Assignment 1

Learning to Speak Linguistics

Submit the assignment by 11:59 PM PT Sunday of Module 1.

Like many other academic disciplines, linguistics has a set of terms with very specific meanings that one needs to understand in context to learn about the content of what linguists study. To assess the degree to which you already know how to “speak linguistics,” you will complete a cloze activity to assess your linguistics vocabulary.

A cloze activity consists of a text with certain words deleted based on specific criteria. Sometimes the criteria involve deleting every fifth or eighth or tenth word or certain parts of speech. If the reader can correctly supply the missing words, then the text is at a reading level that is “comprehensible” for that reader.

This particular exercise is a “cued” cloze because you are provided with a list of possible words to use in filling the blanks. However, not all of the words in the list will be used, and some will be used more than once; thus, the exercise cannot be completed by filling blanks for which one knows the best response and using a process of elimination for the others.

The lectures and webliography will not give you specific answers for the cloze activity. Unless you have had a general linguistics course or a phonetics course, you should expect to find the cloze activity challenging. It is intended as a “wake-up call” to let you know that the technical terms for this field of study require more attention than what is required in many education courses. However, if you pay close attention to the CLUES that appear just before the cloze and use the context clues within the activity as well, you may surprise yourself by getting more answers right than you expected!

After viewing the presentations and reading resources, complete the Learning to Speak Linguistics Cloze Activity. After you have attempted to correctly fill in the blanks in this activity, you will use a variety of resources to enrich your knowledge of linguistics terminology that ESL and bilingual teachers need to know to consult and understand research information. You will not be graded on whether you have filled in the correct answers. You will be graded on your analysis of the activity. NOTE: You may access the answer key from the assignment page, but don’t peek until you fill in all the blanks in the cloze activity.

Even though you will not be graded on how many answers you get right in the cloze, you should still make a serious effort to figure out as many answers as possible. You will need to approach your study of linguistics expecting a challenge, but also expecting that thoughtful effort will bring you understanding more quickly than trying to find answers to memorize. The questions where you will need an understanding of linguistics terminology will use the terms in the context of solving problems and meeting the needs of specific students described in scenarios, so trying to match terms and definitions or memorize definitions out of context will not give you the best results.

In most cases you will need to understand these terms in context in a multiple-choice or essay examination that involves solving some instructional issue and the correct solution will rest partially on knowing the correct words to use to describe the problem in technical terms.

Your grade for this performance objective will be based on how effectively you assess your own current knowledge and demonstrate the ability to develop an appropriate approach for increasing your knowledge and understanding to give you access to the useful information linguistics can provide.

Directions:

1. Create a Word or text document for your response. Use 12-point Arial or Times New Roman font. Double-space the body of the paper.
2. Create a title page for your paper in APA format.
3. Compose an introduction for the activity which fulfills the following:
   In order to situate your point of view and assist your professor in understanding your perspective, for this course in particular, your introduction to each assignment should mention the following:
   • the setting and location where you currently work and/or live (if not currently teaching);
   • previous contexts where you have taught English, ESL, or EFL, and
   • your personal life experiences with learning different languages and living in different cultural and social settings.
4. Part 1: Learning to Speak Linguistics Cloze Activity
   • Number your Word document 1-20.
   • Read the Learning to Speak Linguistics Cloze Activity.
   • Use the words in the Word Bank to complete the cloze activity.
   • Use the answer key linked on the assignment page to self-score the Learning to Speak Linguistics Cloze Activity.
5. Part 2: Cloze Activity Analysis
   • Use the questions to analyze the results of your Learning to Speak Linguistics Cloze Activity.

Follow the directions to submit your final Word or text document.Do not include the cloze passage in your assignment document. Only include the Activity Analysis. This is a personal analysis and no citations/references are required in this assignment. However, you should follow APA document format by indenting paragraphs and double-spacing your narrative response.