Date:  Wed, 16 Apr 1997 15:46:41 -0700
<br>From:  Peter Richardson  prichard[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]LINFIELD.EDU 
<br>Subject: plea for advice
<br>
<br>This coming fall I'll be teaching a freshman writing (English) course for
<br>the first time, and I'd like some advice from all (or some) of you out
<br>there. I'll preface this by saying that I've been teaching for 33 years,
<br>but it has been in modern/medieval languages, and I've never had the joy
<br>of teaching English. Now that our college has adopted a new curriculum
<br>that spreads responsibility for Freshman English among the faculty, this
<br>is about to change.
<br>
<br>Mercifully, we get to choose our topic, and I have declared that I will
<br>teach a course called "Language Matters." (That second word is both verb
<br>and noun.) I intend to touch on many subjects, as you will see from the
<br>following, but I have no idea how to go about choosing a text--or
<br>texts--and opine that I might just have to put together a "reader." Any
<br>suggestions? Thanks very much in advance!
<br>
<br>Peter Richardson
<br>Linfield College / Oregon
<br>
<br>
<br>Language Matters will inquire into the nature of language through its use
<br>in the United States today. It will examine:
<br>
<br>a. history
<br> the influence of other languages on the development of the emerging
<br>American idiom;
<br> the role of dialects as a source of constant renewal for American
<br>English;
<br> the role of folk song and speech in defining our collective sense of
<br>nation.
<br>
<br>b. current issues
<br> Black English;
<br> the presence of minority languages (Puerto Rican Spanish, Cajun French,
<br>Haitian Creole, etc.) within the greater English-speaking population;
<br> language politics, language planning, and the English Only movement;
<br> the political, economic, and social functions of a standard language;
<br> hate speech;
<br> additional topics (jargon, argot, onomastics) as time permits.
<br>
<br>Central to our investigations and discussions will be the premise that
<br>language indeed does matter. Whatever its context may be, it fosters or
<br>hinders human relationships and must be used carefully. Students will
<br>practice writing with different voices (e.g. letter to the editor, tour
<br>brochure, assembly instructions, membership solicitation, broadside) and
<br>playing the roles in class that they have had to assume in their
<br>assignments. A portfolio of the term's written work will determine
<br>two-thirds of the course grade. One-third of the grade will be based on
<br>class participation.
<br>