READ 514: Linguistics for Teachers: K-12 (3 cr)

COURSE
DESCRIPTION

This introductory course introduces the graduate student to the structure and functions of English. Course participants will analyze the underlying grammatical system of English at the phoneme, word, and text levels. Learners will demonstrate their knowledge of how language change influences the rise of dialects within a given language and the creation of new languages over time. Learners will engage in a comparative analysis of the linguistic features of several world languages, collect and analyze different speech samples in English, and prepare a series of lesson plans aimed at helping specific learners analyze authentic English language and usage related to a selected content area.

PREREQUISITES

Graduate standing. Learners are assumed to be K-12 teachers with native or near-native proficiency in English. Recommended especially for grade-level and content-area teachers who are trying to improve their ongoing instruction in English for those students who come to their classes as English language learners.

COURSE
STRUCTURE

This is an online Blackboard course. Activities include textbook readings with online discussions; language analysis tasks; collection/analysis of speech samples; lesson series or unit plan; final exam.

STANDARDS

This course supports the following International Reading Association's 2010 revised Standards for Reading Professionals:

1.1	Candidates understand major theories and empirical research that describe the cognitive, linguistic, motivational, and sociocultural foundations of reading and writing development, processes, and components, including word recognition, language comprehension, strategic knowledge, and reading-writing connections.
1.2	Candidates understand the historically shared knowledge of the profession and changes over time in the perceptions of reading and writing development, processes, and components.
4.1	Candidates recognize, understand, and value the forms of diversity that exist in society and their importance in learning to read and write.
6.2	Candidates display positive dispositions related to their own reading and writing and the teaching of reading and writing, and pursue the development of individual professional knowledge and behaviors.

PRACTICAL
APPLICATIONS

Upon successful completion of this course, participants will be able to:

Develop their linguistic awareness of the underlying structure of English
Analyze, in writing, English language oral and written texts at the phoneme, word, phrase, and text levels
Familiarize themselves with grammatical features of selected languages spoken in the U.S. that are least like English
Analyze, in writing, speech data from different English language speech communities
Examine and discuss linguistic phenomena related to classroom interaction such as code-switching, slang, and language "hybridization"
Describe how dialects arise within English and other languages
Examine their own experiences with and attitudes toward teaching and learning Standard English
Develop a lesson series or unit plan which deals with selected language area, targeted at a specific class of learners, related to language use within the content area of teacher's choice

CORE/ELECTIVE

This graduate course can be used as a core course in the Literacy Foundations thematic area in the 24-credit Reading Endorsement program, as 3 elective credits for those in the 12-credit Literary Education program, or as a stand-alone course.

INSTRUCTOR

Dr. Carol Lauritzen, Professor, College of Education, Eastern Oregon University. Fourteen years of K-12 experience including 4 years as a classroom teacher and 11 years as a language arts specialist. (BA, University of Nebraska; MA, Ph.D., University of Missouri)

TARGET
AUDIENCE

K-12 teachers and those seeking a Reading Endorsement.

TIME
COMMITMENT

Students should expect to spend approximately 9 hours per week for 10 weeks in course-related activities (e.g., reading the text and course materials, posting to discussion forums, completing written reports/papers and classroom-based assignments). This course is online and does not require in-person attendance. Assignments are completed on the learner's time schedule and are due as posted.

TEXTBOOKS

Textbook(s) are required for this course. You will find the textbook listed in the syllabus that is posted online at the EOU website or you may contact the instructor. For most classes, the EOU Bookstore will be a source for the textbook.

COST

No course in the ReadOregon curriculum will cost more than $359 per credit, including fees, for students in the ReadOregon program.

CONTACT(S)

For more details on this course, please contact Dr. Carol Lauritzen, Eastern Oregon University.