Stephen van Vlack
Sookmyung Women`s University
Division of English Language and Literature
English in the Era of Globalization
Fall 2007 - Syllabus
Week 1
• Day 1 - Tuesday, September 4
Introductions; To me, to the course, to the book and the topic at large.
Homework: Get all the materials.
• Day 2 - Thursday, September 6
Do some questionnaires and bonding activities to get the students to get to know each other and acclimatised to the classroom environment.
Homework: Read Trimnell (2003) pp.1-25.
Week 2 - Trimnell (2003) Chapters 1-4
• Day 1 - Tuesday, September 11
Trimnell (2003) Chapters 1 and 2
This class, in going over the first two chapters of Trimnell (2003) we will be discussing the need for a foreign language in the current globalized world and how our society can best prepare us for this eventuality.
• Day 2 - Thursday, September 13
Trimnell (2003) Chapters 3 and 4
In this class we will be taking a careful look at globalization itself and what this means in relation to the spread of English. We will question the idea that English is indeed everywhere and think about who actually speaks English, how they use English, and why they use English.
Homework: Read Trimnell (2003) pp. 26-56.
Week 3 - Trimnell (2003) Chapters 5-8
• Day 1 - Tuesday, September 18
Trimnell (2003) Chapters 5 and 6
This class we will take a look at why some people across the world do learn English. We will review reasons for why second and third languages are learned and how they can be used by the individuals and societies which possess them.
• Day 2 - Thursday, September 20
Trimnell (2003) Chapters 7 and 8
In this class we are going to first take a look at some of the particular business related benefits and then we’re going to briefly go over some off Trimnell`s suggestions for how we actually go about learning a foreign language.
Homework: Read Trimnell (2003) pp. 57-60, 95-102, and 137-154.
Read Kecskes & Papp (2000) pp.1-14.
Week 4 - Trimnell (2003) Chapters 9, 14, 15 and 17 and Kecskes & Papp (2000) Chapter 1
• Day 1 - Tuesday, September 25 (Holiday - class to be rescheduled)
Trimnell (2003) Chapters 9, 14, 15 and 17
In this class we are going to finish our use of Trimnell (2003) by discussing a smattering of different issues, most of which revolve around the idea of how we are actually going to go about not only learning a language but how we want to best market our language skills in the job place.
• Day 2 - Thursday, September 27
Kecskes & Papp (2000) Chapter 1
We start our discussion of more theoretical issues related to multilingual language development by trying to define some basic terms which will be needed to understand the rest of this book. In doing so students will hopefully come to understand that the different languages they learn at some point, or at some level, merge.
Homework: Read Kecskes & Papp (2000) pp. 15-36.
Week 5 - Kecskes & Papp (2000) Chapter 2
• Day 1 - Tuesday, October 2
In this class we will first take a very quick look at the idea that second or subsequent languages actually effect first language development. We will discuss the concept and some although possible repercussions as they relate to English in a globalized world.
• Day 2 - Thursday, October 4
Following what we did in the previous class we will take a closer look at the actual experiment which was reported in this chapter and discuss the results and what they mean for us as learners of English in Korea.
Homework: Read Kecskes & Papp (2000) pp. 37-54.
Week 6 - Kecskes & Papp (2000) Chapter 3
• Day 1 - Tuesday, October 9
In this class we will take a preliminary look at some of the basic issues of cerebral organization as it relates to language systems and particularly multiple language systems.
• Day 2 - Thursday, October 11
We will follow up our initial discussion of cerebral organization by looking at some of the particular models which have been proposed for language and the brain and discuss some of the implications of more recent findings on, particularly, green speakers of English in a globalized world.
Homework: Read Kecskes & Papp (2000) pp. 55-72.
Week 7 - Kecskes & Papp (2000) Chapter 4
• Day 1 - Tuesday, October 16
In this class we finally get down to the nitty-gritty of cognitive development. We will discuss the basic idea of concepts in language; where they come from, how they are built, and how they relate to different languages.
• Day 2 - Thursday, October 18
In this cause we will extend our discussion begun earlier about concepts and will try to review some of the different proposals for concepts in multilinguals. In particular we will discuss the hypothesis of concept sharing which basically boils down to the idea that multilinguals are able to think in different ways than monolinguals. This, of course, is an extremely important idea in a world where more and more people are becoming multilingual due to the effects of globalization.
Homework: Study for the Mid-term Exam.
Week 8
• Day 1 - Tuesday, October 23
Mid-term exam.
• Day 2 - Thursday, October 25
Post midterm discussion!
Homework: Read Kecskes & Papp (2000) pp. 73-86.
Read Sonntag (2003) pp. 1-18.
Week 9 - Kecskes & Papp (2000) Chapter 5 and Sonntag (2003) Chapter 1
• Day 1 - Tuesday, October 30
Kecskes & Papp (2000) Chapter 5
In this class we will engage in a quick discussion of the idea of transfer. The big question is do skills from one of the languages that a learner knows have a positive effect on other languages that they are learning and if this is possible how do we make it happen?
• Day 2 - Thursday, November 1
Sonntag (2003) Chapter 1
In this class we review the opening chapter of Sonntag (2003) by discussing some of them more political issues related to English and globalization. We will discuss some of the causes and effects of this fairly recent trend.
Homework: Read Kecskes & Papp (2000) pp. 87-105.
Read Sonntag (2003) pp. 19-36.
Week 10 - Kecskes & Papp (2000) Chapter 6 and Sonntag (2003) Chapter 2
• Day 1 - Tuesday, November 6
Kecskes & Papp (2000) Chapter 6
In this class we revisit an idea brought up in Trimnell (2003), namely that all of linguistic distance, but from a much more theoretically sound background. We discuss the relation between both linguistic and social/psychological and language learning.
• Day 2 - Thursday, November 8
Sonntag (2003) Chapter 2
In this class we take a serious look at language politics in the United States, both internal and, to a lesser extent, external. Following Sonntag (2003) we endeavor to determine how US language policy, or the relative lack there of, effects not only the image of the US but globalization itself.
Homework: Read Kecskes & Papp (2000) pp. 106-118.
Read Sonntag (2003) pp. 37-58.
Week 11 - Kecskes & Papp (2000) Chapter 7 and Sonntag (2003) Chapter 3
• Day 1 - Tuesday, November 13
Kecskes & Papp (2000) Chapter 7
In this class we go over the last chapter of Kecskes & Papp (2000) by discussing the often neglected issue of pragmatic knowledge. In doing so we are forced to take a serious look at the social environment underlying language learning.
• Day 2 - Thursday, November 15
Sonntag (2003) Chapter 3
In this class we take a look at an example which runs quite contrary to the Korean situation, namely that of France and its strong resistance to the effects of English and linguistic globalization. This should provide an interesting topic for Koreans.
Homework: Read Sonntag (2003) pp. 59-78.
Week 12 - Sonntag (2003) Chapter 4
• Day 1 - Tuesday, November 20
In this class, prior to our more in-depth discussion of Indian language politics, we discussed the very basic concept all of colonial and post-colonial English. Such countries like India fall into what Kachru calls the outer circle and we will review some of these basic ideas.
• Day 2 - Thursday, November 22
In this class we will take a rather quick look at the complex issue of Indian language politics trying to focus on the titular trends and concepts that relate to globalization and developments in the outer circle countries, of which India can be a representative.
Homework: Read Sonntag (2003) pp. 79-112.
Week 13 - Sonntag (2003) Chapter 5
• Day 1 - Tuesday, November 27
In this class we take a preliminary look at language as a weapon. One of the realities of globalization and basic language policy is that not all languages are equal. This is an idea which must be both realized and discussed.
• Day 2 - Thursday, November 29
In this longer class we take a more in-depth look at the individual ways which both the old South Africa and Nepal used language as a weapon to differentiate and control ethnic groups within their territory. This is an extremely important issue in the idea of English and globalization because, whether we want to admit or not, English is often used as a weapon.
Homework: Read Sonntag (2003) pp. 113-126.
Week 14 - Sonntag (2003) Chapter 6
• Day 1 - Tuesday, December 4
In this class we quickly review some of recent ideas which we have gone over from Sonntag (2003) in relation to language politics and globalization.
• Day 2 - Thursday, December 6
In this class we do a final comprehensive review all of all the things that we have learned in the class by tying the ideas from all three books together and drawing some conclusions for the Korean situation in this globalized world.
Homework: Study for the Final Exam.
Week 15
• Day 1 - Tuesday, December 11
Final Exam
• Day 2 - Thursday, December 13
Make up and catch up on anything missed