Abstract 2A

Saturday, July 8 3:00pm

First principles and the first document: Syllabus analysis for introductory linguistics courses

Allison Taylor-Adams ataylora@uoregon.edu
University of Oregon, Eugene, USA

Syllabi for introductory courses are often the first encounter students have with Linguistics as a field. A course syllabus is much more than a list of due dates and assigned readings; it is a document that reflects our priorities for learners and invites them into the discipline. We can use our syllabi to communicate our focus on student-centered learning (O’Brien, 1997), to encourage students’ sense of self-efficacy (Jones & Zhu, 2022), and to explicitly foreground the diversity of voices in our field (Charity Hudley et al., 2020). However, the language used in syllabi are sometimes incongruent with educators’ actual beliefs and teaching philosophies (Richmann et al., 2020). 

This presentation focuses on critical questions that we can be asking ourselves as we develop our own syllabi to introduce students to Linguistics. I will first examine a sample of publicly available syllabi for introductory linguistics courses (n = 20). I apply a Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) approach to investigate key questions, including:

• What subject content is included, and what aspects of the course might be elided?
• How are principles of equity and inclusion introduced and/or foregrounded in this document?
• What language is used that might welcome – or exclude – certain student voices in our learning context?

Following from these findings, I will then demonstrate how to apply critical syllabus analysis by examining my own syllabus for an introductory linguistics course taught to non-majors. I will walk through steps for self-reflection and propose revisions to my syllabus based on this reflection, and I will also ask participants for their observations and suggestions. In this way I will model reflective practice and peer collaboration, while at the same time working to improve my own practice. Session participants are encouraged to bring an example syllabus of their own to follow along with the demonstration.

References

Charity Hudley, A. H., Mallinson, C., & Bucholtz, M. (2020). Toward racial justice in linguistics: Interdisciplinary insights into theorizing race in the discipline and diversifying the profession. Language, 96(4), e200–e235.

Jones, B. D., & Zhu, X. (2022). The Effects of a Syllabus on Students’ Perceptions of the Motivational Climate in a Course. International Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, 16(3), 1–10.

O’Brien, J. G. (1997). The course syllabus: A learning-centered approach. Anker Pub Co.

Richmann, C., Kurinec, C., & Millsap, M. (2020). Syllabus Language, Teaching Style, and Instructor Self-Perception: Toward Congruence. International Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, 14(2), 1–10.