Monday, December 5, 2011

MLA / APA workshop in the Library Tuesday (Dec. 6) at 5:30pm

Dear students,

This workshop could help you with the Works Cited or References list and in-text citations for your research paper, if you are able to attend:

Subject: MLA/APA Tomorrow @ 5:30 p.m.

The Library is offering a drop-in workshop for students on both MLA/APA.  This session is designed to provide informal one-on-one assistance to students who are in the process of compiling their Works Cited lists. Students can drop in anytime during the two hour session.


Tuesday, December 6th   5:30-7:30 p.m.

WHERE:  Library Lab (E101-B)

NO APPOINTMENT NECESSARY!

Questions? Contact, Alexandra Rojas, arojas@lagcc.cuny.edu, x6020, or
Catherine Stern, castern@lagcc.cuny.edu, x 6021

Monday, November 21, 2011

Research Paper Topic and Sources - due Mon., Nov. 28

Please post your research paper topic and a list of sources you have already gathered for the paper.  You must have at least 3 sources (and more is better!)

**The final research paper is due Thursday, Dec. 8 (the last day of class).**

If you want feedback earlier on your paper, you must give me your draft on Thursday, Dec. 1.



TIPS FOR DOING RESEARCH AND WRITING YOUR RESEARCH PAPER:

As you decide on the topic you are interested in researching, I suggest that you read the chapter listed with the topic, to see if this is what you have in mind.  Each topic has a wide range of possibilities for you to focus in on for your own paper, but the chapter would give you a good idea about the overall topic.

I suggest that you then search for a few articles online using Google Scholar.  Through Google Scholar, you will find academic or journal articles, which have better, more scholarly information than most websites.

Google Scholar:
http://scholar.google.com/schhp?hl=en&tab=ws

You can also search for online resources and access other information (such as MLA and APA citation style guides) on the LaGuardia Library site:
http://library.laguardia.edu/home/

I hope to reply to your post about your topic choice on Monday and discuss any potential problems or questions you have.  I will need the draft by Thursday of next week, if you want feedback, so you may want to start writing it over the weekend!

Please use a good research paper format:

--An introduction to the general topic, and maybe stating why you are interested in exploring this particular topic

--A clear discussion of either (a) the findings from the 3 (or more) separate sources you read or (b) a discussion of the main ideas that were found throughout and across (in each of) the sources you read

--A good conclusion summarizing the main issues or areas that the research needs to go (questions still to answer) in the area you chose to look at

--Use citations (author and page number) for the information you use in the paper, whether you paraphrase or quote from them, and have a "Works Sited" or "References" list at the end of the paper with each source.  MLA or APA format is OK.

MLA Citation Style:
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/01/

APA Citation Style:
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01/

Have fun with this!  Research a topic you find interesting, and think of it as exploring something you really want to know (like searching for information on your favorite actor or your favorite artist online).


ELL101 – Introduction to Language
Research Paper

In the research paper you write for this class, you will consider the relationship between the individual and language usage. 

Consider the following:
What aspects of language are shared by a society as a whole?
What individual differences do we as language speakers have?

To arrive at these questions, you will need to focus on and research one particular individual language aspect, such as
·       socio-cultural identity (e.g., gender or cultural influence) (Ch. 20),
·       regional variation (Ch. 18),
·       first language (Ch. 13) and second language acquisition (Ch. 14),
·       social variation (e.g., a community of practice/speech community) (Ch. 19),
·       or biological factors such as brain injuries and language ability (Ch. 12) or hearing impairment and languages like American Sign Language (Ch. 15)

You may write your paper alone or with a partner.

You must submit your topic idea and a list of 3 sources after Thanksgiving, on Monday, Nov. 28.


The final paper will be due on Thursday, Dec. 8.  No late papers accepted.  If you want early feedback on your paper, please submit a draft by Thursday, Dec. 1.

Links to Pragmatics / Speech Acts Videos

For your interest, here are the two videos we viewed last week in class regarding speech acts and another one we didn't have time for.

Video on Speech Acts by Ben Loka
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Yy3neW-FzA

Video on Speech Acts with Joel Kimmel
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YfXGJ4mFXj0&feature=related

Video on the Pragmatics of "Hello"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5aeCxWyNAQQ

Monday, October 31, 2011

Mid-Semester Course Survey - please take a few minutes to complete this survey and let me know how you think the class is going!

Dear Students,

As an educator, I want to always look for ways to make classes better and serve my students in the best ways possible!

Please go to the following link to take the anonymous Mid-Semester Course Survey to let me know how you think the class is going and what improvements you would like to see in the class.

Fall 2011 Mid-Semester Feedback for Professor Johnson:
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/5PTD8B6

Sincerely,
Dr. Johnson

Thursday, October 27, 2011

Extra Credit BP - Syntax Tasks

Dear students,

For extra credit, you can post an "Extra Credit - Syntax" blog post.  To complete the assignment, please make trees for the following sentences.  You may write them down and then take photos of your work and upload the photos, or you can use "Word Art" in MS Word to create trees, or other drawing software, and then save the documents as images (JPEG or GIF files) which you can then insert into your blog as an image.

Assignment
Please make syntax trees (like SoL Chapter 8) for the following sentences:

1.  She told me that he had heard that we were on vacation in Vermont.
2.  Chris assumed that I had told you that we were going to the beach next weekend.
3.  The family's twin daughters were born on November 3rd, 2008, in New York City at Columbia Presbyterian hospital.

**This extra credit assignment is due by next Thursday, Nov. 3**

Thursday, October 20, 2011

Drop course deadline is Tuesday, Oct. 25

I want to remind you of the course drop deadline coming up next week on Tuesday, Oct. 25.  You must drop a course before that date.

To remind you, the grading in this course is:


Exams & Quizzes: 50%
Blog Posts: 20%
Final Research Paper: 20%
Participation: 10%

Assignments and upcoming Quiz 5 and Exam 2

Dear students,

I have posted the Power Point lecture slides from Chapter 7 (grammar) on Bb and also a document explaining what the extra credit assignment is.  Remember, the extra credit write-ups are due on Monday (Oct. 24).

Don't forget to complete BP#5 if you haven't already, and if you missed Quiz 4, it is also on Bb and you can bring me your answers on Monday for partial credit.

Also don't forget that there will be a Quiz on Ch. 7-8 on Monday and Exam 2 (Chapters 5-8) on Thursday.

-Professor Johnson

Thursday, October 13, 2011

Blog Post #5 - Practicing Etymology and Morphology

For this post, you get to choose the words you will use!  Please choose 5 of your favorite multi-syllable (multi-morpheme) words and do the following:
  1. For each word, look up the etymology.  There are links to many etymology websites below in this blog.  Give the word's origin, original meaning, and any other information about its history and usage.
  2. For each word, discuss the style of word formation used to create it
  3. For each word, break it down into morphemes and explain what each morpheme is.
Example:
word: fantabulous

etymology: this word is a combination of the words "fantastic" and "fabulous," first seen in 1959.  Fantastic comes from the root word fantasy or phantasm, meaning in the mind. Fabulous comes from fabula (fable) meaning imaginary or mythical.

word formation: this word is a BLEND of the two words ("fantastic" and "fabulous")

morphemes: fanta-                    -bul                                   -ous
                   (stem)                   (partial stem)                    (suffix)
                   free/lexical             bound/lexical                    bound/derivational
                  (from fantasy)         (from the end of fable)     (to create an adj. from a noun)

**This is due before class on Thursday, October 20**

Article on how piranhas talk

Those Motherf***ing Piranhas can Talk to Each Other
http://gizmodo.com/5849609/those-motherfcking-piranhas-can-talk-to-each-other

Tuesday, October 11, 2011

HW and Class this week

Dear students,

This week, because we had no classes on Monday, we will only have class on Thursday.  Be prepared for a quiz on Chapters 5 & 6.

Also, be sure to visit your blogs and finish the blog assignments.  Last week, BP #4 was due.  If you haven't completed it, please do so before Thursday's class.

I will also be giving you back your first exam on Thursday, so you can get a gauge for how you are doing in the class.

Sincerely,
Professor Johnson

Article on how babies hear bilingually (NYTimes)

Here is a short, interesting article on how babies learn multiple languages and "hear" bilingually from the New York Times online:

Hearing Bilingual - How Babies Sort Out Language
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/11/health/views/11klass.html?src=tp&smid=fb-share

Monday, October 3, 2011

Blog Post #4 - Web 2.0, Social Networking, and Technology

As we have discussed in class, languages continue to change and new words are continually added, based on culture, technology, and new invention.


Please watch these interesting videos on Web 2.0, social networking, and technology:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ILQrUrEWe8&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3SuNx0UrnEo&feature=related

Questions for you:

  1. How do you think the rise of social networking affects language use? (Give some examples)
  2. Does the spread of the Internet and other technologies create a larger need for English knowledge around the world, or reduce its necessity?


**This BP #4 is due before class on Monday, Oct. 10**

New Words for 2011

Here are some websites with new words that have been added into dictionaries this year:

Merriam Webster:
http://www.merriam-webster.com/info/newwords11.htm

Huffington Post article ("sexting," "retweet," "cyberbully"):
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/08/18/sexting-retweet-cyberbullying-concise-oxford-english-dictionary_n_930347.html

CNN Article ("lol," "omg," "fyi"):
http://articles.cnn.com/2011-03-25/living/oxford.new.words_1_new-words-oxford-english-dictionary-usage?_s=PM:LIVING

Telegraph article on new words in the OUP:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/internet/8343136/Bloggable-and-scareware-added-to-Oxford-Dictionary.html

Saturday, October 1, 2011

Etymology

For more information about the history and background of a word, look up its etymology.  Here are a few sites that allow you to research a word's background:

http://etymonline.com/

http://www.fun-with-words.com/etymology.html

The second site, Fun with Words, also has a lot of other information about words and

Website: A Word A Day

This is the link to a website called A Word A Day, which posts definitions and origins for different words each week day.  Usually, there is a theme for the week.  Reading these words can expand your vocabulary and give you insight into the origins of words (etymology).

http://wordsmith.org/words/today.html

You can also sign up to receive an email from the site each day with the word of the day.

Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Class Schedule & Homework Reminder

Remember that this week is unusual, schedule-wise.  Wednesday has Friday classes and there are no classes on Thursday and Friday, so I won't see you Thursday.  I'll see you again next Monday!


  • Your BP #3 is due on Wednesday.  
  • Then, you need to comment on your Blog Buddies' BP #3s before class next Monday.  

Don't forget: Blog Posts are 20% of your grade!


  • Please also read SoL Chapter 5 before class next Monday.

Thursday, September 22, 2011

Blog Post #3 - Be a Linguistic Detective!


Be a Linguistic Detective!  Solve Two Linguistic "Mysteries"!


1. The Case of the Changing Prefix

We form negative meanings for words in like audible and edible by adding the prefix in- (inaudible and inedible). First, determine the negative versions of the following words:

balance      compatible     complete        decent             glorious     gratitude     legal        literate     mature     perfect       possible          rational           responsible     sane           tolerant       variable

Now, explain why some of the prefixes are different.  What are the phonological processes involved with their pronunciation?


2.  The Case of the Shifting Plural Suffix

The use of the plural -s has three different ways of pronunciation.  
a.  The plural sounds like /s/ for words like bat, book, cough, and ship.  
b.  However, it sounds like /z/ for words like cab, cave, lad, rag, and thing. 
c.  And the plural sounds like /ez/ for words like bus, bush, church, judge, and maze.

First, identify the phoneme that comes just before the plural in each of these words.

Now, can you discover what these sets of sounds (the final phoneme of the word and the phoneme for the type of plural it uses) have in common?

**Your BP#3 is due by Wednesday, Sept. 28**

Monday, September 19, 2011

Short Survey on using Blogs in this Class

Please go to the following site to take a brief survey about using blogs in this class:

https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/Community2-0_StudentPreSurvey_Fall2011

**Please complete this survey before the end of the day this Thursday!**

Thursday, September 15, 2011

Blog Post #2 - How Do You Say Your Name?

You must imagine that you are attending a world conference on languages with people from every part of the world.  Everyone knows the International Phonetic Alphabet (I.P.A.). Since you are also an expert on I.P.A., you can make use of this knowledge.

1 - You will need to create your name tag, with both your regularly spelled name and your name spelled phonetically (transcribed in I.P.A.).

Example:
REBEKAH
/rə be kʌ/


2 - Also, please explain the pronunciation of your name for your fellow linguist colleagues.

For example, I can say, the first syllable of "Rebekah" has the onset of a voiced alveolar liquid with a rhyme of a mid, central unstressed (schwa) vowel, "rÉ™."  The next syllable has a voiced bilabial stop onset with a rhyme of a mid, front vowel, "be." The final syllable has the onset of a voiceless, velar stop with a rhyme of a mid, central vowel, "kÊŒ."


3 - Finally, if you leave the convention, and go out on the street and meet other people who are not I.P.A. experts, they will see your name tag and ask you about it.  Please make a description for the way to pronounce your name for people who don't know linguistics.  Tell them what to do with their vocal cords, teeth, tongue, breath, etc.

For example, I would say  "for my name, you start by raising your tongue toward the palate in the back of the mouth to make an "r" sound and then make an "uh" sound, then put your lips together to make a "b" sound with an "eh" sound, and finally let your tongue hit the palate and push air through the space, making a "k" sound, followed by an "uh" sound. "Ruh-BEH-kuh."

**This is due on Monday, Sept. 19, before class.**

Helpful Websites for IPA Symbols and Transcription

Here are several helpful websites for your use in studying the IPA symbols and production (place and manner of articulation).  Some of them give you the audio links so that you can hear the phoneme pronounced, and others are good for copying the symbols to then paste into your blogs or elsewhere.

The sounds of English and the International Phonetic Alphabet
http://www.antimoon.com/how/pronunc-soundsipa.htm
This site has all the IPA vowels and consonants, along with sample words using the sounds, and you can click on the audio file to hear the words pronounced.

You can also copy the symbols and paste them into your blog post for your upcoming assignment.



IPA Phonetic Chart
http://www.esl-lounge.com/pronunciation/phonetic-chart.shtml
This site has consonant and vowel charts with large, clear symbols that you can easily see.


Basic Phonetic Transcription
http://uwf.edu/tprewitt/sounddescription.htm
This site has several "Sammy" figures with details about the way we use our mouths and throats for sound production.

They are using some other phonetic symbols - so don't worry about them - just use the ones we have in our book.



IPA Charts
http://www.yorku.ca/earmstro/ipa/
There are many phonetic charts on this site, and you can click on the charts, then click on the symbols to hear the pronunciation.


Type IPA phonetic symbols
http://ipa.typeit.org/
On this site, you can use the special keyboard on the site to type special phonetic symbols (and you can combine this with a regular keyboard for the IPA symbols that are the same as regular alphabet letters. You can then copy and paste these symbols into other places, such as blog posts or documents.

Monday, September 12, 2011

HW for Thursday, 9-15

As a reminder, for class on Thursday:

Ch. 3 in SoL
Please read Ch. 3 in SoL and be prepared to take a quiz on it (not open book this time!)  BIG HINT: Read and answer the study questions and discussion questions at the end of the chapter as a way to study for the quiz!

Comment on Peer Blogs
Be sure to read and comment on the BP #1s of your Blog Buddies (2 other people).  Write substantial comments, with interesting commentary or poignant questions!

Bring Index Cards
Please bring index cards (or a small notebook or small pieces of paper) to create phonetic flashcards in class on Thursday.

Blog Buddies Groups

BLOG BUDDIES LIST - ELL101.0973


Group A
Soledad
Esthefany
Eliza

Group B
Shanice
Lorayny
Anita

Group C
Jocelyn
Nicole
Jorge

Group D
Cassandra
Toniann
Leon

Group E
Patrich
Elvin
Emily

Group F
Gabi
Rasheeda
Tsomo

Group G
Krystalyn
Carlos
Therese

Group H
Ali
Joseph
Joel

Thursday, September 8, 2011

Blog Post #1 - Introduction


Please read the article "Does Your Language Shape How You Think?" from the NYTimes by Guy Deutscher.
Does Your Language Shape How You Think?

Please write a language autobiography about yourself by explaining your relationship to language (i.e., What language(s) do you speak, read, write, understand?  Is the language you speak in school the same language you speak at home, at work, with your friends?).

Reflect on how you learned your language(s) at home, in school.  How does language "happen," do you think?  What hypothesis do you have for the way a language is acquired?  Is the way you learn a second (or third, fourth) language the same as the way you learn your first language? What do you wonder about language?

COMMENTING ON PEER BLOGS

Remember, you must comment on your Blog Buddies' BP #1s.  Please write something substantial and not just "hey, thatz kewl." Try to make interesting commentary, observations, or ask pertinent questions.

Post your URLs here

Please post your blog URLs here in a comment so that I can add you to the list of blogs linked to my blog.

Wednesday, September 7, 2011

Welcome to Introduction to Language!

In this course, we will study many aspects of language learning and language usage.  We will study language production and structure, language around the US and around the world, and language and the brain.

This class blog will serve as a hub of a class network of blogs.  You will each create your own blog and publish posts on your thoughts and experiences about language and comment on one another's posts.