Furukawa+SLS 480U+Syllabus+Spring+2012

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SLS 480U: Introduction to Sociolinguistics in Second Language Research

Spring 2012

Instructor: Gavin FurukawaOffice: Moore 477

E-mail: [email protected] Hours: Wednesdays 12-1pm or by appointment

Course Description: This course covers a wide variety of research and concepts relating to

sociolinguistics and second language studies. It serves as an introductory course for students

interested in pursuing a graduate degree in language research and for working professionals in

the field who wish to conduct sociolinguistic research or incorporate concepts from that research

into their pedagogical practices. Students will start by reading about basic concepts and topics in

sociolinguistics such as the idea of standard languages, language policy, and the connections

between language and identity. They will then go on to do read about a variety of research

methods in sociolinguistics including ethnography, interactional sociolinguistics, conversation

analysis, and critical discourse analysis. This course will give students the opportunity to collect

and look at real data and engage in discussion on the various subjects. Students will have both in-

class work and homework which will give them an opportunity to reflect on the importance of

the subjects as well as the strengths and weaknesses of each research method. Over the semester

students will receive explicit and implicit training on public speaking, do group presentations on

the subjects as well as individual presentations ending with a ten page research paper using one

of the topics and research methods covered during the semester.

Textbook:

Holmes, J. (2008).An introduction to sociolinguistics (3rd ed.). Harlow, U.K.: Pearson

Education Limited.

Students must order the textbook on their own. The first few chapters will be uploaded on

Laulima to allow time for the textbooks to arrive.

Additional readings will be available as pdf files on Laulima or can be found in ebook format

from Hamilton Library.

Student Learning Outcomes:

By the end of the course students will be able to:

Provide evidence for knowledge and understanding of basic topics and subjects in thefield of sociolinguistics preparing them for graduate level courses on the subject .

Students who intend to pursue the MA in SLS, LING, or any other language and

sociology related field will find this course particularly useful, as well as working


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professional teachers who wish to pursue their own research on the interactions between

language and society.

Collect and give analysis on data using established research methodologies from the fieldof sociolinguistics.

Devise activities that help to lead themselves and others to a greater understanding ofissues relating to language use in society.

Additional outcomes for the course:

Students will learn that language education and use has a social context that cannot beeasily separated from naturally occurring data.

Students will learn effective means of reading and doing presentations on academicresearch.

Grading:

1. Attendance and participation 10%

2. Group presentations (2) based on course readings 40%

3. Homework assignments 10%

4. Individual presentation 10%

5. Final paper 30%

Course Requirements:

1. ACTIVE participation in ALL activities. Your attendance and active participation in class is essential to yoursuccess in it. This includes coming to each class on time, and being prepared to discuss readings and other

assignments. In class activities include but are not limited to: small group and whole class discussions,

spontaneous mini-presentations, asking questions and giving feedback/comments after group presentations.

2. Reading all the assigned materials. Students are all expected to have read the assigned readings before the datethey are listed on the course schedule. You are expected to have read the article thoroughly and be prepared to

discuss the materials in class. You will also be required to take part in asynchronous on-line discussions about

the readings before they are discussed in class as part of the process of learning how to take part in academic

presentations/discussions.

3. Internet/e-mail access. Important information including but not limited to reminders, assignments, classroomchanges, and other announcements as well as submission of several homework assignments will be done online.

It is important for students to check their UH email regularly (at least twice a day) as well as the class website on

Laulima.

4. Formal presentations. Each student will take part in 2 group presentations and 1 individual presentation over thesemester. Feedback from each presentation is expected to be incorporated or addressed in future presentations.

Late Work Policy


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Papers and homework are due at the beginning of class on the assigned date, or they are

considered late. Late papers will be accepted up to the following two class periods, after which

time they may not be submitted for credit.Late papers will receive reduced points: a 5%

reduction for each class period missed. Repeated late submissions of work may result in failure

of the course.

Attendance

The university catalog states that "Regular attendance at class and laboratory sessions is

expected for all courses in which a student enrolls. Unavoidable absences should be explained to

the instructor. In this course, regular attendance and active participation are vital for

understanding the key issues and concepts. Therefore, 10% of your course grade will be based on

yourattendance and class participation. If you are late or absent, it is your responsibility to

contact another student or me to find out what you missed and to complete it by the due date.

Punctuality is also important. Late entrances disrupt the class for everyone, so please show

respect for your classmates and your teacher and be in your seat and ready to begin working by

10:30AM. Three tardy arrivals will be considered the same as one absence. Please also note that

if you come late, you will lose participation points, and you may miss graded in-class

assignments/activities that you cant make up outside of class. Thus, if you are late too often, you

risk failing the course. Students are responsible for signing in their own attendance at every class.

If you arrive after the sign-in sheet has been passed around you are responsible for signing in as

tardy with the instructor.

Group Presentations

Each student will take part in two 40-minute group presentations (including 10 minutes for Q &

A). Each group presentation will be on one of the assigned readings which will include designing

and leading a short activity based on the topic which furthers understanding of the subject and/or

gives other students a chance to practice doing analysis using the assigned research style using

authentic data and/or materials. The question and answer session at the end should be a student-

led academic discussion that evaluates the readings and situates it within the field. Students must

have approval from the instructor on the activity at least 1 week in advance of the presentation

date. This counts towards 40% of your final grade (20% for each group presentation). Students

will receive written evaluations and feedback on their presentations from the instructor and

classmates. Oral feedback from the instructor may also be received by coming to office hours for

consultation. The use of Powerpoint and handouts for presentations is expected.


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Homework Assignments

Various homework assignments will be given to facilitate in class discussions and activities.

These may include but are not limited to: asynchronous on-line academic discussions, data

collection (surveys, recordings of natural interactions, printed discourse, etc.), transcripts, data

analyses, or reflection papers. Homework is due at the beginning of the class period, latehomework will not be accepted.

Individual Presentations

Each student will give an individual presentation at the end of the semester based on the research

done for their final paper. Data presentation and preliminary analysis is required along with a

clear explanation of the theoretical framework being used. The date of this final presentation will

be decided by the instructor based on the students research topic. Individual presentations count

towards 10% of the total grade for the course.

Final Paper

Students will each write a 10 page research paper for the course utilizing any of the various

methods covered to do original research. Papers should be in APA format and page length does

not include title page, data, charts, transcripts, figures or references. This paper counts toward

30% of your final grade.

On Academic Dishonesty:

I realize that academic dishonesty or plagiarism is a very complex notion whose definition can

vary between different institutions, countries, or other contexts. However, it is also important for

students to realize that I am notinterested in right answers or wrong answer. Instead, I am more

interested in seeing how you understand the material. As a general rule, I do notgive points for

being good at finding facts on the internet. I do give points for student work that shows an

understanding of the material and personal engagement with it; whether or not the student agrees

with the materials is less important for me than being able to understand and give your own point

of view on the subject.

If I receive plagiarized or copied information in homework, I will return it with a request that the

homework be done over again and a warning for the first time. Continued plagiarism will affect

your grades and could result in not passing the course.

Many of your assignments for this course involve integrating information from published sources

into your presentations or your own writing. This means that you need to be careful cite your

sources. According to the UH Student Conduct Code, plagiarism includes, but is not limited to:


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submitting . . . any work that has been copied in whole or in part from anotherindividual's work without attributing that borrowed portion to the individual;

neglecting to identify as a quotation another's idea and particular phrasing that was notassimilated into the student's language and style or paraphrasing a passage so that the

reader is misled as to the source;

submitting the same written or oral or artistic material in more than one course withoutobtaining authorization from the instructors involved; or

"drylabbing," which includes obtaining and using experimental data and laboratory write-ups from other sections of a course or from previous terms.

http://www.hawaii.edu/student/conduct/

Plagiarism is a serious threat to academic honesty, and it may result in suspension orexpulsion from the university.

General Course Schedule

Week 1

History of Sociolinguistics

Holmes (2008) Chapter 1 (pp. 1-16) - What do sociolinguists study?

Le Page, R. B. (1997). The Evolution of a Sociolinguistic Theory of Language. In F. Coulmas

(Ed.), The Handbook of Sociolinguistics (pp. 15-32). Oxford: Blackwell Publishers Limited.

(download or print from library ebook)

Week 2

Holmes (2008) Chapter 2 (pp. 17-51) - Language choice in multilingual communities

Gumperz, J. J. (1982). Conversational code switching. In J. J. Gumperz, Discourse Strategies(pp. 59-99), Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Week 3

Holmes (2008) Chapter 3 (pp. 52-73) - Language maintenance and shift


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Warner, S. L. (1999). Kuleana: The right, responsibility, and authority of indigenous peoples to

speak and make decisions for themselves in language and cultural revitilization.

Anthropology & Education Quarterly, 30(1), 68-93.

Week 4

Holmes (2008) Chapter 4 (pp. 74-97) - Linguistic varieties and multilingual nations

Eades, D., & Jacobs, S. (2003).Pushing the boundaries of "appropriateness": Pidgin and local

identity in Hawaii. Retrieved May 30, 2011, from Charlene Sato Center for Pidgin,

Creole and Dialect Studies: http://www.hawaii.edu/satocenter/appropriateness.html

Week 5

Holmes (2008) Chapter 5 (pp. 98-123) - National languages and language planning

Evans, B. A., & Hornberger, N. H. (2005). No child left behind: Peeling and repealing federal

language education policy in the United States.Language Policy, 4, 87106.

Week 6

Holmes (2008) Chapter 6 (pp. 125-156)Regional and social dialects

Labov, W. (2009). The social stratification of (r) in New York City department stores. In N.

Coupland, & A. Jaworski (Eds.), The New Sociolinguistics Reader(pp. 49-59). New

York: Palgrave MacMillan.

Holmes (2008) Chapter 7 (pp. 157-182)Gender and age

Week 7

Holmes (2008) Chapter 12 (pp. 296-328)Gender, politeness and stereotypes

Okamoto, S. (2004). Ideology in linguistic practice and analysis: Gender and politeness in

Japanese revisited. In S. Okamoto, & J. S. Shibamoto Smith (Eds.),Japanese language,

gender, and ideology: Cultural models and real people (pp. 38-55). Cary, NC: Oxford

University Press.

(download or print from library ebook)


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Week 8

Holmes (2008) Chapter 8 (pp. 184-203)Ethnicity and social networks

Rampton, B. (2009). Crossing, Ethnicity, and Codeswitching. In N. Coupland, & A. Jaworski

(Eds.), The New Sociolinguistics Reader(pp. 287-298). New York: Palgrave MacMillan.

Week 9

Holmes (2008) Chapter 9 (pp. 204-231)Language change

Barbieri, F. (2009). Quotative be like in American English.English World-Wide, 30(1), 68-90.

doi:10.1075/eww.30.1.05bar

Week 10

Holmes (2008) Chapter 10 (pp. 235-269)Style, context and register

Holmes (2008) Chapter 14 (pp. 355-404)Analysing discourse

Week 11

Holmes (2008) Chapter 11 (pp. 270-295)Speech functions, politeness, and cross-cultural

communication

Spencer-Oatey, H. (2008). Face, (im)politeness and rapport. In H. Spencer-Oatey (Ed.),

Culturally Speaking: Culture, Communication and Politeness Theory (2nd ed., pp. 11-47).

New York: Continuum.

Week 12

SPRING BREAK

Week 13

Holmes (2008) Chapter 13 (pp. 329-354)Language, cognition and culture


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Miller, L. (2008). Negative assessments in Japanese-American workplace interaction. In H.

Spencer-Oatey (Ed.), Culturally speaking: Culture, communication and politeness theory

(pp. 227-240). London: Continuum.

Week 14

Holmes (2008) Chapter 14 (pp. 405-430)Attitudes and applications

Pennycook, A. (2003). Global Englishes, Rip Slyme, and performativity.Journal of

Sociolinguistics, 7(4), 513-533.

Higgins, C., Nettell, R., Furukawa, G., & Sakoda, K. (2012). Beyond contrastive analysis and

codeswitching: Student documentary filmmaking as a challenge to linguicism in Hawaii.

Linguistics and Education, 23, 49-61.

Week 15

Holmes (2008) Chapter 15 (pp. 431-446)Conclusion

Week 16

Final Presentations

Finals Week

Final Presentations Continued

Final Papers Due

Furukawa+SLS 480U+Syllabus+Spring+2012

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