122253 AR Linguistics Course (Advanced 1-5) - Appl. & TEFL / Hist. & Descr. (2016S)

Course content:
This course explores the nature of intercultural communication from the perspective of interactional sociolinguistics, an approach to discourse analysis that focuses on how meaning is constructed and interpreted in concrete instances of conversational interaction. We take a broad view of “culture”, which encompasses demographic factors such as nationality, native language, geographic region, ethnicity, age, socioeconomic class, and gender. We examine the relationship between language and culture by investigating discrete aspects of language use, including turn-taking conventions, the performance of speech acts, the framing of humor and opposition, narrative structure and purpose, patterns and meanings of silence, and the verbal expression of emotion. The course also provides students with a solid grounding in major theories within sociocultural linguistics, such as framing and politeness theory. In addition to considering language use in everyday conversation, we also critically examine communication in institutional contexts, including education, business, law, and medicine. Throughout the course, students are encouraged to connect findings from research to their own professional and research interests, which are articulated in statements of purpose during the first week of the course and are developed in final research papers.

Methods:
Small-group and full-class discussions based on readings and tasks, written reading responses, discourse analysis paper, final research paper and oral presentation

Goals:
Students
• become familiar with major approaches to the study of intercultural communication within the field of sociolinguistics
• gain awareness of the subtleties of language usage that vary across cultures
• read and discuss current and classic research in the field of interactional sociolinguistics
• develop their critical thinking and analytic skills through hands-on activities analyzing conversational interaction
• practice their oral communication and academic presentation skills
• gain insight on how to ameliorate communication in cross-cultural encounters in various institutional contexts, including education, business, and translation and interpreting work
• explore intercultural communication issues in depth through independent research