© Dr. Loren R. Schmidt, 1999-2015
No part of this syllabus may be used or reproduced
in any manner whatsoever without written permission.
Elements of Assessment:
The following assignments will be factored into your course grade. In addition, these will also help assess your progress in mastering the outcomes noted above.
(1) Class Participation and Exercises: The nature of this class demands that all students contribute regularly to the discussions, including any Forum questions posted at the Heritage University Virtual Campus (AKA MyHeritage) and/or short in-class or written responses in a reading journal for online students. STUDENTS ATTENDING SOME OR ALL SESSIONS ASYCHRONOUSLY ONLINE WILL HAVE ADDITIONAL FORUM ASSIGNMENTS (see MyHeritage Forum portals for these assignments). Both quality and quantity will be considered, with an emphasis on the former. Altogether, 40 points (35 + 5 for the Check-In Tasks) may be earned for participation and other reading responses.
(2) Article Review: Students will write a short paper (approximately 2 pages) summarizing and commenting on a journal article in applied linguistics related to your real-life needs or interests. Possible topics for this paper will be discussed in class and workshop sessions will be scheduled to assist students in writing the review. The review will be worth 30 points.
(3) Field Research Project: Students will conduct a team or individual field research project in linguistics (observation and/or experiment). Each team will then report the results of their field research to the class. Afterwards, each individual member will write a paper of 750-1000 words (2.5-3.5 pages) detailing their research method, their results, and then discussing the theoretical and practical issues in linguistics connected with their research project. Teams are encouraged to share sources and ideas but submit individually-written conclusions (methods and results sections can be identical, of course!). The project paper and presentation will be worth 50 points total. GRADUATE STUDENTS: Papers will include a biblography of two sources related to your research project, one of which must be cited in the paper.
(4) Technical Exercises: After practicing with out-of-class and group in-class exercises, students will demonstrate mastery of performance skills in phonetics/phonology, morphology, and syntax in class using appropriate tools (phonetics charts, the Oxford English Dictionary online, etc.). Each of these exercises will be worth 20 points (60 points total).
Verification Activity: The first two Technical Exercises (Phonetics/Phonology and Morphology) serve to verify or authenticate the work of online students. Students must arrange to do this work in a controlled environment (such as a testing center or library) and must provide positive ID at that time.
(5) Linguistics Journal: During the course, students will keep an online journal (“blog”) noting everyday occurrences related to language. For example, a student can write about personal experiences, language issues reported or observed in the media, and so on. Students will be expected to include 10 entries over the course. Keeping the journal will be worth 20 points.
(6) Figuring Course Grades:
Check-In Tasks 5 Participation (Including Forums) & Exercises 35 Article Review 30 Project 50 Technical Exercise #1 20 Technical Exercise #2 20 Technical Exercise #3 20 Linguistics Journal (Blog) 20
Total Possible: 200 (196+ = A+; 184+ = A; 180+ = A-; 176+ = B+; 164+ = B; 160+ = B-; 156+ = C+; 144+ = C; 140+ = C-; 136+ = D+; 124+ = D; 120+ = D-; 119- = F)