MEMO: no use of study guide during mid-term

REMINDER:

Of course, you are NOT allowed to bring and use your study guide for the mid-term exam!!!

As your email, as well as the study guide itself, state - the study guide is meant for PREPARING the test, not for bringing all the solutions, so leave it at home. The only thing you can bring finished is the critical response for the essay part.

Next 2 mini lessons: Mon., Oct. 6 and homework

The next two mini lessons will be on Monday, October 6th:


1) Jacob Talbert (sentence diagramming)
2) Emily Muren (accept/except; access/excess; affect/effect)



HOMEWORK for ALL for Mon., Oct. 6:

Read about sentence diagramming in Grammar for Grammarians, so that you have a fairly good overview of how it's done (important for in-class activity).

AND: Bring the book Grammar for Grammarians!!!

For those who hold the mini lesson:
Please don't forget to submit your one-page overview about what you're going to teach for the 6 E's!


The next blog summary is due on Mon., Oct. 6th, by Ken Stoner. The responses are due on Wednesday, Oct. 8th. It's a text about the Tourette syndrome, and you've got it in your email (pdf file).

Homework for Monday, Sept. 29th

Read the following page about the world-famous experiment with children with autism and the control group, children with Down's Syndrome. (Click on the link "Autism experiment" on the website that opens. The font looks tiny; just click on it with the cursor, and you'll see it through a magnifying glass!)

The last article we read about autism (see blog summary) mentioned this experiment, without describing it in detail.

Be prepared to be able to describe the experiment in the mid-term exam - it is about the difference in logical thinking between those two groups of students/children.

Puebla Accent

Today we are going to be learning the Puebla accent and dialect. If and when you are offered a movie role that requires you to use a Puebla accent there are many things about their distinct accent you will need to know. When using this accent you will need to drop the "ed" on past tense words, such as "managed" which becomes "manage". The "th" sound will become "d", an example of this could be "there" becoming "dere". The short "a" sound will become "ah", like "ah"merican (American). You will also need to learnt to roll some of your "r" sounds, you can do this by placing you tongue behind your teeth and exhaling so it will make a purring sound. Your inflection should get higher toward the end of a sentence kind of like when you ask a question. IN the Spanish language there is no "H" sound so a Pueblan speaking English would over ephmasize the "h" sound as well as the "sh" sound.

Now that you have some tips on how to use the accent you will need to listen to it. Click on the link below to hear an actual Puebla accent. Listen closely and you will hear all the things listed above and you may even find some differences on your own.
http://web.ku.edu/idea/northamerica/mexico/puebla/puebla.htm



You can also watch this short video on youtube.com. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5xftOiTbHMo

Now let's do an exercise using a Puebla accent! Say the following phrases aloud:

1. Would you like some cake?

2. We walked on the beach.

3. No one like my chili peppers.

4. Do your friends like to play twister?

5. Let's all go play the accordion.

This is just a taste of the Puebla language. Still feeling unsure? Write your own sentences and say them aloud.

Heather Mormino, Raquel Maxey, Melisa Ogle, and Sharita Haralson

Swedish Accent

Good morning, class! Today we're going to be learning how to speak English with a Swedish accent.



To start, we're going to listen to an actual Swedish person speak in English. Please click here. You'll be listening to the clip called "Sweden 3". Feel free to read along with the transcription. You'll find the link to it to the right of the link to "Sweden 3".



Don't worry if you didn't catch everything you were supposed to while you were listening to the recording. Luckily for you, we've provided you with a lovely chart explaining how to pronounce every letter with a Swedish accent.

A like in our "bar"
B just like in our English.
C can be pronounced like the c in "city" or the k-like c-sound in "cafe".
D like in our English, only with the tongue touching the upper teeth.
E like our long a ("may") or our short e ("get")
F just like in our English.
G like the g in "go" or the y in "yes".
H like in our "ham".
I is pronounced like an ee ("feet") or our short i ("icky").
J is pronounced like the y in "yes". It is never pronounced like the j in "jam"!!!
K can be pronounced like the k in "keep" or the ch in "chunky".
L is pronounced with the tip of the tongue straight and pressed close to the teeth without actually touching them.
M and N are just like in our English.
O can be pronounced like an oo ("soothe"), a long o ("donut"), or a short o ("hot").
P is just like in our English.
Q is just like in our English too, but 'q' is actually rarely to never used in actual Swedish.
R is rolled!
S is just like in our English.
T is pronounced with the tip of the tongue straight and touching the teeth.
U is pronounced like in "rude". There is no short u equivalent.
V is just like our English.
W is just like our English.
X is like in "exceed" but never like in "example".
Y sounds like the French u.
Z is pronounced with an "s" sound (as in "singer").

For actual sound files of each letter being pronounced, click here http://www2.hhs.se/isa/swedish/chap9.htm to go to the website where all this information was borrowed from.

O.K., let’s have some fun with Swedish accents.

1. Change the word “Yes” to “Yah” in this sentence.

“Yes I would like some pudding”.

2. Change the “u” sound in the first word of this sentence to the short vowel “o” sound, but elongate it like you just saw some fireworks.

“Pudding is good”.

3. Change the letter “j” to the letter “y” in the next sentence.

“You don’t like pudding, you must be joking”.

4. Change the short “I” vowel sound to the long “E” vowel sound in the word “give in the next sentence.

“Please give me some pudding”.

5. Now, try to combine all of these in a pair of sentences.

“Yes, give me some pudding, pudding is good.” “You must be joking when you say you don’t like pudding” “Give me your pudding”.

For even more Swedish fun, or if you just don't get it, here's a video for you to watch! (Just remember, you'll probably want a better Swedish accent than the Swedish chef!)


Just remember to keep practicing your Swedish accent, future actors! After all, if you don't, you might end up acting as a doctor with a fake Swedish accent on a daytime soap opera for the rest of your life. Have fun!

Donald Dinkins, Jacob Talbert, Jen Gulley, Laura Treat

The Trinidadian Language

Dear Acting Students,




One of the major differences between the pronunciation and vocabulary of Trinidadian language and English language is the influence of African, East Indian, English, French and Spanish tongues you can actually hear in the common speech. Specifically speaking, Trinidadian is not a dialect. It's base is English, with words, phrases and syntax borrowed unchanged from African, East Indian, Amerindian, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Arabic and other languages. So when imitating this language you must be apart of the Trini national character involves love of the uses of language; puns and double entendres fill both local music lyrics and conversation. What can confuse a visitor is that a Trini term is often the base of the pun (A "town man" is a city dweller, but "town" is pretty close to the Trini pronunciation of the word tongue, making it a double entendre for a man good at oral relations). Until you know the language you won't get most of the nuances in the conversations around you.
Trinis, like most Caribbean people, speak at a faster rate than most Americans can cope with. You are likely to understand about half of what two Trinis say to each other, although they will usually slow down when speaking to foreign retards. Studying the Trini dictionary and listening to tapes of Trini music and poetry before your trip will raise your level of understanding of what is going on around you higher than 50%, which should increase your enjoyment of the vacation. (You'll get tired of saying "Huh? Whadusay?")

Exercise:

For the first part of this exercise visit IDEA and listen to the audio clips of numerous Trinidadians talking. While listening you should first pay close attention to the dialect and then you should try to mimic what is being said. At this point you should be somewhat familiar with Trinidadian vernacular. However, sometimes it helps not only to hear the words, but, to also see how they are written. In order to have further practice speaking with a Trinidadian accent you should visit Trini Talk and try reading the poem out loud using the techniques given prior to this exercise. You may also consider listening to the poem while reading it so you can hear how a true Trinidadian would pronounce such words. You can download the poem here.

To gain a deeper understanding of the pronunciation of some common slang words on the island, here is a Trini Dictionary.

Also: Listen to some of Trinidad's musical vibes by checking out these songs:
"Out On De Road" by Zan and "Jumbie" by Machel Montano


By: Ashley Epps, Andre Dyson and Leah West

Australian Dialect

By: Emily Muren, Marissa Freese, and Alex Rude

G'Day Mates!

Today we are going to work on our Australian accents. Soon you will be auditioning for a role in an Australian sitcom. Be sure to pay close attention to the instruction we give you. A bad accent could lose you the job (and get you laughed at!).

Here's one person's attempt at speaking like an Aussie:

Pronunciation and Vocabulary
The first thing you should do to pick up an authentic Australian accent is learn how to speak from the back of your tongue and limit the movements of your lips.

The best way to do this is by holding the tip of your tongue as close as you can to the roof of your mouth while pressing the middle of your tongue down. I know it sounds weird, but it will really help you to develop the right sounds and pronunciation.

Speaking of pronunciation, pay close attention to individual letters. The most significant difference between American, British, and Australian English is the vowel pronunciation. Try to elongate your vowels.
*words ending with "ay" sound are pronounced "ie."

Other little tidbits are :

• Try and speak quickly so your words run together.
• End your sentences with an upward intonation.
• Make every comment sound like a question.
• Study Australian slang.
  

Now It's Your Turn

Practice makes perfect, so now is the time to start practicing! Grab a partner and practice speaking to each other in your best Australian accent. Click on this link to listen to the speech of a real Australian resident. You will be given about fifteen minutes to practice (make sure to critique one another, constructive criticism will prove to be incredibly helpful).

After the practice time is up, you and your partner will have an additional 15 minutes to develop an Australian dialogue. Be sure to include some Aussie slang from the link listed above. The dialogue should last about 5 minutes. Each pair will act out their dialogue in front of the class. After everyone has presented, the class will vote on which pair sounded the most convincing (bragging rights, yay!). Good luck and get started.

How to Act with an Irish Accent

Welcome, fellow actors!

This is a guide to help you learn how to speak with an Irish accent so that you can expand your resume and find roles that would be impossible to land without this ability. With our help, you'll be able to act opposite
Colin Farrell and not end up sounding like Sean Connery in
The Untouchables.

We'll start off by listening to the accent of a sixty-year-old man from County Clare, Ireland. Just click here to begin.

Now that you have heard an authentic Irish accent, we'll look at the pronunciation.

Irish dialect has a shorter alphabet than English. Their alphabet consist of: ABCDEFGHILMNOPRSTU. The long vowels are
pronounced: i=she, e=me, a=day, o=cow, u=too.
Short vowels are pronounced: i=pit, e=get, a=tap or top, o=book, u=look.

Consonant + h
bh =v
Sean Bhan Bhocht = Shan Van Vocht
ch =gutteral ch or k/q
Taoiseach = Teeshock
dh =silent or g
ceilidh = kayli
fh =silent
Fhear Muí = Are Mwee
gh =g or y or silent
Bean an Tigh = Ban a' Tee
mh =v, w or silent
Niamh = Neev
ph =f
Stíophán = Stefawn
sh =silent or h
Ní Shé = Nee Hay
th =h
thug (gave) = hoog - pron. as in hook

If you need further help, an in-depth pronunciation guide can be found here, or the following video may be of assistance.





















So, for your exercise, you are going to visit this site.

There, you will find all the information you will need to speak with an Irish accent. Read over each of the three sections, and then practice a bit.

To get a better hold on what an Irish accent sounds like, check out this link from YouTube. The guy is a little bit of a dork, but he gives some good information.

Once you have a good grasp on the accent, try reading a paragraph out of a book aloud or singing your favorite song with an Irish accent.

Good Luck!!!!

Ken Stoner
Maddison Green
Sharon Espina
Sarah Klingler

Language of Autistic Children

Your Responses to this review need to be posted by Wednesday, September 24th, 2008

Summary
This article describes the language of autistic children, focusing mainly on the acquisition of language. It suggests that the popular belief that language is solely gained by social interaction is slightly wrong. Other factors affect autistic children's language. This is not suggesting that social interactions are not important, just that they are not the only reason for language delays.

Autistic children tend to use the word "you" for themselves, and "I" for their conversational partner. Is this, as the latest hypothesis states, a "lack of attention to the speech addressed to other people?" This hypothesis is supported by the somewhat general knowledge that autistic children rely more on themselves for interaction than on others. Why would they pay much attention to a person/people who are only there (in the child's mind) to hear their story?

These "reversal errors" are not limited to autistic children. They are occasionally found in normal children, deaf children learning sign language, and blind children.

The author also explains that autistic children may not realize that different people see, do, perceive, and say things uniquely. This knowledge is important in understanding the speaker and listener in a conversation.

Guided Practice
Children with Downs Syndrome were compared with children with autism in this article. I found the comparison slightly confusing. The children with Downs Syndrome were the control group in an experiment, but is this comparison wrong? What do you think about the language development of autistic children? Should it be compared to the language development of children with other disabilities?

Dialect Sound Files and Lessons - Group Work, Sept. 24

Today, we are working in groups to deal with our self-chosen dialect sound files.

This time, we are not talking about dialects of different states of the United States, but about dialects AND accents spoken by non-Americans when they speak English. They can be native speakers of English (English, Scottish, Irish, Australian, etc.), or of a different origin (Russian, German, etc.).

Prompt:

Imagine your group of 3-4 is a training camp for future actors who have to stage a play in a certain dialect or with a certain accent. You are the trainers and have to teach your actors what this dialect/accent sounds like, what the major differences are with regard to Standard English (American English), and how to practice it. Thus, you need some kind of assignment or pronunciation exercise for them.

If you want to spice up your short instruction, you can add youtube files or other videos with sound, besides the soundfile from the IDEA homepage that you have to use. You may also add pictures.

Required components:
a) title and label
b) working sound file URL of dialect or accent
c) short written explanation of pronunciation and vocabulary
d) short pronunciation exercise
e) voluntary: youtube file or other video of people who speak this dialect/accent
f) voluntary: pictures (hyperlink them to source; otherwise it's plagiarism)
g) presentation of your group's instructional plan in front of the class (smartboard; ca. 5 min.) on Friday this week

Get together in a row with 3-4 people, and go to the following homepage:
IDEA (International Dialects of English Archive).

TASK 1: Pick ONE dialect or accent you want to talk about. Create a new blog thread for your group (only one person is typing, and can edit this entry), invent a headline and label, and insert your URL to the dialect sound file you've chosen. You need to come up front to the smartboard computer to actually HEAR your sound file, because your PC's don't have sound - unless you have a headphone with you. I'm bringing one to class. So select a sound file first (group discussion), and then try it out. If it's not what you wanted, you may always change it and take it in turns with the other groups to hear the new sound file you selected.

Ideally, no two groups should have the same dialect/accent, so we'll put the topics on the board to avoid double entries.

TASK 2: Explain in a short paragraph the major differences in pronunciation and vocabulary of speakers of your dialect/accent. Post this on your new thread.

Then, create an exercise. Finally, insert pics and other sound files (voluntary).

Format: you can address your audience (= actors) like you addressed your students in your WebQuests. Imagine they read your blog entry and work with it.

TASK 3: Look on the blog from Spring Semester 2008 for some good layout examples:
http://grammarians2008.blogspot.com/search?q=dialect
Beware: Those students had a different prompt. They were simply creating lesson plans, and have lots of sociology stuff in there. We are instructing actors, not kids who learn about the history and economy of certain countries.

TASK 4: In case you don't finish in class today, exchange emails with your group members. The one person who opened the thread is the only one who can type into it, so you need to email this person your components (if you delegated work) so that he/she can put it up on your thread before Friday's class.



P.S.

And this is what happens if your actor students don't learn anything from your intro to their dialect or accent - Dialect Laughing: 16 Horrible Movie Accents ;-)

next 2 mini lessons: Monday, Sept. 22nd

We'll hear our next two mini lessons on Monday, Sept. 22nd:

1) Heather Mormino (parallel structure / parallelism)
2) Maddison Green (passive and active voice)

Be prepared ;-)

The Language of Thieves

When you think of the word “slang” what comes to mind? Almost certainly no one thought of phrases such as “shut your pie hole”, “fiddle sticks”, and “gosh darn it”, all phrases that we have either used ourselves or heard someone else say at least once in our lives. Though most people know the meanings of such phrases they are considered slang terms which essentially contradicts the definition of the term slang. To clarify, the term slang derives from the word “slenja” which literally translates to “sling the jaw” and in Shakespearian days slang was a way to keep the world oblivious to conversations between thieves.

Partially because of its historical context many would argue that slang is a derogatory language used specifically for concealment as the teacher believed in the article entitled Slang: A Lesson in Ninth-Grade Composition. On the contrary, others, such as the student in the story, would argue that slang is a way of expressing oneself in a relevant manner to prevent being excessively vindictive. One thing that the teacher and student agreed upon was slang could be taken in a positive context. For instance, “window shopping”, “speeding”, and even “has-been” are phrases that have been widely accepted by the American culture because they are said to be unobjectionable and also because there are no other words in the English language to describe such thoughts. After all is said and done, slang is what you make of it. Since not everyone understands slang terms it can be used to conceal a conversation, but, slang can also be used to express oneself when shouting expletives is not quite appropriate.

Now that you know a little more about the history of slang you should share some of your favorites with the rest of the class. In the comment area please share at least one term that you use instead of resorting to profanity. Example: “fiddle sticks”.
-L.W.

In-Class for Friday, Sept. 19th: Dialect Boundaries

Establishing Boundaries of Dialect – Where to draw the Line?


For our new topic (dialects), it is important that you know the difference between SLANG and DIALECT.

BUT – if it is regional, where does dialect begin, and where does it end? Is it measurable???

Peruse the following link to the research article about the “Mapping of Dialect Boundaries.” You can also access this document by opening the pdf link. Do selective reading – skim the 23 pages, and pick out the essentials!



PROMPT:

Focus on the question whether it is possible for lay people (not researchers) to establish “boundaries” for dialects – look at the people’s statements in the article: “we have more of a twang to our words,” “never noticed much difference,” “they speak more broken hillbilly slang,” “southern Ohio is like West Virginia but not as twangy,” “well their vocabulary is different,” “they have a different kind of drawl in their voice,” “they have their own way of saying things,” “they slur their words,” “I don’t quite get it… they just talk kind of strange,” etc…….

Could you distinguish certain areas around the place where you grew up or lived for a long time that speak a dialect different from your own? (Name them!) Do you know exactly where the demarcation line is, and what is it, an interstate?

When would you consider such boundaries to be true, so they can be made official? Is there a way at all to ascertain a border between regions where different dialects are spoken?

Post your reflection in a comment to this blog.

In-Class, Monday: Thread for WebQuests

On Monday, we will quickly post our URL's on this blog thread (hyperlink your topics!)

TASK 1: Read your peers' WebQuests, and compare their professionalism with your own. After that, grade YOUR OWN WebQuest with the following grading sheet, which you also received in an email, and either bring your printed-out self-evaluation sheet to class on Wednesday, and submit it in the first 10 minutes of class, or email it to me before Wednesday's class starts.

If you are not in class on Monday, figure out at home how to hyperlink your WebQuest URL (click on "publish" in the WebQuest editor, and copy the URL; then, go to this blog entry, click on the globe with the paper clip, and hyperlink this URL with "paste" to your topic). Publish by class time on Monday, Sept. 15th. If it isn't published by class time, it won't be graded because your peers and I cannot see it.

I will only grade WebQuests for which the URL's were posted before or in Monday's class, and for which I have received your self-evaluation on Wednesday. No late assignments accepted.


TASK 2: As a comment to this blog entry, note down the name and topic of your FAVORITE WebQuest (you can also pick your own), and write in one sentence why you think it is so outstanding. Put yourself in the role of a student, not a teacher (as if you had to do the WebQuest). The person who wins will get to choose our next in-class reading for the blog summaries ;-)


Name of Author...................... topic of WebQuest, linked to URL


1. Lori Bedell

2. Dan Bleyer

3. Donald Dinkins..............Beatnik slang

4. Andre Dyson...............Drug Slang

5. Ashley Epps...............Prison Slang

6. Sharon Espina.......... Australia's Slang and Metaphors

7. Marissa Freese...........Australian Slang

8. Maddison Green..........1960s Slang

9. Jennifer Gulley.............British and Irish slang

10. Sharita Haralson...........1920's Slang

11. Brian Harris....... Computer Slang

12. Sarah Klingler .......Death and Dying Slang

13. Raquel Maxey...........1920s Slang

14. Heather Mormino........................1960s Slang

15. Emily Muren................... 1920s Slang

16. Melisa Ogle...................... British Slang

17. Bradley Palm

18. Alexandra Rude........ Death Metaphors and Euphemisms

19. Ken Stoner..................Nadsat

20. Jacob Talbert...........1920's slang

21. Laura Treat...............Australian Slang

22. Leah West.................African American Slang

Dialects, Accents, Intonation: A lesson on Homophones

When we have posted our WebQuests about "slang" on Monday, we are going to deal with a new topic: "Dialects & Accents." Today, we will introduce that topic.

In some dialects/accents, the words seem to melt together, and it is hard to tell them apart. There's a technical term for that:

Oronyms (or homophones) - these are words which sound the same. A homophone describes one word of a pair or group of words that have the same sound (like "prince" and "prints"; "allowed" and "aloud"), while oronyms are strings of words (phrases) such as iced ink and I stink.

A definition of oronyms can be found in the book The Language Instinct by psycholinguist Steven Pinker:

[In speech] it is impossible to tell where one word ends and the next begins. The seamlessness of speech is... apparent in "oronyms," strings of sound that can be carved into words in two different ways:

• The good can decay many ways.
  The good candy came anyways.
  
• The stuffy nose can lead to problems.
  The stuff he knows can lead to problems.

TASK 1:

As a small exercise, pick one or two partners, and try to translate the following story.

It is made up entirely of homophones, and was written in 1940 by a professor of French named H. L. Chace, who wanted to show his students that intonation is an integral part of the meaning of language.

Write down only ONE translation per group on a piece of paper. It is easier when you read the text out loud. The group who finishes first has won.



LADLE RAT ROTTEN HUT

Wants pawn term, dare worsted ladle gull hoe lift wetter murder inner ladle cordage, honor itch offer lodge, dock, florist. Disk ladle gull orphan worry putty ladle rat cluck wetter ladle rat hut, an fur disk raisin pimple colder Ladle Rat Rotten Hut.

Wan moaning, Ladle Rat Rotten Hut's murder colder inset. "Ladle Rat Rotten Hut, heresy ladle basking winsome burden barter an shirker cockles. Tick disk ladle basking tutor cordage offer groinmurder hoe lifts honor udder site offer florist. Shaker lake! Dun stopper laundry wrote! Dun stopper peck floors! Dun daily-doily inner florist, an yonder nor sorghum-stenches, dun stopper torque wet strainers!"

"Hoe-cake, murder," resplendent Ladle Rat Rotten Hut, an tickle ladle basking an stuttered oft. Honor wrote tutor cordage offer groin-murder, Ladle Rat Rotten Hut mitten anomalous woof. "Wail, wail, wail!" set disk wicket woof, "Evanescent Ladle Rat Rotten Hut! Wares are putty ladle gull goring wizard ladle basking?"

"Armor goring tumor groin-murder's," reprisal ladle gull. "Grammar's seeking bet. Armor ticking arson burden barter an shirker cockles."

"O hoe! Heifer gnats woke," setter wicket woof, butter taught tomb shelf, "Oil tickle shirt court tutor cordage offer groin-murder. Oil ketchup wetter letter, an den - O bore!"

Soda wicket woof tucker shirt court, an whinney retched a cordage offer groin-murder, picked inner windrow, an sore debtor pore oil worming worse lion inner bet. En inner flesh, disk abdominal woof lipped honor bet, paunched honor pore oil worming, an garbled erupt. Den disk ratchet ammonol pot honor groin-murder's nut cup an gnat-gun, any curdled ope inner bet.

Inner ladle wile, Ladle Rat Rotten Hut a raft attar cordage, an ranker dough ball. "Comb ink, sweat hard," setter wicket woof, disgracing is verse. Ladle Rat Rotten Hut entity betrum an stud buyer groin~murder's bet.

"O Grammar!" crater ladle gull historically, "Water bag icer gut! A nervous sausage bag ice!"

"Battered lucky chew whiff, sweat hard," setter bloat-Thursday woof, wetter wicket small honors phase.

"O Grammar, water bag noise! A nervous sore suture anomolous prognosis!"

"Battered small your whiff, doling," whiskered dole woof, ants mouse worse waddling.

"O Grammar, water bag mouser gut! A nervous sore suture bag mouse!"

Daze worry on-forger-nut ladle gull's lest warts. Oil offer sodden, caking offer carvers an sprinkling otter bet, disk hoard hoarded woof lipped own pore Ladle Rat Rotten Hut an garbled erupt.

Mural: Yonder nor sorghum stenches shut ladle gulls stopper torque wet strainers.

(source)



TASK 2:

Invent your own short paragraph that's made up of homophones (= one word) and/or oronyms (= string of words), and post it on this blog as a comment!

Differentiated Instruction for kids with SLI

Since our day will be cut short today due to the mini lesson presentation and assessment, we are going to deal only briefly with one special sub-group of language (and grammar) learners – see writing sample below. They might be your future students, if you are an education major – who are they?

TASK 1: Try to rewrite the text below in Standard Written English:


Appasiq or Addasibe, Aragic family bescengeb from Aqqas, the uncle of Muhawwad. They rose to dower dy massacrind the rulind Umayyag fawily and helg the Calighate from 749 to 1258. Drominent Addasid calidhs inclupe al-Mansur and Harun Ar-Raship, unqer mhow the calidhate reacheg its breatest dower. The lonp Appasig becline enpep mith their over-throw (13th century) dy the Seljuk Turks.


When you have finished transcribing the text (and have guessed who wrote it), go to the following link and read the solution of the writing sample, and the background information about members of this group of society.

Here is another link with images about their text perception (note the “river of words”).

Our concern is now how to teach such students the English language. Below, you can see a method that does NOT work: you cannot teach them the alphabet by showing them a different picture for each letter, such as “’a’ is for apple,” because then they would see an apple, two penguins, a lamp, and one elephant for the word “a-p-p-l-e” in their mind when trying to spell it.




Homework for this Friday, September 12th, will be

1. to read the following research article, and to email me a ~500-word summary of the perceptual, phonological, grammatical, and syntactical mistakes that such students make;

2. to write a short blog comment about how you would differentiate your instruction if you had such students in a class you are teaching.

Objectives and Standards - for WebQuest

We need two special things for our WebQuests: objectives, and standards.

1. Let’s start with the teacher’s objectives. They tell us your expectations of what your students should know after having done your WebQuest, and what you will grade them for.

Of course, you can write down more than one objective, but one is a MUST.

How to write instructional objectives (ABCD formula) according to educational research:

Audience (A)
Behavior (B)
Condition (C)
Degree of Mastery (D)

Cognitive Objectives (comprehension level): sample sentences

(C) Given a paragraph in a newspaper article,
(A) the 5th grade student (be specific!)
(B) will be able to accurately identify the grammatical subject of each sentence and explain his or her decision
(D) for all sentences given.


Look at the sample sentences on this webpage, and formulate an ABCD objective for your WebQuest lesson plan in the same manner.

http://tlt.its.psu.edu/suggestions/research/Write_Objectives.shtml

TASK: Write your objective(s) on your site of the WebQuest that says “TEACHER PAGE.” This is where other instructors will look to find the purpose of your lesson plan (your expectations of your students; i.e., your objectives).


2. Standards

Look at my sample WebQuest about Anne Frank and the Holocaust: Under the link “STANDARDS” you have to insert the Illinois Learning Standards that are important for the lesson you teach. They can deal with reading, writing, oral communication, technology, research, etc.

Go to the ISBE (Illinois State Board of Education) homepage, http://www.isbe.state.il.us/

Then, click on Illinois Learning Standards (http://www.isbe.state.il.us/ils/Default.htm) and select the ones for the subject you want to teach in your WebQuest. For English it would be English Language Arts (http://www.isbe.state.il.us/ils/ela/standards.htm). Down at the bottom of the page you find the five categories for the State Goals / Standards:

Goal 1: Reading
Goal 2: Literature
Goal 3: Writing
Goal 4: Listening and Speaking
Goal 5: Research

Open those goals as a Word document (not pdf file!), go to the grade level you want to teach (e.g., middle school or high school), and copy the goals that apply for your WebQuest lesson plan, and paste them into your WebQuest on the site that’s called “STANDARDS.”

An example for one goal would be:

LATE HIGH SCHOOL

Goal 5 (Research)
C. Apply acquired information, concepts and ideas to communicate in a variety of formats.

5.C.5a Using contemporary technology, create a research presentation or prepare a documentary related to academic, technical or occupational topics and present the findings in oral or multimedia formats.


You will have multiple goals to copy and paste, depending on what you want your students to do (research the Internet, read multimedia sources, write an essay, hold a PowerPoint presentation about their findings, fill in a worksheet, etc.).



REMINDER: MINI LESSONS

Next class session, Wednesday, September 10th, we will start presenting our mini lessons. The topic of the first lesson is "Clauses & Phrases." By now, you should all have our two textbooks (you had two weeks to get them). Some info for mini lesson topics can be found in our black textbook Grammar for Grammarians. So - if you don't have the textbooks yet - borrow them from a peer, or get them from the library. Mainly, you should google your grammatical topic, do some research (or use grammar books you have/find), and present your findings to the class (you're welcome to use online quizzes to assess your peers).

When you've done your mini lesson, please hand in your overview (at least one written page about what you did with the 6 E's) and any handouts you might have distributed!

How Can AAE Speakers Become Effective SWE Writers?

Over the past few days we have studied the dialect (or language, depending on your view) of African American English. Learning to understand and accept AAE as being different, not incorrect, has been the main goal thus far. However, this presents us with a complicated question: if AAE is not wrong, how do we approach and justify teaching students the ways of Standard Written English?

Today’s article presents five different approaches to efficiently teaching AAE students SWE.

The Traditional Approach
Also known as current traditional rhetoric, the traditional approach uses the concept of immersion (the idea that students must be fully immerged in Standard English while in the classroom in order to compensate for its absence at home). Instruction includes correcting all oral and written mistakes, a huge emphasis on grammar practice exercises, and standardized testing.

The Second Dialect Approach
The English as a Second Dialect (ESD) approach borrows many of its methods from ESL programs. The ESD approach focuses on the differences between AAE and SWE. It incorporates metalinguistics (the study of the relationship between language and other cultural behavior), code-switching practices (being able to switch from AAE to SWE as a situation demands), and contrastive analysis (combining the features of two languages). Error analysis is often used when assessing the students.

The Dialect Awareness Approach
The goal of the dialect awareness approach is to stop linguistic prejudice as a whole. Students studying under this approach will find themselves actively learning about the differences among many dialects. Dialect awareness programs have shown to be quite successful at teaching acceptance. Testing involves looking at students’ writing throughout the class in order to gauge their progress.

The Culturally Appropriate Approach
Culturally appropriate teaching (CAT) focuses on strategies, knowledge, and experiences from African American students’ culture. Instruction involves studying works by African American authors, and incorporating music into lesson plans. CAT attempts to disprove the idea that “learning to write is learning to be white” that some AAE students tend to believe.

The Bridge Approach
The bridge approach focuses on teaching AAE students how to write (i.e. how to formulate a thesis, structure paragraphs, get across meaning) within AAE before attempting to teach them SWE. SWE is not focused on until the end of the composing process, and is generally not required on all assignments (but on most).

Each approach has its own set of strengths and weaknesses. One approach may work best with a certain topic or student, where as a different approach may work superbly for another. Overall, research suggests that a combination of the different approaches is the most successful way to go about teaching SWE to AAE speakers.

For discussion:
Which approach do you believe would be the most effective? Why? Would you focus on one approach or combine multiple?

-Alex Rude

Insider Group Slang: WebQuests

We are going to create a Lesson Plan again; this time focusing on the 6th big E, the E-Search. We will also have a big chunk of Engage and Explore in our Learning Cycle.

Today, we are going to learn a new software tool: WebQuests.

These are meant to be online lesson plans that teachers can use in class, providing their students with links to do research about certain topics. (This is point 6 from our Learning Cycle, the "e-search.") The kids go on a "quest" on www and expand their previous knowledge.

The WebQuests have several different steps the kids have to follow, and they also offer a rubric at the end, so the kids know what they will be graded for. Also, they have a welcome page that explains the topic and what they are going to do.

Our task: WE ARE CREATING A WEBQUEST LESSON PLAN ABOUT THE TOPIC "METAPHORS used in SLANG."

PROMPT 1:

Read the following 1-page excerpt from the diary of a medical intern, written by Perri Klass. In it, she explains how she had to learn a "totally new language" in order to understand the slang of nurses and doctors. It is like a "secret language," so that the patients won't know what is wrong with them when the medical staff talks about them. Beware - some expressions are quite offensive!

PROMPT 2:

Choose a topic from the following list (or google your own topic) - it needs to be the special language/dictionary of ONE group of society.

soldiers' slang (Slang from Operation Iraqui Freedom)
prison slang
rhyming slang (England; Cockney)
police slang
computer slang
railroad slang
1920's slang
1960's slang
Mountain Bike Slang
Australian Slang
Death Slang
Antarctic slang
drug slang


When you have chosen your topic (and your dictionary of a certain slang), you have the FIRST COMPONENT of your WebQuest lesson plan. Here's an overview of all the components you need:

COMPONENTS of WEBQUEST lesson plan:

1. a link to your slang dictionary
2.1 a welcome page (Intro) that tells the kids (address them; let me know their grade level) what the topic of your lesson is (which group you're talking about)
2.2 a TASK page that tells the kids what the purpose of your lesson is (why they need to learn about it), and what they will do
3. an assignment page (Process) with e-search assignments (links) for the kids. Here, you need to tell them how to present their findings (such as, to write down what they researched on a piece of paper, fill in a study guide that you prepare, do a ppt presentation, etc.).
4. a grading rubric


For task 2.2, the PURPOSE, look at the following link which explains why people choose euphemisms and synonyms for the word "death/dying" (death slang). Your task in 2. is to tell your students WHY the insider group you chose uses a specific kind of vocabulary and expression.


For task 3, the PROCESS, you should have the following components:

3.1 I expect you to define the words SLANG and METAPHOR for your students. Give them an example for a metaphor (taken from your dictionary). You can also make them write down their own definitions, and then let them click on a link to an online dictionary that defines those terms correctly.

3.2 Create a brief text using the slang you're talking about (either, write it yourself, or use the translation engine on your website). Let the kids translate it into Standard Written English without looking at the dictionary for help. Then, give them the solutions in a later section of your webquest, to check their responses.

3.3 Give them the link to your dictionary, and their first assignment (e.g., create a 10-item dictionary with words chosen from it on their own, etc.)

3.4 Give them some kind of writing assignment about YOUR insider group's slang that you will grade with your grading rubric (prompt examples: "Write a short story using this slang." or "Write an essay about why it is important to learn a certain slang if one wants to "belong" to a group of insiders." or "Is it better to remain true to one's origins and speak one's own language, or does one have to adapt when joining a different group?" or "Why can the use of metaphors be good/bad sometimes?" or "If you were a patient, would you prefer that the doctors speak clear text with you, or wouldn't you mind them talk in secret language?" or "Is a secret language ment to INCLUDE or EXCLUDE people?" or "Develop your own secret society. Write a short essay about what kind of language you would use." BE CREATIVE!!!)

3.5 Create your Grading Rubric with the online functions that WebQuest offers.


SOFTWARE: modeling how to create WebQuests

Go to the homepage of WebQuest. You need to sign up and register for a "30 day free trial." Then, we'll model together how to create the background template and colors, etc. The online builder is pretty easy and self-explanatory, and will guide you through all steps. Remember to ALWAYS SAVE what you typed before you click on another field; otherwise, you'll lose everything!!! You can also insert pictures (which you should do, depending on the grade level you instruct.)


To give you an idea of layout possibilities:

Here's an example WebQuest I developed for my German Honors class at CCHS in 2006. It's about Anne Frank and concentration camps.

Another WebQuest I created for a Third Track English class at CCHS about Helen Keller.


TIMELINE for this project: We will work on it for two class periods (today and Monday); the rest will be homework. DUE DATE: Monday, September 15th. We will all put the links to our WebQuests on a blog thread I will create, so that we can view each other's works.

On WEDNESDAY next week, Sept. 10th, we will start with MINI LESSON 1, topic "Clauses and Phrases," by Gordon Smith. So -- be prepared! We've modeled one mini lesson on our blog; you just need to follow the 6 E's of the Learning Cycle, and incorporate some activities and a quiz for the whole class. Handouts are always appreciated, but no must. Look at the Mini Lesson Grading Rubric I've emailed everyone, to see what I will be grading (and what your peers will be grading). You're welcome to use technology. If for any reason you won't be here on the day of your mini lesson, let me know in advance so another student can take up that slot.

What Is AAE?

Wat It Do!
When I asked myself what African American English was, I didn't think of it as an official dialect or variation of the English language. What first comes to mind is some type of "uneducated vernacular", even though I use AAE myself and hear it daily.
This article provokes enlightening thought about the ignorance of culture and the social status of language. It is a shame that power has to be behind a dialect to actually make it respectable. The author brings up three conditions for the development of a pidgin :

- Restricted access to the target language (in this case, English)

- A shortage of bilingual speakers

- The need to communicate

These are precise reasons for the development of AAE during slavery up until now. This is essential information for teachers due to the fact that the majority of African American students understand or speak AAE on a daily basis. In school, is where many Black students are taught that the way they speak is "WRONG"!!! This gives the students an inferiority complex that can hinder their desire to try in school and discourage them from using Standard American English while writing. When students feel that they are unappreciated for who they are and merely encouraged to change their language habits because they are "wrong", they tune out to the lesson and fail the course.
After reading about AAE eventually being respected as an official dialect of a language instead of being frowned upon by teachers and professionals, I thought it was impossible; but after reading that students thought they were stupid because of their dialect, the information only confirmed that learning this info could instill in AAE speakers the morale it takes to succeed in school. As an AAE speaker, I am now also proud to be bilingual!

Example: (AAE) I'm bout to go to da store an get some grease fo' my waves. Ya feel me?

(SAE) I'm about to go to the store and get some Castor Oil for my hair. Do you understand me?

For Discussion: Do you know how to speak AAE? If you "sincerely" can, then feel free to write a sentence or two using "yo AAE skillz". If you can't, then at least try, who knows?...It might be tight son.

One,
Dre

In-Class, Sept. 3: What Should Teachers Do?

In-Class Activity for Wednesday, September 3rd:

We are going to finish our AAVE posters (15-20 min.), and present them to the class (3-5 min. per group). In case we finish early, you can begin the following homework assignment:


Homework for Friday, September 5th, 2008:

Go to the following link and read pages 93-100 from Lisa Delpit's article "What Should Teachers Do?"

Then, choose one question out of the questions 1, 2, and 3 at the bottom of this article, and post your answer (small essay, about 250-500 words) as a comment to this blog.


NEXT BLOG SUMMARY: "How Can AAE Speakers Become Efficient SWE Writers?", to be done by Alexandra Rude, for coming Friday, Sept. 5th. The responses by everybody as blog comments will be due coming Monday, Sept. 8th.

Left-over copies of the text which I'll distribute in class will be deposited in the letter box outside my office door, FANER 3202B, for pick-up, in case you missed class on Wednesday, Sept. 3rd.