ELN101: Introduction to Bilingualism

The original German translation of Declaration of Independence. In 1776, the Declaration of Independence was distributed in multiple languages, notably to German-speaking Americans in Pennsylvania. Image from the Gettysburg College (https://gettysburg.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p16274coll3/id/153/).

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Course information

Class Modality and Announcements

The class is conducted as a hybrid class (in-person + online asynchronous). Please see the information below for information and policies about the instruction modality.
  1. ELN101.0365 (50344) is a hybrid (in-person + asynchronous online) class.
  2. Each lesson cycle (each week) is in the following structure.
    • Reading: Each lesson has required readings. Links to the reading assignments will be posted on Blackboard.
    • Reading comprehension (RC) questions: You will take the RC questions (multiple choice questions about your reading assignments) during class. The RC is open-book (you can use the reading and your notes), but it is timed (usually 5-10 min). The RC questions are graded.
    • Mini lecture on the reading assignments: This must be watched before the synchronous meeting. Links to the mini lectures will be posted on Blackboard.
    • In-person meeting: During the in-person, we will review the topic(s) of the week and engage in group/individual work.
    • Post-lecture comprehension (PLC) questions: PLC questions will be conducted at the end of the in-person meeting. These questions are graded.
    • Post-lecture activity (PLA): Each topic has a post-lecture activity (PLA), which must be submitted before the deadline. The post-lecture activity is graded.
  3. Course communication will take place on two platforms on this website and Blackboard.

  1. The Fall 2024 semester begins on Thursday, September 5, 2024 (see the academic calendar for important dates in Fall 2024)

Weekly schedule

Class Topic
  • Course outline, grade policy, syllabus, homework & exams
  • Linguistic Diversity in the U.S.
What you should do this week Deadline is on Sunday, September 15, 2024
  1. In-person meetings on Wednesday
  2. Submit your information on the following forms
  3. Read (link to the readings is in the welcome e-mail):
    • Wiley, T. G. (2010). The United States. In J. Fishman (Ed.), Handbook of Language and Ethnic Identity - Disciplinary and Regional Perspectives (Volume 1). (pp. 302-322). Cambridge, UK: Oxford University Press.
    • [optional] Nagano, T. (2015). Demographics of Adult Heritage Language Speakers in the United States: Differences by Region and Language and their Implications. The Modern Language Journal, 99(4), 771-792. (read only p.772 and pp.788-791)
  4. PLC (on BlackBoard )
    • Do the post-lecture comprehension (PLC) questions on Blackboard.
  5. PLA (on BlackBoard )
    • PLA: Linguistic autobiography (see here for a copy of the instructions)
  6. Q&A
    • Ask questions via e-mail, visiting the instructor's office (B-234), or texting the instructor's cellphone (see the welcome message for the number)

Class Topic
  • Linguistic Diversity in New York City
What you should do this week Deadline is on Sunday, September 22, 2024
  1. In-person meetings on Wednesday
  2. Read (link to the readings is in the welcome e-mail):
    • Labo, A. P. & Salvo, J. J. (2013). A Portrait of New York's Immigrant Mélange. In N. Foner (Ed.), One Out of Three: Immigrant New York in the Twenty-First Century. (pp. 35-63). New York, NY: Columbia University Press.
  3. RC (in class)
    • You will take the RC assessment in class.
  4. PLC (on BlackBoard )
    • Do the post-lecture comprehension (PLC) questions on Blackboard.
  5. PLA (on BlackBoard )
    • PLA: MTA language access mini-project (see here for a copy of the instructions)
  6. Q&A
    • Ask questions via e-mail, visiting the instructor's office (B-234), or texting the instructor's cellphone (see the welcome message for the number)
  7. Bonus activity

Class Topic
  • Different Types of Bilingualism
What you should do this week Deadline is on Sunday, September 29, 2024
  1. In-person meetings on Wednesday
  2. Read (link to the readings is in the welcome e-mail):
    • Wei, L. (2007). Dimensions of bilingualism. In L. Wei (Ed.), The Bilingualism Reader. (pp. 3-25). New York, NY: Routledge.
  3. RC (in class)
    • You will take the RC assessment in class.
  4. PLC (on BlackBoard )
    • Do the post-lecture comprehension (PLC) questions on Blackboard.
  5. PLA (on BlackBoard )
  6. Q&A
    • Ask questions via e-mail, visiting the instructor's office (B-234), or texting the instructor's cellphone (see the welcome message for the number)
  7. Bonus activity

No class is scheduled on Wednesday, October 2, 2024 (also, 10/3-10/4 and 10/11-10/14). See LaGuardia's academic calendar at https://www.laguardia.edu/academic-calendar/ for more information.
Class Topic
  • Introduction to Interview Research and Transcript Analysis
What you should do this week Deadline is on Sunday, October 13, 2024
  1. In-person meetings on Wednesday
  2. Read (link to the readings is in the welcome e-mail):
    • Merriam, S. B. & Tisdell, E. J. (2015). Conducting Effective Interviews. In Qualitative Research: A Guide to Design and Implementation. (only pp. 117-130). Hoboken, NJ: Jossey-Bass.
  3. RC (in class)
    • You will take the RC assessment in class.
  4. PLC (on BlackBoard )
    • Do the post-lecture comprehension (PLC) questions on Blackboard.
  5. PLA (on BlackBoard )
  6. Q&A
    • Ask questions via e-mail, visiting the instructor's office (B-234), or texting the instructor's cellphone (see the welcome message for the number)

Class Topic
  • Views on Language Diversity in the U.S.
What you should do this week Deadline is on Sunday, October 20, 2024
  1. In-person meetings on Wednesday
  2. Read (link to the readings is in the welcome e-mail):
    • Garcia (2009). Ch. 1 Introducing Bilingual Education (pp.3-20)
  3. RC (in class)
    • You will take the RC assessment in class.
  4. PLC (on BlackBoard )
    • Do the post-lecture comprehension (PLC) questions on Blackboard.
  5. PLA (on BlackBoard )
  6. Q&A
    • Ask questions via e-mail, visiting the instructor's office (B-234), or texting the instructor's cellphone (see the welcome message for the number)
  7. Quiz 1
    • Quiz 1 is posted on Blackboard. You can take the quiz anytime before Sunday, October 20, 2024. It is a timed quiz (35 min) and you need to complete the entire quiz when you start it. Please watch the mini-lecture on how to take a quiz on Blackboard before taking your quiz (https://youtu.be/mzNjPJxkovU).

Class Topic
  • Individual Bilingualism
What you should do this week Deadline is on Sunday, October 27, 2024
  1. In-person meetings on Wednesday
  2. Read (link to the readings is in the welcome e-mail):
    • Garcia (2009). Ch. 3 Bilingualism and Translanguaging (pp.42-72)
  3. RC (in class)
    • You will take the RC assessment in class.
  4. PLC (on BlackBoard )
    • Do the post-lecture comprehension (PLC) questions on Blackboard.
  5. PLA (on BlackBoard )
  6. Q&A
    • Ask questions via e-mail, visiting the instructor's office (B-234), or texting the instructor's cellphone (see the welcome message for the number)
  7. Research Paper 1
    • The draft of research paper 1 (instructions here ) is due on Sunday, October 27, 2024. This is an optional deadline (only if you want to receive feedback to your paper before the formal deadline on Sunday, April 28, 2024). If you want to share your draft paper, submit it through Blackboard.

Class Topic
  • First Language Acquisition
What you should do this week Deadline is on Sunday, November 3, 2024
  1. In-person meetings on Wednesday
  2. Read (link to the readings is in the welcome e-mail):
    • Lightbown, P. & Spada, N. (2013). Language Learning in Early Childhood. In How Languages are Learned. (pp. 5-34). Cambridge, Mass.: Oxford University Press
  3. RC (in class)
    • You will take the RC assessment in class.
  4. PLC (on BlackBoard )
    • Do the post-lecture comprehension (PLC) questions on Blackboard.
  5. PLA (on BlackBoard )
  6. Q&A
    • Ask questions via e-mail, visiting the instructor's office (B-234), or texting the instructor's cellphone (see the welcome message for the number)
  7. Research Paper 1
    • The research paper 1 (instructions here ) is due on Sunday, November 3, 2024. Submit it through Blackboard.

Class Topic
  • Second Language Acquisition
What you should do this week Deadline is on Sunday, November 10, 2024
  1. In-person meetings on Wednesday
  2. Read (link to the readings is in the welcome e-mail):
    • Lightbown, P. & Spada, N. (2013). Individual Differences in Second Language Learning. In How Languages are Learned. (pp. 75-101). Cambridge, Mass.: Oxford University Press.
  3. RC (in class)
    • You will take the RC assessment in class.
  4. PLC (on BlackBoard )
  5. PLA (on BlackBoard )
  6. Q&A
    • Ask questions via e-mail, visiting the instructor's office (B-234), or texting the instructor's cellphone (see the welcome message for the number)
  7. Quiz 2
    • Quiz 2 is posted on Blackboard. You can take the quiz anytime before Sunday, November 17, 2024. It is a timed quiz (35 min) and you need to complete the entire quiz when you start it.

Class Topic
  • Bilingualism: An Asset or a Liability in the U.S.?
What you should do this week Deadline is on Sunday, November 17, 2024
  1. In-person meetings on Wednesday
  2. Read (link to the readings is in the welcome e-mail):
    • Bialystok, E. (2009). Bilingualism: The good, the bad, and the indifferent. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition, 12(1), 3-11.
  3. Cognitive (inhibition) tasks
  4. RC (in class)
    • You will take the RC assessment in class.
  5. PLC (on BlackBoard )
    • Do the post-lecture comprehension (PLC) questions on Blackboard.
  6. PLA (on BlackBoard )
  7. Q&A
    • Ask questions via e-mail, visiting the instructor's office (B-234), or texting the instructor's cellphone (see the welcome message for the number)
  8. Bonus activity

Class Topic
  • Introduction to Empirical Research (Writing Workshop)
What you should do this week Deadline is on Sunday, November 24, 2024
  1. In-person meetings on Wednesday
  2. Read (link to the readings is in the welcome e-mail):
    • Booth, W. C., Colomb, G. G., & Williams, J. M. (2008). Assembling Reasons and Evidence. In The Craft of Research. (pp. 130-138). Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
  3. RC (in class)
    • You will take the RC assessment in class.
  4. PLC (on BlackBoard )
    • Do the post-lecture comprehension (PLC) questions on Blackboard.
  5. PLA (on BlackBoard )
  6. Q&A
    • Ask questions via e-mail, visiting the instructor's office (B-234), or texting the instructor's cellphone (see the welcome message for the number)
  7. Final Project

We will go to Jackson Heights on Wednesday, November 27, 2024. This is an optional, extra-point activity. We will meet at the Jackson Heights-Roosevelt Avenue/74th Street station (in front of Dankin' Donuts at 74-13 Roosevelt Ave, Jackson Heights 11372) at 10:30am.
Class Topic What you should do this week Deadline is on Sunday, December 1, 2024
  1. Read (link to the readings is in the welcome e-mail):
    • Miyares, I. M. (2004). From Exclusionary Covenant to Ethnic Hyperdiversity in Jackson Heights, Queens. Geographical Review, 94(4), 462-483.
    • Watch this documentary film: Wiseman, F. (2015). In Jackson Heights
  2. RC (in class)
    • No RC this week
  3. PLC (on BlackBoard )
    • No PLC this week
  4. PLA (on BlackBoard )
    • No PLA this week
  5. Q&A
    • Ask questions via e-mail, visiting the instructor's office (B-234), or texting the instructor's cellphone (see the welcome message for the number)
  6. Final project
    • The instructions for the final project has been posted here . The optional draft deadline is Sunday, June 2, 2024.

Resources

Lecture Slides
Post-Lecture Activity (PLA) Instructions
Extra-point Activities
Instructions for Research Papers