ENGL/LING 200 Introduction to Linguistics

 Next Taught: Fall 2024

Colloquy sessions (aka 'class meetings'): Wednesdays, 11:10am-12:25pm, on campus (13-331) or via Zoom (link in Canvas)
**These meetings are optional--see note below**

This is a HyFlex course; students can choose to come to our Wednesday classes in person, or to log in via Zoom, or to watch the recording at a later time. All of the work for the course will be done on Canvas. You must have reliable and regular access to the internet, and either use the SMCCCD Canvas site or the Canvas app to do your work. You must also check your my.smccd.edu email regularly, or forward it to one that you check regularly. If you need help with this, please go to Cañada's Virtual Campus website for a tutorial.

Note: Class meetings are optional, but strongly recommended. While the course can be taken asynchronously, it is strongly recommended that students join us for the weekly meetings, through Zoom (with the links in our Canvas course shell) or on-campus in Building 13, Room 331. These class meetings will give students a chance to ask questions about the material or about the homework, and overall build a positive working environment. They will be recorded, so if you can't join us, please watch the recordings. You can also send in your questions to be asked in class. If you would like to take the class but cannot make the meetings, that's ok! Just sign up for the online synchronous section of the course, and watch the recordings!

ENGL 200 and LING 200 are the same course, but cross-listed; there is no difference between the two. (This is our only linguistics course, so it has to be housed in a department--the English department was kind enough to take us in!) English majors may want to take the course as ENGL 200, while social science majors may want to take it as LING 200; all other students should sign up for whichever section they wish.

• • ENGL 200: in-person/hybrid or online synchronous

  • LING 200: in-person/hybrid or online synchronous

 Course Outcomes and Topics Covered

The course has a series of modules that cover the following topics:

• Phonetics and Phonology

• Morphology and Word Formation

• Syntax

• Semantics and Pragmatics

• Sociolinguistics

• Historical Linguistics

• Cognitive Linguistics

• Language Acquisition

Upon completion of the course, students should expect to be able to do the following:

• Analyze language data and generalize language rules/description about the way languages work;

• Apply linguistic field methods to the collection and analysis of language data from native speakers; and,

• Examine language universals and their variations by language, social class, gender, age, ethnicity, geographic area, time and idiosyncratic usage.

Course Materials

This course is a Zero Textbook Cost course, as we use an Open Educational Resource (OER). The 'text' is a remix of Essentials of Linguistics by Catherine Anderson (eCampus Ontario/LibreTexts), and will be supported with various articles, videos, and lecture materials. These will be incorporated into the Canvas course shell for the course. That means that you won't pay anything to access your course materials! All materials can be printed off, if needed, but they are designed to work seamlessly on Canvas.

Syllabus

If you're curious about the course, please check out the syllabus below, which was last updated on 10 August 2023. If you have any questions, please email me directly.

Honors Contracts Available

Students in ENGL/LING are eligible to do an honors contract for the course. You do not have to be a Cañada student; the honors contract can be used for any community college's honors program. If interested, you must sign up for this by the second week of class via the Honors Intent Survey on Canvas.

Social Justice Themes

Throughout this course we will discuss aspects of social relevance in a variety of linguistic communities, including but not limited to social norms, political entities, socio-economic realities and social justice and injustice in language policies. You will be asked questions during class discussions when applicable, as well as in various assignment topics; you can include these items in your work throughout the semester. Due to the sensitivity of these topics, it is expected that you will conduct your discussions with respect and an open mind.

What Is a HyFlex Course?

This course will be delivered in a HyFlex modality, which means there will be a combination of synchronous meetings and asynchronous components. Canvas will be the main platform for communication and engagement for all asynchronous components of the course, including grammar practice, discussions, writing assignments, and presentational videos. Additionally, course materials are housed on LibreTexts, and will be provided via Canvas; if you wish to have a print copy of the text, you can either purchase it through LibreTexts or our Bookstore. 

Please remember that completing online work is as important as participating in the synchronous meetings. Thus, you are expected to review the course site regularly in order to check due dates and stay on top of course-related communications. These are some ways in which I will help make our Canvas site easy to navigate:

• There is an initial ‘In the beginning…’ module that has a variety of tools and explanations on how to do assignments;

• All assignments have clear descriptions with links to how-to guides and videos for more information on how to use the tools; and,

• I will have a Pronto ‘group chat’ for the class, where anyone can post questions to the entire class, and folks should help each other out with questions.

How Should I Prepare for This Course?

Because of the online nature of this course, much of the learning is done away from our class meetings—meaning that you have to put in much more time for this course than perhaps for in-person courses. Here are some strong suggestions to ensure your success in this course:

• To the best of your ability, try to work on the class in some way every day, or every-other day, for 1-2 hours per day. This includes reading the textbook, completing the exercises, and working on the other assignments on Canvas. 

• Make sure to come to class prepared. That means that you need to read the required sections of the textbook, do the assignments, and bring your questions to class. We have a limited amount of time together, so we need to make the most of it!

If you feel overwhelmed, please talk to the professor! Don’t just give up—online-only courses are difficult under normal circumstances, AND this is especially true during these difficult times. We have a full array of student services available to you online and over the phone, including tutoring, academic counseling, personal counseling, and much more. Check out the list on the Virtual Campus site for more links to these services.

What Technology Do I Need for This Course? 

All students are expected to have consistent access to a working laptop or desktop computer and good internet connections, along with a working webcam on their laptop/desktop. This is part of preparing for class, and it includes using Canvas, reading material online, and communicating with class colleagues and instructors. Another part is to regularly check your my.smccd.edu email—at least once a day. If you need help learning how to use these tools, please let me know, or let the folks in the Library and/or Learning Center know.

If you do not have a laptop or desktop computer, then please go to our Library's Technology Services page and sign up for the Technology Loan Program. It's free!

This course will be asking students to use many apps and software—some of these may be familiar to you, but others may not be. Canvas will be where you can access these apps, although some may be easier accessed through an app on your smartphone. Please be advised that we will be using the following sites, software, and apps on a regular basis:

•  Adobe Acrobat Reader: The other PDF programs—including Chrome and Preview—are not acceptable.

  • It may also be wise to have a PDF scanner app on your smartphone—such as Adobe Scan, smalPDF or camScanner—so that you can quickly scan paper documents and save them as PDFs. You can find these apps in your app store.

• Panopto: an enhanced video platform that works with the Zoom recordings to make them more dynamic and more accessible. We can also use Panopto to record videos for class assignments.

• Pronto: This instant messaging app is integrated through Canvas, meaning that you can send instant messages, group messages, and even set up video conferences to folks you are connected to through your courses. You can use the link in Canvas, or you can use the app on your smartphone.

• YouTube: used for various videos on grammar; there are links in our Canvas shell.

• Zoom: For those who are attending class meetings online, this is how we will do it. There are links in our Canvas shell.

 Accessibility and Students Who Need Accommodations

To the best of my ability, all course materials and documents are created with accessibility in mind. If there is an issue, please let me know as soon as you can, and I will happily work with you and our Disability Resource Center (DRC) to address your concerns.

Students with accommodations should email their DRC Accommodation Memo to me (harmons@smccd.edu) at their earliest convenience. Once I receive your memo, I will ask to meet with you to walk through any concerns that you may have. Communication is key!

If you do not yet have an accommodation letter, or if you think you may need an accommodation but do not know the next steps, please contact the DRC Office at (650) 306-3259, or go to the DRC website for more information. If you typically take your courses at CSM or Skyline, please make sure you register your information with the Cañada DRC; your accommodations won't automatically transfer over unless you go through the DRC Office first.

 Covid Rules and Expectations 

We are back on campus! However, there are certain precautions that are in place for all who take courses with us. As of December 2021, the following requirements are in place:

• The vaccination requirement has been suspended as of 26 October 2022.

• If you test positive for COVID-19, please stay home--do not come to campus.

• Please email me. I will send the information to Ray Hernández, the SMCCCD COVID-19 Health Officer. We must perform contact tracing by law; your information is protected by HIPPA.

• If you think you have been exposed to COVID-19, please let me know. Again, I will report this to Ray Hernández, as part of our contract tracing duties. You can also get free testing from the District.

More information can be found on the SMCCCD Return Information for Students site. Note that all SMCCCD employees will be following the same guidelines.

Masking Requirement Update 

The Board of Trustees has recently modified the District’s face masking requirement, utilizing the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention COVID Community Level coding system. The updated masking requirements, as outlined below, are effective until further notice, and apply to all students, employees, and visitors, regardless of vaccination status.  To track the San Mateo County’s COVID Community Level, visit the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website. 

At levels where masking is required, the exemption of not wearing a mask while actively eating or drinking still applies. 

Additional CDC Guidance:

• Stay up to date with COVID-19 vaccines 

• Get tested if you have symptoms