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Due by 5pm on Sunday, April 10: Discussion Post #10 on the Ning
Due by 5pm on Sunday, April 10: Discussion Post #10 on the Ning
Imagine that you have received a research grant to conduct a linguistic study of your target language and culture. How would you get started, and what would you investigate? How would di
Read more…Due by 5pm on Sunday, April 3: Discussion Post #9 on the Ning
How do languages go extinct? Respond to the readings, and reflect on what happens when a language dies? How can linguists help preserve a language? Can a ‘dead’ language ever be brought back to life? What efforts are currently underway to document li
Read more…Due by 5pm on Sunday, March 27: Discussion Post #8 on the Ning
How have you started writing in the target language? Do you prefer to type or write free hand? Have you started to see patterns emerge in the structures between words, clauses, and sentences? What is the relationship between simple and complex senten
Read more…Due by 5pm on Sunday, February 27: Discussion Post #6 on the Ning
Reflect on the history of your target language. To what language family does it belong? What sounds, words, and structures exemplify periods of contact with other cultures? How do these considerations enhance your understanding of the target language
Read more…Due by 5pm on Sunday, February 20: Discussion Post #5 on the Ning
Do some preliminary research on what interests you about the target culture and describe how this topic relates to language. Do you need any special vocabulary or linguistic knowledge to engage this topic? If so, have you included objectives in your
Read more…Due by 5pm on Sunday, February 13: Discussion Post #4 on the Ning
What is the difference between sound and spelling? Why is this distinction significant for your language-learning efforts? Describe the phonetic inventory of your target language. Are there sounds in your language that don’t exist in American English
Read more…Due by 5pm on Sunday, March 20: Discussion Post #7 on the Ning
Go back and watch the recording of your presentation of your learning plan on the class PanOpto collection on Blackboard. Comment briefly on how things are going. What has changed? How have you incorporated materials and insights from class into your
Read more…Due by 5pm on Sunday, February 6: Discussion Post #3 on the Ning
Refer to the diagram on page 9 in Aitchison’s linguistics. How do you combine different disciplinary perspectives to formulate a more holistic understanding of your target language? Do you give preference to one disciplinary approach over the others?
Read more…Due by 5pm on Sunday, January 30: Discussion Post #2 on the Ning
Summarize some of the main ideas behind Figuring Foreigners Out and the Hofstede Dimensions of Culture. Do you predominantly agree with these assessments? Are there any statements, generalizations, and opinions expressed in the reading that you find
Read more…Reflection #2
I have learned a lot about my abilities and tendencies as a language learner over the past semester. Starting out I was very eager to start learning how to speak and write but soon realized that the whole process of learning a language takes various
Read more…Due by 5:00pm on Sunday, January 23: Discussion Post #1 on the Ning
Reflect on the readings. Do you have any questions about the texts? Are there any claims that you find problematic? Do you think language is a purely biological phenomenon? What parts of the brain are most important for the production and comprehensi
Read more…Reflection 1
My previous experiences as a language learner have been quite limited. Growing up my family spoke only English so I had not been exposed to any foreign languages as a child. However, once I got into middle school I began studying Spanish. Throughout
Read more…1-16 Reflection 1
Overall, I have very little experience learning new languages. The only language anyone in my family speaks is English, and there was never any encouragement to learn another. I took my required Spanish courses and disliked most of them, because my h
Read more…Due by 5pm on Sunday, November 14: Discussion Post #10
Imagine that you have received a research grant to conduct a linguistic study of your target language and culture. How would you get started, and what would you investigate? How would different structural components presented in class appear in your
Read more…Due by 5pm on Sunday, November 7: Discussion Post #9
How have you started writing in the target language? Do you prefer to type or write free hand? Have you started to see patterns emerge in the structures between words, clauses, and sentences? What is the relationship between simple and complex senten
Read more…Due by 5pm on Sunday, October 31: Discussion Post #8
How do languages go extinct? Respond to the readings, and reflect on what happens when a language dies? How can linguists help preserve a language? Can a ‘dead’ language ever be brought back to life? What efforts are currently underway to document li
Read more…Due by 5pm on Sunday, October 24: Discussion Post #7
Go back and watch the recording of your presentation of your learning plan on the class PanOpto collection on Blackboard. Comment briefly on how things are going. What has changed? How have you incorporated materials and insights from class into your
Read more…Due by 5pm on Sunday, October 10: Discussion Post #6
Reflect on the history of your target language. To what language family does it belong? What sounds, words, and structures exemplify periods of contact with other cultures? How do these considerations enhance your understanding of the target language
Read more…