FYI: Teaching ling, Computational ling
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E. Wayles Browne
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Workshop Announcemen Teaching linguistics to nonlinguists: Integrating linguistics into undergraduate curricula This is to announce the NEH-funded workshop on teaching linguistics to nonlinguists being held this summer at the LSA Linguistic Institute, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY. The goal is to involve present and future linguistics teachers in discussion of ways to broaden the scope of linguistics teaching, with a special emphasis on college and university undergraduate courses. Participation is welcome from all who are interested in this topic. The tentative schedule appears below, with already identified presenters listed. Except for Week 2, all sessions will be held from 9:30-12:30 on Wednesdays, with a refreshment break and plenty of time for discussion. Week 2 has no special session for this workshop bu offers a series of events in a complementary NSF-funded workshop on the use of computers in linguistics teaching. All five of the NEH Wednesday workshop sessions (Week 1 and Weeks 3-6) will have a strongly practical bent, with an aim to helping people figure out wha to do in their classrooms. We hope that experienced teachers of linguistics will come as well as students who hope to teach linguistics in the future. * Week 1 Strategies for finding out what is happening in teaching linguistics June 25 Coordinated Abigail C. Cohn (Cornell) and Richard Larson (SUNY a Stony Brook) The first session will emphasize general resources for finding ou what is already going on in teaching linguistics, with special attention to what's on the web. * Week 2 Computer-based methods and materials In lieu of a regular workshop session during the second week, participants will be invited to participate in a complementary NSF-funded week-long workshop on computer-based methods and materials for teaching linguistics and the language sciences, organized by Richard Larson (SUNY at Stony Brook) and Barbara Lust of Cornell's Department of Human Development and Family Studies, working with student assistant Fangfang Guo. For a schedule, see http://www.cogstud.cornell.edu/CogStudPage/LSAschedula.html. * Week 3 How can we enrich "introduction to linguistics" courses? July 9 Coordinated by David Silva (University of Texas at Arlington), working with Molly Diesing (Cornell) and D. Robert Ladd (Edinburgh) How can basic general introductory courses in linguistics be designed to be of interest and value to people who are not necessarily interested in advanced study of linguistics? This is the key question addressed in this session. * Week 4 Language variation and other sociolinguistic phenomena as a "hook" for teaching linguistics July 16 Coordinated by Walt Wolfram (North Carolina State), working with David Silva (University of Texas at Arlington) and D. Robert Ladd (Edinburgh) The coordinators will emphasize the use of local variation to demystify linguistics and make its tools and methods of real immediate value to anyone with curiosity about how they and others around them speak. * Week 5 How does linguistics connect to language and literary studies? July 23 Coordinated by William Ladusaw (University of California at Santa Cruz), working with Wayne Harbert (Cornell) A major focus of this session will be on ways that the study of English and other languages can create a shared basis of knowledge on which further investigations of language structure and use can be grounded. How can linguistics teachers build on students' preexisting interests in particular languages and their literatures? * Week 6 Where do we go next? July 30 Coordinated by Sally McConnell-Ginet (Cornell), with help from presenters in previous workshops and others The final session will invite panelists and other participants to reflect on how we can build on the ideas suggested in earlier sessions. In particular, we might discuss development of a few exemplary courses, with materials for these courses to be widely distributed, both electronically and in more traditional formats. Suggestions and information on resources will be welcome at any time; just contact the organizers, Sally McConnell-Ginet (smg9@cornell.edu) or Abigail C. Cohn (acc4@cornell.edu) or any of the session coordinators. We encourage all participants to bring materials tha might be helpful--e.g., sample syllabi, exercises or activities you have found especially effective, information on video or other multi-media resources. Sally McConnell-Gine Professor of Linguistics Director of 1997 LSA Linguistic Institute Department of Linguistics Morrill Hall, Cornell Ithaca, NY 14853 607-255-6469 (Linguistics office: 255-1105) FAX: 607-255-2044 |
