21.1975, Sum: Online Courses for Introduction to Linguistics

[linguist at LINGUISTLIST.ORG]

LINGUIST List: Vol-21-1975. Mon Apr 26 2010. ISSN: 1068 - 4875.

Subject: 21.1975, Sum: Online Courses for Introduction to Linguistics

Moderators: Anthony Aristar, Eastern Michigan U <aristar at linguistlist.org>
            Helen Aristar-Dry, Eastern Michigan U <hdry at linguistlist.org>
 
Reviews: Monica Macaulay, U of Wisconsin-Madison  
Eric Raimy, U of Wisconsin-Madison  
Joseph Salmons, U of Wisconsin-Madison  
Anja Wanner, U of Wisconsin-Madison  
       <reviews at linguistlist.org> 

Homepage: http://linguistlist.org/

The LINGUIST List is funded by Eastern Michigan University, 
and donations from subscribers and publishers.

Editor for this issue: Danielle St. Jean <danielle at linguistlist.org>
================================================================  

To post to LINGUIST, use our convenient web form at
http://linguistlist.org/LL/posttolinguist.cfm.

===========================Directory==============================  

1)
Date: 25-Apr-2010
From: Tania Ionin < tionin at illinois.edu >
Subject: Online Courses for Introduction to Linguistics
 

	
-------------------------Message 1 ---------------------------------- 
Date: Mon, 26 Apr 2010 09:51:09
From: Tania Ionin [tionin at illinois.edu]
Subject: Online Courses for Introduction to Linguistics

E-mail this message to a friend:
http://linguistlist.org/issues/emailmessage/verification.cfm?iss=21-1975.html&submissionid=2629494&topicid=10&msgnumber=1
  


Query for this summary posted in LINGUIST Issue: 21.1793                                                                                                                                               
 

Thank you to the following linguists who have responded to my query 
with information about online courses:

Jennifer Smith
Michael Vermy
Emily Nava
Kazuko Hiramatsu
Andrew Carnie
Helaine Marshall
Lynne Stallings
Wayne Cowart

Below is the summary of the relevant information, arranged with 
institutions, course names, and links. Not all of these classes are 
offered in the summer, but many are. I am very grateful to everyone 
who has shared information on this; we now have a good list of online 
courses to recommend to our entering students.

Course information:

#1:
Institution: UNC Chapel Hill
Course (from Jennifer Smith): Introduction to Language, administered 
through Continuing Education, but the instructors are from the 
Linguistics Department (typically graduate students with prior in-
classroom teaching experience).  

Textbook: O'Grady et al. "Contemporary Linguistics." 5th edition 
(2005), ISBN 978-0312451363.
  
Content (as described by Jennifer Smith): equivalent to face-to-face 
course LING 101/Intro to Language. It covers basic areas of formal 
linguistics plus some historical, sociolinguistics, and language 
acquisition.

Offered: regularly, each fall, spring, and often even in the summer. It is 
offered for both Summer 2010 and Fall 2010.

Links:
http://fridaycenter.unc.edu/cp/cco/ [Continuing Ed main site]
http://fridaycenter.unc.edu/cp/cco/linguistics.html#ling101

#2:
Institution: UCLA extension
Course: Intro to the Study of Language

Content (from the website): What is known about human language, its 
unique nature, structure, universality, diversity, social and cultural 
setting, and its relation to other aspects of human inquiry and 
knowledge? Instruction covers the structure of human language, 
including articulation and interaction of speech sounds (phonetics and 
phonology), word formation and sources of new words (morphology), 
structure of sentences (syntax), meaning (semantics), and the origin of 
English and related languages (historical linguistics). The course may 
be taken as an introduction to the scientific study of language and also 
provides the necessary background for higher-level linguistics courses.
 
Offered: June 27 - September 18, 2010

Link: https://www.uclaextension.edu/r/Course.aspx?reg=V7542 

#3:
Institution: University of Michigan-Flint 

Course: An online section of English 200/Linguistics 200 (Introduction 
to Linguistics) (also offered online: Linguistics 244 - Structure of 
English).

Content (from website): Introduction to the study of language. Goals 
and methodology of linguistics: phonology, morphology, 
transformational grammar, semantics. Language change and language 
universals. Relationship of language study to other disciplines: 
sociolinguistics, psycholinguistics, language learning, philosophy of 
language, animal languages, computers.
 
Offered: Every fall and winter semester and usually one in the 
spring/summer; offered Summer 2010

Textbook: Finegan, "Language: Its structure and use," 5th edition.  

Link: http://www.umflint.edu/online/onlinecourses.htm 

#4:
Institution: University of Arizona

Course: Intro to Linguistics (Linguistics 201), online section

Content (as described by Andrew Carnie): Our Intro Ling covers all the 
main areas, such as Phonetics, Phonology, Morphology, Syntax, and 
Semantics, along with touching on Psycholinguistics, Sociolinguistics 
(and related stuff) and other interface areas.

Offered (info from Andrew Carnie):
1. May 15 - June 5
2. June 7 - July 8
3. July 12 - August 11
4. Our regular Fall Semester 
One important caveat: right now only the last one is open to people 
outside of the U of A (that is, offered through our "outreach college"). 
However, if we knew that people wanted to register for the summer 
ones we could open up "outreach college" sections for any of the ones 
offered during the summer. But we'd need to know in advance. The 
one downside - non-Arizona residents have to pay out of state tuition, 
which isn't cheap. 

Link: http://www.azun.net/ 

#5: 
Institution: Westchester Graduate Campus, Long Island University 

Course: TED 655 Fundamentals of Linguistics (graduate-level only)

Content (as described by Helaine W. Marshall): This course explores 
the underlying structure of languages as well as the evolution and 
psychology of language. Phonological, morphological, syntactic and 
semantic patterns are examined and discussed. 

Offered: every spring semester

Link: http://www.liu.edu/westchester/forms/spring2010_schedule.pdf


#6:
Institution: Ball State University

Course: Introductory Linguistics through Extended Education, English 
520

Textbooks used in the past (by Lynne Stallings): Meyer: Introducing 
English Linguistics; Denham & Lobeck: Language in the Schools.

Link: 
http://cms.bsu.edu/Academics/CollegesandDepartments/Distance/Academics/Programs/Graduate/Licenses/EngNewLang.aspx

#7: 
Institution: University of Southern Maine

Course: LIN 185J  Language, Mind and Society, online

Course Description: This course approaches language as a biological 
and psychological phenomenon central to an adequate understanding 
of human nature. It deals with linguistic questions concerning the 
grammars of natural languages and how these may vary across 
cultures and across time, but also with questions about how the human 
mind and brain both provide for and constrain linguistic ability. The 
course also addresses questions about how language develops in the 
child, how it deteriorates under the influence of disease and injury, how 
it evolved in the history of the species, and what functions it serves in 
human life. The course does not assume any background in linguistics 
or foreign languages. Course examinations will be proctored on the 
USM Portland campus or at one of the University College sites or 
Centers.   

Content (from Wayne Cowart): We cover all the usual areas for an 
introductory linguistics course, but at a very basic level. We introduce 
foundational concepts with an emphasis on conveying the distinctive 
aspects of a scientific approach to language and also try to display 
some of the more general results of work done in that mode. The 
course addresses all the major sub-areas (syntax, phonology, 
morphology, semantics, etc.) as well as language acquisition, 
processing, neurolinguistics, and the evolution of language. But we do 
not attempt to 'cover' these topics in the manner of some introductory 
textbooks. Rather, we choose a small set of issues to pursue in depth 
within each sub-area and use them as a tool for demonstrating the 
essential features of the linguistic system. We aim for an appreciation 
of the notable features of language in each sub-area, and try to 
disabuse students of common misconceptions. For example, in the 
syntax unit of LIN 185, we focus on a first look at Binding Theory. We 
do not expect that students will remember the details, but rather use 
the material to show how a scientific approach to language uncovers 
the properties of language, and reveals the extraordinary subtlety and 
complexity of ordinary human linguistic competence.

Offered: spring, and possibly fall; not offered Summer 2010

Link: http://usm.maine.edu/online/

Other Resources:
-MIT open courseware: 
http://ocw.mit.edu/OcwWeb/web/home/home/index.htm

http://ocw.mit.edu/OcwWeb/Linguistics-and-Philosophy/index.htm (see 
24.900, Introduction to Linguistics)

Course materials available, but this is not a for-credit course. 

Linguistic Field(s): General Linguistics




-----------------------------------------------------------
LINGUIST List: Vol-21-1975