Pre 2015 SLA Minor Requirements
Overview
The SLA minor consists of 12 credits: a required course, and 3 additional elective courses. In addition, there
are prerequisites to the minor. Students may transfer up to 3 credits from prior graduate work, upon approval.
In Spring 2014, the SLA steering committee approved new requirements for the SLA minor, effective Fall 2014.
Those students who began the minor prior to Fall 2014, have the option to complete the old requirements or the
new. See pre-fall 2014 requirements>
New requirements (effective Fall 2014):
All students are required to take English 318: Introduction to Second Language Acquisition OR Curriculum &
Instruction 673: Learning Second Language & Literacies. Students also choose three courses from the approved
SLA list below. In addition, with approval of the SLA Minor Advisor, students may count up to 3 credits (one
course) of prior graduate study towards the minor.
The courses for the SLA minor may be taken in any appropriate sequence.
The total for the minor is thus the prerequisites plus four courses (12 credits). In order to help students apply general
principles of SLA to the specific foreign language(s) they are studying and/or teaching, one of the four required
minor courses beyond the prerequisite may be in the home department.
Students wishing to minor in SLA should first contact the relevant SLA committee member in their department who
will refer them to the SLA Minor Advisor. Students declaring the minor are required to meet with Professor Naomi
Geyer, SLA Minor Advisor, before registering for SLA minor courses.
For more information on the minor for doctoral students, see the Graduate School policy on minors.
Prerequisite Courses for the SLA PhD Minor:
At least one in methodology and one in linguistics.
A. Courses Fulfilling the Prerequisite in Methodology:
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African Languages and Literature
575 Methods of Teaching African Languages
East Asian Languages and Literature
622 Teaching of Chinese
623 Teaching of Japanese as a Foreign Language
English
415 Introduction to TESOL Methods
French and Italian
820 College Teaching of French
German
720 and 722 College Teaching of German and Theory of Teaching German
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Slavic Languages and Literature
818 Methods of Teaching Slavic Languages
Spanish
545 College Teaching of Spanish
B. Courses Fulfilling the Prerequisite in Linguistics
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Linguistics
301 Introduction to Linguistics: Descriptive and Theoretical
African Languages and Literature
501 Structure and Analysis of African Languages
571 Structure of and African Language
East Asian Languages and Literature
431-432 Introduction to Chinese Linguistics
434 Introduction to Japanese Linguistics
English
314 Structure of English
French and Italian
340 Structures of Italian
German
650 History of the German Language
Linguistics
309 Grammatical Variability
Slavic Languages and Literature
704 The Structure of Russian
Spanish and Portuguese
340 Portuguese Phonetics
543 Spanish Phonology
Required Courses for the SLA PhD Minor
SLA PhD minors must complete one of two courses: English 318: Second Language Acquisition or Curriculum &
Instruction 673: Learning Second Language & Literacies. Students declaring the SLA minor who wish to take
English 318 and Curriculum and Instruction 673 should notify the instructor and the SLA Minor Advisor of their
intention as early as possible so that a slot in the course may be reserved.
Transferring Credits from Prior Graduate Work
With approval by the SLA Minor Advisor students may count up to 3 credits of prior graduate study from outside
UW-Madison. Typically a course syllabus (translated into English, if necessary, and with credit hours clearly
stated), is required to determine whether the course can count towards the SLA PhD minor.
Electives
Students are required to take three courses (9 credits) from the following list.
Students select courses for a balanced program according to individual interest. All courses must be approved by the
SLA Minor Advisor who will monitor the overall coherence of each student's minor program, with input from the
student's departmental SLA advisor. To be approved for the minor, courses must contain a foreign language or
second language component as evidenced by course material (such as: syllabus, reading list, or final paper),
provided by the student to the SLA Advisor.
Other courses can be considered, but require preapproval by the SLA Steering Committee.
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Curriculum and Instruction (C&I)
630* Workshop in School Program Development
673 Learning Second Language and Literacies
715 Design of Research and Curriculum and Instruction
719*** Introduction to Qualitative Research
743 Educational Technology for Deep Language Learning
917* Seminar: Design of Research & Evaluation in C & I
Education
700 Rehabilitation Psychology Research
Educational Psychology
760 OR 761 Statistical Methods Applied to Education I OR II
763 The Design and Analysis of Research in Educational Psychology
English
332 Global Spread of English (Instructor and SLA advisor consent required.)
318 Second Language Acquisition
710 Discourse Analysis
711 Research Methods in Applied Linguistics
713* Topics in Contemporary English Linguistics
715 Advanced Second Language Acquisition
905* Seminar in Applied English Linguistics
French and Italian
821 * /** Issues in Methods of Teaching French and Italian
German
727* Topics in German Applied German Linguistics
960* Seminar in German Linguistics
970* Advanced Seminar in German Linguistics
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Sociology
544 Introduction to Survey Research
Spanish
544 Applied Spanish Linguistics for Teachers
815* Seminar in Language: Modern Spanish
*Topics courses. Students should see the SLA Minor Advisor for approval of topics appropriate for the minor.
**Courses must be taken for a total of 3 credits, in one or multiple enrollments.
***When possible, students should choose a final project focused on second language acquisition.