. My students are typically impressed with my concern
for them and their learning. I am well-prepared for every lecture and my courses are generally
well-organized.
Areas for Growth. There are three weaknesses in my teaching that I want to focus on improving
at this point. First, I want my classes here at BYU to be more spiritually strengthening for my
students. Second, I tend to talk too much, missing opportunities for active, hands-on learning.
Third, my courses need to be more rigorous in order to maximize student learning and
development.
TEACHING GOALS FOR 2015
1. Integrate ‘spiritually strengthening’ with ‘intellectually enlarging’
a. Establish a ‘spiritually strengthening’ classroom culture early on and be the
example
b. Ask good questions
c. Listen to the students and the Spirit
2. Develop and demonstrate character
a. Daily scripture study before work
b. Work on gratitude and patience
c. Be happy and share that with students
3. Show students I care
a. E-mail students when I am concerned or impressed
b. Interact with students before and after class
c. Connect with each student personally within the first 3 weeks
4. Improve course content and delivery
a. Continue to make Ling 240 more interactive and project-based
b. Improve careers courses so they better meet student needs and interests
c. Observe at least one colleague per semester for ideas
d. Establish higher expectations and a culture of working toward those expectations
5. Use course evaluations effectively
a. Perform mid-term evaluations, report summary to class, make adjustments
b. Carefully review student evaluations at the end of each semester and set goals
c. Document progress
II.
SCHOLARSHIP
Strengths. Of the three areas, I am most confident in my scholarship. I have been and continue to
be mentored by some of the pre-eminent scholars in my discipline. Their high expectations have
motivated me to ask research questions that matter, perform research that is methodologically
sound, write well, and publish in well-acknowledged journals. I have no excuses for
underperforming in this area.
Weaknesses. My writing does not happen on a regular schedule. I need to focus my research
efforts on meaningful questions. I would like to improve the effectiveness of my collaborative
efforts, and involve undergraduate students wherever possible.
Program of Research. My program of research focuses on three primary areas of inquiry:
methods for corpus linguistics, register variation, and readability. All three of these research
areas were investigated in my dissertation research, and I have published, to varying extents, on
each of them. Each of these areas deals with meaningful questions that I want to pursue
throughout my career. I should avoid committing to any research that is unrelated to these three
areas.
SCHOLARSHIP GOALS FOR 2015
1. Write according to a schedule
a. First thing in the morning after scripture study
b. At least 30 minutes in Fall/Winter; At least 2 hours Spring/Summer
c. Record progress
2. Focus on meaningful research questions
a. Tie all research to one of three areas of focus: corpus methods, register variation,
or readability
b. Tackle hard questions, in non-conventional ways when necessary
3. Improve collaborative efforts
a. Communicate more clearly with co-authors
b. Involve undergraduates whenever possible
c. Be an example by meeting deadlines
4. Publishing
a. Create an annotated bibliography and keep it updated
b. 1:1 publication to presentation ratio
c. No less than 3 articles per year
d. Make my 3 books a priority
e. Limit book chapters and book reviews
III.
CITIZENSHIP
Strengths. I am prompt and reliable in fulfilling committee responsibilities. I regularly attend
meetings and department functions. I look for opportunities to connect with my colleagues in the
department.
Weaknesses. I need to do a better job of knowing my colleagues in the department on a personal
level. I could be much more involved professionally. I would like to use my relationships outside
of BYU to bring scholars here to present.
CITIZENSHIP GOALS FOR 2015
1. Get to know colleagues
a. Observe at least one colleague per semester and discuss their teaching style
b. Ask colleagues about their research
c. Send emails of gratitude and congratulations
d. Be aware of the personal challenges and successes of colleagues
e. Use committee work to improve interpersonal relationships
2. Collaborate in research with colleagues
a. Word senses with Dee Gardner
b. Noun phrase with Mark Davies
c. ESL reading/writing with Norm Evans and James Hartshorn
3. Get involved professionally
a. Solicit reviews from major journals
b. Always meet peer review deadlines
4. Bring experts to campus
a. Luke Plonsky
b. Doug Biber
c. Paul Baker
SCHOLARSHIP STRATEGIES PROPOSAL
DUE: JUNE 15, 2015
ASSISTANT PROFESSOR
DEPARTMENT OF LINGUISTICS AND ENGLISH LANGUAGE
1. Program of Research. My program of research focuses on three primary areas of inquiry:
methods for corpus linguistics, register variation, and readability. All three of these
research areas were investigated in my dissertation research, and I have published, to
varying extents, on each of them. Each of these areas deals with big questions that I want
to pursue throughout my career. I should avoid committing to any research that falls
outside of these three areas.
2. Scholarly Goals. By February 2016, I plan to submit the following for publication (in
order of priority):
 Routledge - Edited volume on methodological triangulation
 Language Variation and Change - Paper on genitive variation
 Written Communication - Paper on student writing development
 Journal of Applied Psychology - Paper on new readability formula
 Corpus Linguistics and Linguistic Theory – LDA versus MD analysis
 International Journal of Corpus Linguistics - Paper on Mechanical Turk
 Reading and Writing - Paper on reader perceptions
3. Scholarly Strategies. The following are the strategies I will follow in order to help
achieve my goals.
a) Write according to a schedule
a. First thing in the morning after scripture study
b. At least 30 minutes in Fall/Winter; At least 2 hours Spring/Summer
c. Record progress
b) Focus on big research questions
a. Tie all research to one of three areas of focus: corpus methods, register
variation, or readability
b. Tackle hard questions, in non-conventional ways when necessary
c) Improve collaborative efforts
a. Communicate more clearly with co-authors
b. Involve undergraduates whenever possible
c. Guide Master’s students to focus on areas of my research
d. Be an example by meeting deadlines
d) Publishing
a. Create an annotated bibliography and keep it updated
b. 1:1 publication to presentation ratio
c. No less than 3 articles per year
d. Make my 3 books a priority
e. Limit book chapters and book reviews
4. Evaluation. I will use the following methods to measure my success in using these
strategies.
a)
b)
c)
d)
e)
Record daily writing on my calendar
Do not begin research if it is not related to one of my three areas of research
Make regular contact with each of my collaborators. Meet deadlines.
Regularly update annotated bibliography.
Track publication to presentation ratio.
CITIZENSHIP PROJECT PROPOSAL
DUE: JUNE 15, 2015
ASSISTANT PROFESSOR
DEPARTMENT OF LINGUISTICS AND ENGLISH LANGUAGE
Summary. I am progressing quite well in my efforts to build professional and personal
relationships with my colleagues here in the department. I am currently working on collaborative
research with three of my colleagues in the department, and I am making an effort to get to know
each member of the department. I will continue those efforts throughout my career. The project I
would like to focus on is increasing my involvement in the professional community of scholars
in my field. I currently perform article reviews for a small handful of journals, and I don’t review
abstracts for any conferences. I want to reasonably increase my involvement in this area. Also, I
have good relationships with many of my professional colleagues, both in the U.S. and in other
countries. I would like to use those relationships to bring those scholars to BYU as visitors.
Goals for Professional Involvement
1. Get involved professionally
a. Solicit reviews from major journals through an email to the editor(s) of these
journals:
i. Corpora
ii. Corpus Linguistics and Linguistic Theory
iii. Journal of Research Design and Statistics in Linguistics and
Communication
iv. Journal of English for Academic Purposes
v. Journal of English Linguistics
b. Volunteer to review conference abstracts for AAAL and AACL
c. Always meet peer review deadlines
2. Bring experts to campus
a. Luke Plonsky in Fall 2015
b. Doug Biber in Winter 2016
c. Paul Baker during 2016/2017
COURSE DEVELOPMENT PROJECT GRANT PROPOSAL
DUE: JUNE 15, 2015
ASSISTANT PROFESSOR
DEPARTMENT OF LINGUISTICS AND ENGLISH LANGUAGE
Summary. I would like to hire a teaching assistant for my Ling 360 course in Fall 2015. Clearly
this is a different course from Ling 240, which I selected for my course development project (see
syllabus below). However, because my department can only fund one teaching assistant, I am
left with the difficult choice between these two classes, both of which would greatly benefit from
a teaching assistant. Using this grant money to hire a teaching assistant for Ling 360 would allow
me to retain my Ling 240 TA, making it much more likely that I will be able to reach my course
development goals for Ling 240.
Justification. Ling 360 is an introductory-level computer programming course, and many
students struggle to master the skills of programming throughout the semester. In Fall 2014, this
course required me to consult with students for many hours beyond my normal office hours, even
though there were only 8 students. Enrollment in this course for Fall 2015 has increased to 25,
dramatically changing my ability to give every student one-on-one attention. I would like to hire
a teaching assistant who is a student in the Computer Science program. This student could hold
1-2 lab hours per week to work one-on-one with students who need additional help in the course.
Budget. A budget of $300.00 would allow me to pay this teaching assistant for 25 hours at
$12.00 per hour. This would make it possible to have 90-minute labs on a weekly basis
throughout the semester, plus some additional time to meet with me periodically so I can get
additional perspective on student needs and progress.
LING 240 – Fall 2015
Linguistic Tools 1
Professor: Jesse Egbert Email: Jesse_Egbert@byu.edu Office: 4050 JFSB
Meeting Times: TTh 9:30 am – 10:45 am Room: B013 JFSB
Office Hours: TTh 11:00 am – 12:30 pm
Course Description:
In this course we will learn to understand and perform quantitative and qualitative language research to
investigate a wide range of linguistic phenomena. We will survey the methods and tools used in many
fields of linguistics, including basic statistical techniques, corpus methods, textual classification,
psycholinguistic experiments, and sociolinguistic observation. After successfully completing this course,
students should be able to carry out linguistic research using many different tools and techniques and
write about their methods and results.
Course Learning Outcomes:
 Be able to formulate testable hypotheses concerning language.
 Be able to collect linguistic data using interviews, surveys, experiments, corpora, etc.
 Be able to use appropriate tools to analyze linguistic data.
 Be able to describe the results of linguistic research using appropriate terminology and rhetorical
strategies (i.e., talk and write like a linguist).
Required Texts:
 Selected texts, accessed online through Learning Suite and the HBLL
Attendance:
Class attendance is critical to your success in this class. I expect you to attend class and be an active
participant. If you know in advance that you have to miss class, please inform me so we can make
arrangements regarding your missed work. If unexpected challenges arise that cause you to miss class,
please communicate with me through email as soon as possible.
Late Work
If you must miss a class, it is your responsibility to find out what you missed and to come to the next
class prepared to participate. I will not usually accept late work unless you make prior arrangements for
an alternate due date.
In-class Policies
No cell phone use is allowed during class. Please respect me and your classmates. This course relies on
discussion and participation from all involved. Please be willing to participate during class. All
assignments are to be completed before the beginning of class. You are responsible for checking your
email daily for updates and announcements.
Assignments
The components of the final grade are the following:
40%
15%
25%
20%
Twelve weekly assignments
Journal entries
Final Project
Final Exam
Grading
The scale for the final grades is the following:
A
AB+
93-100
90-92
87-89
B
BC+
83-86
80-82
77-79
C
CD+
73-76
70-72
67-69
D
DF
63-66
60-62
0-59
Schedule
T
Date
SEPT 1
Th
T
Th
3
8
10
T
Th
T
Th
T
15
17
22
24
29
Th
T
Th
T
Th
T
Th
T
Th
T
OCT 1
6
8
13
15
20
22
27
29
NOV 3
Th
T
Th
T
Th
T
Th
T
Th
T
Th
T
5
10
12
17
19
24
26
DEC 1
3
8
10
13
Topic
Course overview/Syllabus
Overview of tools (final projects)
Scientific method
Data types, variables
Descriptives, visualization
Excel
Bibliographic resources
Linguistics databases
Types and uses of corpora
Corpus design and annotation
CL methods
Regular expressions
Statistics for differences
CL applications
Surveys
Qualtrics
Qualtrics
Word senses
Statistics for relationships
FINAL PROJECT CONSULTATIONS
Translation
Readability
Grammar tools
Sentiment analysis
Sentiment analysis
Sociolinguistic variation, dialects
Advanced Excel
Acquisition
FINAL PAPER DRAFT WORKSHOP
NO CLASS—THANKSGIVING
Pronunciation, Phonetics
Experimental methods
Psycholinguistics
Review
Final Exam, 11:00 am – 2:00 pm
Assignment Due
Reading
Eddington (2008)
Assignment 1
Crawley
Assignment 2
Assignment 3
Lindquist 1.1-1.8
Lindquist 2.2 – 2.7
Biber p. 1-16
Assignment 4
Assignment 5 (AB)
Krug & Sell
Assignment 6
Gardner
Assignment 7
Assignment 8 (FD)
Assignment 9
Assignment 10
Assignment 11
Assignment 12
Balahur