Undergraduate Courses

Undergraduate courses

LING-1000 (formerly LING-001) INTRODUCTION TO LANGUAGE (Coordinator of this multi-section gateway course for more than a decade, now coordinated by Professor Portner)

This course is designed to provide students with a general introduction to the scientific study of language. Our main goals include familiarizing you with linguistic terminology, teaching both the methods of linguistic analysis and how to apply them (to English and to other languages, including languages that you might know, and languages that you don’t know). We also discuss theories and research on how both first and other languages are learned by children and adults, and encourage students to think about the social implications of language use.

In the first part of the course students will learn about the physical and mental aspects of sounds, or speech production. We then discuss how knowledge about the sound patterns of language can be applied in context, by learning about accents, dialects, and other types of patterned variation in language. This can involve topics as varied as how English is spoken on the East and West coasts of the U.S., or in Britain vs. America, how ethnicity shapes and is shaped by language variation, gender-based patterns of variation, and stylistic variation, for example, what President Obama’s different speech styles reveals about the way he wants to be seen by different social groups.

After this discussion of sounds, we move on to an examination of the linguistic structure of words and sentences, building towards the ability to extract regularities from linguistic data in unfamiliar languages. We discuss how this can be applied by learning about how language is acquired and processed by children and adults. This can involve topics like age and individual differences in cognition, for example, in working memory, as well as the study of how sentences might be processed in the brain.

In the last part of the course we focus on understanding the ways people use and interpret language in different contexts. With understanding “meaning” as a foundation, we move on to exploring a variety of issues in language and culture, including language and humor and social rules of politeness.

If you are majoring or minoring in linguistics, this course will provide you with the background you need to succeed in other linguistics courses. If you are studying a foreign language, this course will provide you with additional tools to facilitate the learning process. Linguistics, which is the scientific study of language, interfaces with a wide variety of other fields (e.g., anthropology, sociology, psychology, cognitive neuroscience, computer science, philosophy, politics and the law, and public policy), so you should be able to make exciting connections whatever your background and interests. This course also fulfills the social science requirement for undergraduates. 

LING-2050 (formerly LING-251) HOW LANGS ARE LEARNED (Alternating with Dr. Malone, Professor Bryfonski, Dr. Montee, and Professor Ortega)

This course will introduce students to central questions, theories, debates, and research findings in the areas of first, second, and bilingual language acquisition. For example:

In this course, students will analyze, critically evaluate, and integrate classic and current work in these areas, as well as consider how theories and findings can inform current educational policies and practices. The class will be interactive, with a combination of lectures, hands-on group activities, and instructor- and student-led discussions of primary sources which will deepen understanding of the literature and develop the ability to be a critical consumer of research.

Students who choose to enroll in the optional 4th Credit Option for Social Action have the unique opportunity to apply and enhance their understanding of the course content and gain practical experience by working in a community based organization serving disadvantaged or underserved individuals in the DC area (for example, by tutoring ESL students with the DC Schools Project).

LING-2222 (formerly LING-222) CULTURE, COMMUNICATION AND STUDY ABROAD (alternating with Professor Bryfonski and Dr. Malone) 

 This course is aimed at deepening understanding of the connections between foreign languages and cultures.

LING-3930 (formerly LING-202) RESEARCH-BASED UNDERGRADUATE LINGUISTICS EXPERIENCE (alternating with Dr. Fond) 

Through hands-on research experience and class discussions and reflections, this course introduces students to how linguistic research is conducted. Students gain experience carrying out linguistic research as part of a research team (along with their linguistics graduate student mentor). Examples of research assignments may involve tasks such as data collection, data transcription, data coding and annotation, data analysis, inter-rater reliability, data digitization, statistical analysis, theoretical analysis, and occasionally, literature searches and reviews. Additionally, students are encouraged to think critically about the research process, including developing a research question, designing a study or experiment, considering ethical issues in research, systematically working with data, and analyzing the results and their implications. The overall goal of this course is for students to become more familiar with the scholarly research process, gaining important practical skills necessary to carry out their own independent research projects in the future.

The experiences of each student in the course will differ based on the research project that they sign up to do at the beginning of the course. Students will have a choice of projects based on their interests. Class meetings will provide opportunities to discuss challenges and opportunities in the research process and working on a research team.