Summer 2014
CPED 6556
Linguistic Application in ESL
Syllabus
Instructor: Abbe Spokane
Email: aspokane@gwu.edu
Office: Virtual by Skype: abbelora or phone (see
below)
Cell Phone: 202-360-3551
Virtual Office Hours: By appointment
Course Description
This course, delivered online, combines readings and exercises from an introductory linguistics textbook with
exploration of online examples and demonstrations, interactive Collaborate sessions, and peer interaction
through discussion boards, VoiceThread, and peer review groups. In the summer session, the course is intensive
in pace, with a new topic usually introduced twice weekly. The course loosely follows the chapter structure of
the textbook.
While the course is meant to give a broad introduction to major topics in linguistics, the language will be
focused on how awareness of major concepts can be used to enhance teaching and teachers' interactions with
students of diverse linguistic backgrounds. As the instructor, I expect to bring knowledge of the field of
linguistics and language analysis as well as creative and varied techniques for explaining and guiding students
to discover patterns inherent in language. As educators themselves, I expect students to bring their experience
and expertise working with diverse groups of students, and to share ideas as they think about the importance of
language use and learning in their classrooms.
This course will cover the major theoretical fields of linguistics, including morphology, syntax, phonology,
semantics/pragmatics, and sociolinguistics. Students will learn how the field of linguistics describes and
analyzes language patterns, and how linguists view language use as an expression and reflection of social
identity. Awareness of these approaches will help educators recognize patterns in their students’ language use
and learning progressions.
Linguistic Application in ESL Syllabus
Summer 2014
Course Goals
By the end of this course, you will be able to:
 Research and identify core concepts and terminology of descriptive linguistics, including phonetics,
phonology, morphology, syntax and semantics.
 Identify classroom applications of descriptive linguistic concepts, including those related to speaking and
writing.
 Research and identify the biological, social, and cultural dimensions of linguistics, including pragmatics,
discourse, dialects, bilingualism, and language in education.
 Analyze a linguistics-related topic and its relevance to classroom/ESOL instruction, policy, programming,
and related issues.
Prerequisites
Technological
As a student in an online course, you need to ensure that you have the required technology and skills necessary
to fully participate.
The minimum technology requirements for all online students at GW are outlined at the following location:
http://www.gwu.edu/technology-requirements.
You should also be able to:





Use a digital camera or scanner
Use your computer, tablet or smartphone to upload recordings and images to course sites
Be open to learning and registering for new technologies
Be flexible when technological glitches happen (which is a given)
Seek technological help when necessary by contacting the Division of Information Technology
If you have any problems with the software in this course, please reference the Help link in the left navigation
menu in our course on Blackboard.
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Linguistic Application in ESL Syllabus
Summer 2014
Textbooks & Materials
Required
 Fromkin, V., Rodman, R., and Hyams, N. (2011). An Introduction to Language. (9th ed.). Heinle
Publishers
o
Note: Many older (and one newer, and one “international”) editions of this book exist. To prevent problems with exercise
numbers and page numbers, students must use the 9th edition. Used copies of the 9th edition are widely available online and are
significantly less expensive than the new (but relatively unchanged) edition.
Optional
 Biber, D. Longman Student Grammar of Spoken and Written English. Pearson ESL.
Methods of Instruction
This course combines a traditional linguistics textbook with online demonstrations, videos, and websites to
make the concepts of linguistics relevant to educators’ daily lives.
 Textbook Readings: The textbook used in this course is accessible and engaging, walks students
through examples, and gives many suggested outside resources. Students are asked to read the relevant
material prior to completing exercises, online explorations, and Collaborate sessions so that they can
relate these course elements back to the text.
 Collaborate Sessions: Collaborate is used as a tool for real-time interaction with the instructor, where
students can ask questions and be guided through explanations of key concepts and examples.
 Online Explorations: Links to websites, videos, and other online materials are chosen to supplement
textbook readings, increase students engagement with course material, provide real-world and media
examples of linguistic phenomena, and spark discussion and commentary.
 Student Presentations: Students are asked to find and "present" (via VoiceThread) resources they find
related to a certain topic that could be used in the classroom to enhance teaching techniques and
planning. In essence, this builds a toolbox that students can all benefit from
and potentially use immediately in their classrooms.
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Assignments
 Linguistic Exercises: Throughout the course you will complete linguistic exercises from the textbook,
or provided through Blackboard. Each student must submit individual exercises, but students are
encouraged to work together on the exercises, and ask questions of the professor and their classmates.
The primary purpose of doing linguistics exercises is to gain familiarity with the elements of language
that are most likely to have instructional ramifications for ELLs. The secondary purpose of these
activities is to gain proficiency in areas of linguistics and language that are likely to appear on the Praxis
II exam. When applicable, exercises are due Tuesdays and Thursdays by 5pm EDT. Linguistic exercises
will be graded before the next exercise is due. See assignment sheet for further details.
 Participation: In an online environment, active participation by all students is necessary to support a
collaborative and enriching learning experience. Students are expected to attend all Collaborate sessions,
participate in VoiceThread discussions, and be "present" in the online learning environment. Students
must complete all assignments on time (no late work is accepted), and be prepared to contribute to
discussions by reading all assigned material. Students are expected to conduct themselves in a
professional manner in all activities related to this course and in all communications with classmates and
the instructor.
 Education Extra: Most weeks, one or two students will be responsible for presenting an outside
resource related to that day's linguistics topic and/or exercises. The presentation is intended to introduce
the class to ways that linguistics concepts are applied to educational materials, resources,
language/education policy, or research studies. Ideally, these resources will be related to the student's
lesson plan, but this is not strictly required. Students must begin a post on VoiceThread by Monday at
5pm EDT or Wednesday at 5pm EDT on the day their assigned topic begins, with a link or copy of their
resource and a brief introduction and explanation of how it is relevant and useful. Then, the posting
student will monitor the discussion and respond to the questions and comments of classmates throughout
the week. All students must contribute for each topic at least once by Tuesday at 5pm EDT and
Thursday at 5pm EDT. Grades will be given within one week after the assigned topic ends. See
assignment sheet for further instructions.
 Final Exam: A short-answer test to assess your understanding of concepts and terminology related to
descriptive linguistics (morphology, syntax, semantics, phonetics, phonology). This test is designed to
prepare you for linguistics questions on the PRAXIS examination, as well as to encourage development
of language data analysis and problem solving skills. The final exam will be graded within one week of
the due date.
 Lesson Plan: This assignment requires students to use linguistic concepts to design a language or
content lesson. Technology, interaction, and creative instructional techniques should be highlighted as
tools to increase learning, retention, and linguistic accessibility for English Language Learners. Each
student will develop a full lesson plan, including any related materials and assessment tools. The lesson
plan may teach language, content, or a combination of the two. Students may use any format for lesson
planning that they are most comfortable with, but the plan must include a section describing at least two
scholarly articles, books, or book chapters (theoretical or research-based) that support their techniques
and tie in to concepts from the field of linguistics. This assignment will require a draft, peer feedback,
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and a final submission. Lesson plans will be graded within one week of the due date. See assignment
sheet for further instructions.
Grading
This course uses a [points / percent] based grading schema, as shown below.
Assignment Type
Participation, Timeliness, and Professionalism
Linguistic Exercises (lowest grade dropped)
Education Extra Blog Entry and Responses
Final Exam
Lesson Plan (including peer feedback)
Total: 100
Point Value
Per
Assignment
15
10
15
100
25
Number of
Assignments
Total Percent
of Final Grade
1
7
1
1
1
15
25
15
20
25
The grading scale follows GWU's suggested scale, where the points earned on each assignment are weighted as
in the table above, to get a percentage out of 100. Those percentages are rounded up (if above .5, for example,
93.5 = 94) and translated into letter grades as follows:
100 – 93: A
89 – 87: B+
79 – 77: C+
69 – 65: D
CPED 6556: Linguistic Application in ESL
90 – 92: A
86 – 83: B
76 – 73: C
64 – 0: F
93 – 90: A82 – 80: B72 – 70: C-
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Linguistic Application in ESL Syllabus
Summer 2014
Course Schedule
Subject to revision based upon class progress.
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
7/7/14
7/8/14
7/9/14
7/10/14
7/11/14
Topic A: What are
Language and
Linguistics?
Object
Arrangement
Activity Due
Topic B: Brain and
Language
Explore Chapter 2
links
Week 2
7/14/14
Topic C: Morphology
7/15/14
Chapter 3 Exercises
Due
7/16/14
Topic D: Syntax
Part I
Collaborate Session
7/17/14
Chapter 4 Part I
Exercises due
Week 3
7/21/14
Topic D: Syntax Part
Continued
7/22/14
Chapter 4 Part II
Exercise due
7/23/14
Topic E: Phonetics
Collaborate Session
7/24/14
Chapter 6 Part I
Exercises due
Week 4
7/28/14
Topic E: Phonetics
Continued
7/29/14
Chapter 6 Part II
and Chapter 7 Part I
Exercises due
7/30/14
Topic F: Phonology
Collaborate Session
7/31/14
Chapter 7 Part II
Exercises due
Week 5
8/4/14
Topic G: Semantics
and Pragmatics
8/5/14
Chapter 5 Exercises
due
8/6/14
Topic H: Language
and Society
Week 6
8/11/14
Lesson Plan Draft due
to Peer
8/12/14
Work on Final
Exam
8/13/14
Lesson Plan
Feedback due to
Peer
Week 1
Collaborate Session
8/7/14
Chapter 10
Exercise due
Collaborate Session
8/14/14
Final Exam Due
7/18/14
7/25/14
8/1/14
8/8/14
8/15/14
Final Lesson Plan
Due
Collaborate Session
Policies
Instructor Response Time
In order to efficiently address questions related to class content, assignments, readings, or other course
elements, students are asked to start a thread on the discussion board forum for the chapter their question is
related to, or to the General Questions discussion board forum if the question is not applicable to a specific
chapter. The instructor will check the discussion boards regularly, and respond so that all students may have the
benefit of seeing the answers. Students should email the instructor only for private or personal questions. All
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students are encouraged to subscribe to the discussion boards so they may receive email updates when new
questions and answers are posted. All emails will be responded to within 24 hours during the week and within
48 hours on weekends, though response time is usually much faster. Grading time varies by assignment. For
specific details about when to expect to have assignments graded, see the assignment sheet.
Late Work
No assignments will be accepted beyond due dates. In exceptional cases, special arrangements may be made if
the instructor is contacted prior to the day that the assignment is due.
Netiquette
Please observe the following rules of netiquette for communicating online:
 Remain professional, respectful, and courteous at all times.
 Remember that a real human being wrote each post and will read what you write in response. It is easy to
misinterpret discussion posts. Let’s give the benefit of the doubt.
 If you have a strong opinion on a topic, it is acceptable to express it as long as it is not phrased as an attack.
Please be gracious with differing opinions.
 When upset, wait a day or two prior to posting. Messages posted (or emailed) in anger are often regretted
later.
 Proofread and use the spell check tool when you type a post. It makes the post easier to read and helps your
readers understand what you are saying.
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I reserve the right to delete any post that is deemed inappropriate for the discussion forum, blog, or wiki without
prior notification to the student. This includes any post containing language that is offensive, rude, profane,
racist, or hateful. Posts that are seriously off-topic or serve no purpose other than to vent frustration will also be
removed.
Academic Integrity
Please review GW’s policy on academic integrity, located at http://studentconduct.gwu.edu/. All graded work
must be completed in accordance with the George Washington University Code of Academic Integrity.
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