ELN101: Introduction to Bilingualism
Last update:
Course information
- Instructor: Tomonori Nagano, Ph.D.
- Contact: https://www.t-nagano.com/mycourses/ELN101/ | tnagano@lagcc.cuny.edu | 718-482-5484 | B-234FF
- Syllabus: syllabus
- Office hours: Wednesday 1:00pm-2:00pm (B-234FF or Zoom; Please make an appointment at https://t-nagano.link/OfficeHours)
- Communication E-mail is preferred, with which you should expect my response within 24 hours. Also, please talk to me after class if you have any question about the class.
- Class schedule:
- ELN101.0365 (01485)
- Wednesday 10:30am-12:45pm (B-229)
- 1 hour asynchronous hour
- ELN101.0366 (03655)
- Monday 1:00pm-3:15pm (B-120)
- 1 hour asynchronous hour
- ELN101.0365 (01485)
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.
- ELN101.0365 (01485) and ELN101.0366 (03655) are a hybrid (in-person + asynchronous online) class.
- 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 Brightspace.
- 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 Brightspace.
- 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.
- Course communication will take place on two platforms on this website and Brightspace.
- Brightspace : Visit https://brightspace.cuny.edu/ or https://www.cuny.edu/Brightspace to access Brightspace.
- The Fall 2026 semester begins on Monday, September 14, 2026 (see the academic calendar for important dates in Spring 2025)
Weekly schedule
Week 01
Class Topic- Course outline, grade policy, syllabus, homework & exams
- Linguistic Diversity in the U.S.
- In-person meetings on Monday (for ELN101.0366) or Wednesday (for ELN101.0365)
- Submit your information on the following forms
- Student information sheet (https://t-nagano.link/myClassSurvey) (QR Code )
- Read (link to the readings is in the welcome e-mail):
- Perlin, R. (2025). The City of 700 Languages. National Geographic, https://www.nationalgeographic.com/culture/article/new-york-city-700-languages
- [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)
- PLC (on Brightspace )
- Do the post-lecture comprehension (PLC) questions on Brightspace.
- PLA (on Brightspace )
- PLA: Linguistic autobiography (see here for a copy of the instructions)
- 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)
Week 02
Class Topic- Linguistic Diversity in New York City
- In-person meetings on Monday (for ELN101.0366) or Wednesday (for ELN101.0365)
- 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.
- RC (in class)
- You will take the RC assessment in class.
- PLC (on Brightspace )
- Do the post-lecture comprehension (PLC) questions on Brightspace.
- PLA (on Brightspace )
- PLA: MTA language access mini-project (see here for a copy of the instructions)
- 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)
- Bonus activity (in class)
Week 03
Class Topic- Different Types of Bilingualism
- In-person meetings on Monday (for ELN101.0366) or Wednesday (for ELN101.0365)
- 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.
- RC (in class)
- You will take the RC assessment in class.
- PLC (on Brightspace )
- Do the post-lecture comprehension (PLC) questions on Brightspace.
- PLA (on Brightspace )
- PLA: Interview with an Urban Bilingual: Develop questionnaire items (see Post-lecture activity (PLA) instructions Week 03 for instructions)
- 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)
- Bonus activity
- Visit LaGuardia's Fall Fest and do this language hunt activity. This is an optional bonus activity. See here for instructions.
Week 04
Class Topic- Introduction to Interview Research and Transcript Analysis
- In-person meetings on Monday (for ELN101.0366) or Wednesday (for ELN101.0365)
- 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.
- RC (in class)
- You will take the RC assessment in class.
- PLC (on Brightspace )
- Do the post-lecture comprehension (PLC) questions on Brightspace.
- PLA (on Brightspace )
- PLA: Preparing for Quiz 1 (see Post-lecture activity (PLA) instructions Week 04 for instructions)
- 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)
Week 05
Class Topic- Views on Language Diversity in the U.S.
- In-person meetings on Monday (for ELN101.0366) or Wednesday (for ELN101.0365)
- Read (link to the readings is in the welcome e-mail):
- Garcia (2009). Ch. 1 Introducing Bilingual Education (pp.3-20)
- RC (in class)
- You will take the RC assessment in class.
- PLC (on Brightspace )
- Do the post-lecture comprehension (PLC) questions on Brightspace.
- PLA (on Brightspace )
- PLA: Doing an interview (see Post-lecture activity (PLA) instructions Week 05 for instructions)
- 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)
- Quiz 1
- Quiz 1 is posted on Brightspace. You can take the quiz anytime before Sunday, April 13, 2025. 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 Brightspace before taking your quiz (https://youtu.be/mzNjPJxkovU).
Week 06
Class Topic- Individual Bilingualism
- In-person meetings on Monday (for ELN101.0366) or Wednesday (for ELN101.0365)
- Read (link to the readings is in the welcome e-mail):
- Garcia (2009). Ch. 3 Bilingualism and Translanguaging (pp.42-72)
- RC (in class)
- You will take the RC assessment in class.
- PLC (on Brightspace )
- Do the post-lecture comprehension (PLC) questions on Brightspace.
- PLA (on Brightspace )
- PLA: Developing an e-Portfolio page for ELN101 (see Post-lecture activity (PLA) instructions Week 06 for instructions)
- Resources for the e-Portfolio page:
- Syllabus: Download the syllabus
- Course description: https://laguardia.catalog.cuny.edu/courses/0754521
- 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)
- Research Paper 1
- The draft of research paper 1 (instructions here ) is due on Sunday, April 27, 2025. 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 Brightspace.