New York University
Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development
Department of Teaching and Learning
Professor: David E. Kirkland
Office: 322 East Building
Phone: 212.998.7391
Email: [email protected]
Office Hours: by appointment
ENGED-GE 2515 Linguistics, Society, and the Teacher
ENGED-UE 1589 Teaching English in a Multidialectal Society
Course Description:
This course will introduce you to research, commentary, critical theories and pedagogies for understanding
issues of language across sociocultural and geo-political domains and beyond. You will examine communication
within a variety of speech communities, linguistic codes within contemporary American society, and the
relationship between language use and learning in schools. We will focus on linguistic interactions among
word/world and social/symbolic associations that play out in everyday lives within digital and physical settings.
African American Language (AAL) and Hispanic and Chinese American vernaculars of “English” receive special
emphasis in this course. Group projects focus on actual investigations in the area of sociolinguistics and
language teaching/learning. The course will address the following questions: What is language? Why is it
important to teaching and learning (across multiple domains of inquiry) within a postmodern/cosmopolitan
society? The course also offers readings on divergent voices in contemporary society and considers ways to
integrate such voices into existing language and literacy curriculum, K through college.
Learner Objectives:
By the end of the course, you will develop (or begin developing):
1. Critical Awareness
A critical awareness of social tensions as presented across multiple domains of inquiry related to
language, culture, and power
2. Appreciation of Linguistic Pluralism, Hybridity, and Diversity
An appreciation of multiple varieties of language that fill urban and global contexts (Note: my use of the
term “multiple” is inclusive of all cultures, including White, and all American languages/dialects,
including linguistic hybrids and varieties of American particularly American Spanishes and AAL)
3. Critical Approaches to Teaching Language across Multiple Domains of Inquiry
Critical approaches to teaching language, teaching about language, teaching through language in the
disciplines and beyond (adopted from M.A.K. Halliday, 1984)
4. Dispositions of an Intellectual/Researcher
1
A critical methodology (adapted from Alim, 2006; Fairclough, 1995; Hymes, 1964) for exploring,
investigating, understanding, and shaping pedagogies around situated language locations
5. Critical Empathy
An awareness of issues of equity and justice in language-related education as each gets applied across
disciplinary domains (i.e., discursive fields).
In addition to these specific objectives, this course is framed around two broad concepts associated with critical
pedagogy: reflection and action—or praxis. The idea of praxis in education owes much to Paulo Freire’s (1970)
“problem-posing” approach to teaching and learning. The reflection-action sequence includes the following
modes of inquiry:
Reflection
Reflection is critical interrogation—critique of both self and the other, the internal and
the external reality of the individual. In reflecting, we ask: Who am I as an educator (As
all things can be considered political, we must continually question as teachers how are
we situated politically as we teach)? What is the (political) theory/philosophy informing
my teaching practice? How can I understand it both in terms of my own educational and
personal experiences and in terms of my students’ experiences and needs?
Action
Action is transformative practice—social adjustments of things in order to improve the
conditions of practice and participation, people and populations to promote just
change. Action depends on human agency (i.e., that is the will to do) and insists on the
agency associated with the liberatory and transformative wills of individuals and groups
(i.e., personal and collective resolve). In acting, we ask: How do I fashion pedagogical
spaces that simultaneously meet social and educational standards and reflect the
multiplicity of voices expressed in the 21st century? How do I fashion courses that are
relevant and capable of improving students’ lives? How does my teaching change things
(i.e., promotes student achievement, provides all students access to learning, resituates
knowledge in the most inclusive ways, combats oppression among individuals and
communities, articulates the realities of people, etc.)?
Required Readings:
Perryman-Clark, S., Kirkland, D., & Jackson, A. (eds.) (2014). Students’ Right to Their Own Language: A Critical
Sourcebook. Boston: Bedford/St. Martins. (Required Texts)
Other course texts will be available on NYU Classes or will be distributed during or before class. (I reserve the
right to alter course reading assignments based on the flow and direction of course and emerging knowledge
newly published in the field of language studies.) All readings MUST be read prior to the class in which they will
be discussed.
Strategies for Active Reading: As you study and think about the course readings, please keep in mind that there
are various ways to read a text. You can apply certain critical/analytic frames to illuminate issues and themes
2
within texts. For example, you can read a text from a feminist perspective, making sense of it with respect to
how the relationship between gender and power permeates the text’s meaning. There are other orientations to
reading that, for this class, you should adopt first. I describe these “ways of reading” as reading with
prepositions. These include the following:
•
•
•
Reading within the text: You should read all texts for meaning and comprehension, attempting first to
understand the author’s central arguments and the ways in which she attempts to achieve them.
Reading around the text: You should read all texts sensitive to the contexts in which they were written.
Reading against the text: Only after you have made sense of a text and situated it within its various
contexts can you be critical of it. Keep in mind that individuals who are not very different than will have
written the texts you encounter in your lifetime. Disagreeing with texts is not intellectually
presumptuous; rather it is an intellectual necessity in most cases.
Framing Questions for student-led discussions: Whenever you set out to do a critical reading of a particular text,
you can use the following questions as a framework to guide you as you read. Whenever you set out to do
analytical discussions, you can also use the following questions as a framework to guide you as you discuss. An
analytical text is effective if it is written in a manner that allows the reader to answer all four of these questions
satisfactorily:
•
•
•
•
What’s the point? This is the analysis/interpretation issue, which examines the author’s angle.
Who says? This is the validity issues, which examines on what (data, literature, hearsay, etc.) are the
claims based.
What’s new? This is the value-added issue, which explores the author’s contribution to existing
knowledge.
Who cares? This is the significance issue (the most important issue of all—the one that subsumes all
others), which asks, a) is this work worth doing; b) is this text worth reading; c) does it contribute
something important?
Course Requirements:
1.
Student-Led Discussions-Graduate Student Requirement Only (10%)
We will be studying several texts this semester, including academic and nonacademic texts, fiction and
non-fiction, poetry, drama, film, and music to stimulate our classroom discussions. Upon reading and
reflecting on readings, you will be responsible for leading a discussion based on one of the week’s
readings. Every student will be responsible for leading at least one discussion of the course literature.
Your discussion should be inquiry-based, driven by penetrating questions designed to promote a
sophisticated reading of course materials. Please use the tips for reading listed above to help you as you
plan your discussion. Discussions should cover all topics related to the day you are slated to lead. While
not required, discussion props (such as handouts) are encouraged. Student-led discussions will
generally last about 45 minutes to an hour.
2.
Pedagogical Group Presentations (10%)
3
At some point early in the semester, you will be divided into small groups to prepare and facilitate a 20minute interactive curriculum conversation related to a given language instructional scenario. Your
presentation will involve a particular theme discussed during the semester and will correspond with the
literature outlined in the course schedule. Your presentation should be innovative and creative and
should consist of key social elements for facilitating learning.
3.
American Languages Parallel Rulebook (10% GE; 20%GU)
You will be engaged in several gaming team competitions, testing your knowledge of American
grammars. Be prepared. The winning team will receive a surprise reward. You will also compile a
rulebook of American grammars by constructing a comprehensive primer that explains rules for a
particular or multiple American languages.
4.
In-Class Midterm Exam (30 %)
The midterm will have three parts: (1) identification, (2) sociolinguistic analysis, and (3) an essay. For
part three of the midterm, In 1000 words or less you will be asked to write an essay analyzing the
complexities of language in urban education. Essays should include references to the course readings
and discussions (including those posted on blackboard). Possible topics may include (but are not limited
to): the role of language diversity in student learning; legal/structural issues in relation to language
policies that influence schools and classrooms; disparities between language students home and school
languages; racial discrimination in schooling based on student dialects; and the impact of language
diversity on families, schools, and communities. In addition to the essay, you will need to be able to
identify and define significant concepts and terms.
5.
Inquiry into Language Study (40%)
Shirley Brice-Heath (1983) takes the stance that cultural gaps between teachers and students could be
bridged if teachers were ethnographers of students’ cultural and linguistic practices. Unfortunately,
many teachers are not prepared to conduct on-going, systematic, ethnography inquiry of their students’
cultures and languages. The objective of this “inquiry project” is to help you acquire the skills and
dispositions that will broadly prepare you for teaching in the 21st Century. By inquiring about students’
language and literacy practices, you will learn about delivering education in unfamiliar contexts. In
addition, through this project, you will be provided with an opportunity to make a permanent change in
our thinking about multidialecticalism in a manner that is of mutual benefit to you as a teacher of
English and to you as a student of language and literacy. Expected outcomes of this project include
improved understanding of non-mainstream patterns of speech and communication, enriched learning
about culture and language; and strengthened partnerships between you, urban schools, and your
prospective students.
4
You will deepen your understanding of the issues of teaching and learning by conducting an
ethnography of communication (Hymes, 1964), focusing on the dialect of a certain group of students in
an urban environment, and researching a question of your choice. Your expertise will contribute to our
understanding of teaching English in a multidialectical society by adding a focused perspective to our
discussions of social and contextual urban English education. Our class will also benefit from the
collaboration of ideas as we engage a research-based conversations informed by actual data on our
students’ cultures and languages. Our final class session will be a research expo devoted to
dissemination and discussion of your research.
Projects will include analysis of an actual sociolinguistic context using the ethnographic approach
outlined by Hymes (1964). The intellectual merits of this project include opportunities to experience an
inquiry stance toward teaching and learning so that you will strive to constantly improve your practice
by focusing your practice on students’ lives. You will also gain a deeper understanding of urban
education and gain an enriched understanding of the politics of language in American society. The final
report for your Inquiry into Language Study will include the following components:
•
•
10-page Research Report (20 pts.): Research reports should include four sections: a. research
question and rationale, b. research methods, c. conclusions, and d. implications. A one-page report
of your research question and rationale is due the second class meeting. A two-page description of
your research methods is due the fourth class meeting. You are responsible submitting your final
reports, including all four sections.
Poster for Research Expo (20 pts.): Posters are expected be creative, visual displays of your research.
Each poster should include four components: a. research question and rationale, b. research
methods, c. conclusions, and d. implications. My office will be available should you need a place to
store your poster prior to the expo.
Attendance Policy:
Attendance matters. It matters to us as instructors; it matters to peers who count on your support and
feedback. I expect you to attend all class sessions. You will be allowed one unexcused absence. More than one
unexcused absence may result in failure of the course. If you know you are going to be absent, notify me before
class. If you are unable to reach me, call my office and leave a message.
Grading Policy:
Grades are criterion-referenced. That is, grades will be assigned based on the percent of the total possible points
that you receive on the assignments. Points are distributed as follows:
Grading Scale
Student-Led Discussion
10 points (GE Only)
Pedagogical Group Presentations
10 points
American Languages Parallel Rulebook
10 points (GE); 20 points (UG)
5
Midterm Exam
30 points
Research Paper & Expo
40 points
Total
100 points
Grade point conversions:
94 – 100 = A
90 – 93 = A87 – 89 = B+
84 – 86 = B
80 – 83 = B77 – 79 = C+
74 – 76 = C
70 – 73 = C67 – 69 = D+
64 – 66 = D
59 – 63 = DBelow 59=Failing
Participation: You will spend much of the next few weeks with classmates sharing ideas, theories, advice, and
experiences. You are a valuable resource for your peers, and the stronger the community we build in this class,
the richer the experiences we will have here. No percentage value has been assigned to class participation.
However, if your final average falls between grades (for example between an A- and a B+) the following criteria
will be used to determine your final grade.
a) Clear evidence that you have read the weekly readings (i.e. productive, consistent participation in
discussions, completion of assignments)
b) Completion of tasks that support the work in class
c) Active and supportive listening in the classroom and offering constructive feedback to peers and
instructors
Students with Disabilities:
Students with physical or learning disabilities are required to register with the Moses Center for
Students with Disabilities, 726 Broadway, 2nd Floor, (212-998-4980) and are required to present a
letter from the Center to the instructor at the start of the semester in order to be considered for
appropriate accommodation.
6
Academic Integrity:
The following has been retrieved from NYU Steinhardt’s Policies and Procedures (available from
http://steinhardt.nyu.edu/policies/academic_integrity):
The relationship between students and faculty is the keystone of the educational experience in The
Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development at New York University. This
relationship takes an honor code for granted. Mutual trust, respect and responsibility are foundational
requirements. Thus, how you learn is as important as what you learn. A university education aims not
only to produce high quality scholars, but to also cultivate honorable citizens.
Academic integrity is the guiding principle for all that you do; from taking exams, making oral
presentations to writing term papers. It requires that you recognize and acknowledge information
derived from others, and take credit only for ideas and work that are yours.
You violate the principle of academic integrity when you:
•
•
•
•
Cheat on an exam;
Submit the same work for two different courses without prior permission from your professors;
Receive help on a take-home examination that calls for independent work;
Plagiarize.
Plagiarism, one of the gravest forms of academic dishonesty in university life, whether intended or not,
is academic fraud. In a community of scholars, whose members are teaching, learning and discovering
knowledge, plagiarism cannot be tolerated.
Plagiarism is failure to properly assign authorship to a paper, a document, an oral presentation, a
musical score and/or other materials, which are not your original work. You plagiarize when, without
proper attribution, you do any of the following:
•
•
•
•
•
•
Copy verbatim from a book, an article or other media;
Download documents from the Internet;
Purchase documents;
Report from other's oral work;
Paraphrase or restate someone else's facts, analysis and/or conclusions;
Copy directly from a classmate or allow a classmate to copy from you.
Your professors are responsible for helping you to understand other people's ideas, to use resources
and conscientiously acknowledge them, and to develop and clarify your own thinking. You should know
what constitutes good and honest scholarship, style guide preferences, and formats for assignments for
each of your courses. Consult your professors for help with problems related to fulfilling course
assignments, including questions related to attribution of sources.
Through reading, writing, and discussion, you will undoubtedly acquire ideas from others, and
exchange ideas and opinions with others, including your classmates and professors. You will be
expected, and often required, to build your own work on that of other people. In so doing, you are
expected to credit those sources that have contributed to the development of your ideas.
7
Avoiding Academic Dishonesty
•
•
•
•
•
Organize your time appropriately to avoid undue pressure, and acquire good study habits,
including note taking.
Learn proper forms of citation. Always check with your professors of record for their preferred
style guides. Directly copied material must always be in quotes; paraphrased material must be
acknowledged; even ideas and organization derived from your own previous work or another's
work need to be acknowledged.
Always proofread your finished work to be sure that quotation marks, footnotes and other
references were not inadvertently omitted. Know the source of each citation.
Do not submit the same work for more than one class without first obtaining the permission of
both professors even if you believe that work you have already completed satisfies the
requirements of another assignment.
Save your notes and drafts of your papers as evidence of your original work.
Disciplinary Sanctions:
When a professor suspects cheating, plagiarism, and/or other forms of academic dishonesty,
appropriate disciplinary action may be taken following the department procedure or through referral to
the Committee on Student Discipline.
Departmental Procedure:
•
•
The Professor will meet with the student to discuss, and present evidence for the particular
violation, giving the student opportunity to refute or deny the charge(s).
If the Professor confirms the violation(s), he/she, in consultation with the Program Director and
Department Chair may take any of the following actions:
o Allow the student to redo the assignment
o Lower the grade for the work in question
o Assign a grade of F for the work in question
o Assign a grade of F for the course
o Recommend dismissal
Once an action(s) is taken, the Professor will inform the Program Director and Department Chair, and
inform the student in writing, instructing the student to schedule an appointment with the Associate
Dean for Student Affairs, as a final step. Copies of the letter will be sent to the Department Chair for
his/her confidential student file and the Associate Dean for Student Affairs. The student has the right to
appeal the action taken in accordance with the School's Student Complaint Procedure as outlined in
The Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development Student's Guide.
Referral to the Steinhardt Committee on Student Discipline:
In cases when dismissal is recommended, and in cases of repeated violations and/or unusual
circumstances, faculty may choose to refer the issue to the Committee on Student Discipline for
resolution, which they may do through the Office of the Associate Dean for Student Affairs.
The Steinhardt School Statement on Academic Integrity is consistent with the New York University
Policy on Student Conduct, published in the NYU Student Guide.
NYU Classes:
8
This course has an NYU Classes site. Required readings for some class sessions will be available on this site, as
indicated on the course calendar. The syllabus, details about assignments, and any other general course
information will be available on the site as well. In addition, postings will be made regarding events or other
items of importance regarding this course. Please also feel free to use the site to continue conversations started
in class or raise new points for discussion during future class meetings.
Ground Rules for this Course
1.
Acknowledge that oppression (i.e., racism, classism, sexism, etc) exists.
2.
Acknowledge that one of the mechanisms of oppression (racism, classism, sexism, etc.) is that
we have been systematically taught misinformation about our own group and especially
members of devalued/subordinate groups (this is true for both dominant and subordinate group
members).
3.
Agree not to blame ourselves or others for the misinformation we have learned in the past, but
accept responsibility for not repeating misinformation after we have learned otherwise.
4.
Agree not to blame victims for their oppression.
5.
Assume that people (both the groups we study and the members of the class) are always doing
the best they can.
6.
Actively pursue information about our own groups and that of others.
7.
Share information about our groups with other members of the class and we will never demean,
devalue, or in any way "put down" people for their experiences.
8.
Agree to actively combat the myths and stereotypes about our own groups and other groups so
that we can break down the walls that prohibit group cooperation and group gain.
9.
Create a safe atmosphere for open discussion. If members of the class wish to make comments
that they do not want repeated outside the classroom, they can preface their remarks with a
request and the class will agree not to repeat the remarks.
10.
Synthesize ideas, readings, and materials across (y)our classes into fresh, innovative teaching
practices. While university policy on academic honesty stipulates work created for one course
cannot be turned in for credit in another, we do hope that ideas, practices, and materials from
our courses will be mutually informative and made to speak to each other in new ways.
9
Course Organization
(*The chart below denotes readings and other materials to be discussed in class on the corresponding
date. Therefore, all required materials should be read before attending class. RW=Research Workshop;
A=Activities; SRTOL=Course Textbook)
Part 1: What is (English) Language?
Date
9/4
Topics
Foundations I
•
•
9/11
Introduction to Language
Study: What is language?
Defining Terms: What are
linguistics, grammar, and
language research?
Foundations II
•
•
Language Acquisition:
Where do we get language?
Language Development:
How does language evolve
(within people and within
society)?
Readings Due
1. Intros and Ice-Breaker
Assignment Due
A : Syllabus Quiz
2. Course Introduction
3. Elementary Linguistics and Grammar
1. Gee, What is Literacy
2. Stubbs, Sociolinguistic Myths
RW: Questions
and Methods 1
(Collecting Data)
Part 2: Commentaries on Language, Power Culture, and Identity
9/18
Language and Society I
•
•
9/25
Law and Language
Politics and Polices
Language and Society II
•
•
•
The Globe
Multiethnic Communities
Urban Spaces
1. SRTOL: pp. 19-40; 58-124, 163-168
2. Cal Prop. 227
1. SRTOL: Suresh, “World Englishes” (p.
279)
A: 4-point
Debate
A: Map/Gallery
2. SRTOL: Paris, Harvard Ed Review Article
(p. 305)
3. Kirkland, “English in Urban Settings”
10/2
Linguistic Hybridity, Culture, and
1. Purcell-Gates, “ . . . As Soon As She
10
A: Chip Game
10/9
Identity I
Opened Her Mouth”
Class(ed) English(es)
2. SRTOL: pp. 341-352
Linguistic Hybridity, Culture, and
Identity II
1. Tan, “Mother Tongue”
A: TBD
1. Anzaldua, Excerpt
A: Syllables
•
10/16
Linguistic Hybridity, Culture, and
Identity IV
•
10/23
Asian American English
Latinos and English
Linguistic Hybridity, Culture, and
Identity V
•
2. Rodriguez, Aria (excerpt)
1. Baldwin, Excerpt
A: Tableau
2. SRTOL: pp. 191-258
African American Language
10/30
Midterm Exam
Part 3: Pedagogical Applications of Research on Language Variation
11/6
Pedagogical Perspectives I
•
•
11/13
Traditions of Practice
Contrastive Analysis
Pedagogy Perspectives II
•
•
•
1. Delpit, “Silenced Dialogue”
2. Kirkland and Jackson, “Beyond Silence”
1. Butler, Trilingualism
1. Fabos & Lewis, IM-ing
Sociocultural Approaches
Technology
Critical Approaches
RW: Analyzing
Data
1. Alim, Critical Language Awareness
2. Kirkland, Rewriting School
No Class
National Council of Teachers of English
November 20th
11
A: Cellphone
Conversation
American
Languages
Parallel
Rulebook Due
Part 4: Pedagogical Scenarios and Presentations
12/4
Scenario 1: Rethinking Traditional Grammar Instruction
Scenario 2: Critical Language Variation and Language Pedagogies
Curriculum
Presentations
Scenario 3: Hybridity, Language Pluralism, and the Teaching of Language through
Literature
Scenario 4: Hybridity, Language Variation and the Teaching of Writing
12/11
Research Expo
12