Assignment: Linguistic Diversity

Assignment: Linguistic Diversity

Assignment: Linguistic Diversity

Many children and adolescents have the ability to speak two or more languages. Sadly, this skill is not always seen as an asset but a drawback. Children in the United States who do not speak English as a first language, for example, may be inappropriately discriminated against. As a result, these children and adolescents may face challenges not faced by monolingual English-speaking students or some of their more English-proficient peers. Permalink:  ‎

To prepare:

· Consider the value of knowing a second or other language.

· Think about possible strategies to counteract those who may perceive second language learners (or non-English speakers in the United States) to be deficient.

· As you review the Learning Resources, think about how diversity of language is as asset.

· Think also about assumptions made about multilingual children/adolescents

Post by Day 3:

Describe at least one advantage and one challenge for child and adolescent development in a multilingual environment. Provide one recommendation to help ameliorate the challenge you identified.

Discussion 2: Socioeconomic Impacts on Language Development 

As discussed in Week 6, socioeconomic status has far-reaching implications on child and adolescent development. Like so many other areas of development, socioeconomic status plays an important role in language development.

To prepare:

· Consider the impact of socioeconomic status and social class on both positive and negative child and adolescent development and language development.

· Think about possible long-term effects of socioeconomic status on language development.

· As you review the Learning Resources, think about how language development may differ between socioeconomic groups.

Post by Day 4:

Explain how socioeconomic factors affect the language development of children and adolescents. Explain how these factors further influence the development of child and adolescent linguistic identities. Finally, explain the potential long-term effects of these factors.

Readings

· Ardasheva, Y., Thomas, R., Tretter, T. R., & Kinny, M. (2012). English language learners and academic achievement: Revisiting the threshold hypothesis language learning. Language Learning: A Journal of Research in Language Studies, 62(3), 769–812.
Retrieved from the Walden Library databases.

· Boyer, V. E., & Martin, K. Y. (2012). Invented rule with English language learners. Clinical Linguistics & Phonetics, 26(7), 613–627.
Retrieved from the Walden Library databases.

· Gorman, B. (2012). Relationships between vocabulary size, working memory, and phonological awareness in Spanish-speaking English language learners. American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, 21(2), 109–123.
Retrieved from the Walden Library databases.

· Leclair, C., Doll, B., Osborn, A., & Jones, K. (2009). English language learners and non-English language learners perceptions of the classroom environment. Psychology in the Schools, 46(6), 568–577.
Retrieved from the Walden Library databases.

· Mise, T. M., & Hupp, J. M. (2012). The influence of socioeconomic status, home environment, and childcare on child language abilities. Current Psychology, 31(2), 144–159.
Retrieved from the Walden Library databases.

· Paquette, K. R., & Rieg, S. A. (2008). Using music to support the literacy development of young English language learners. Early Childhood Education Journal, 36(3), 227–232.
Retrieved from the Walden Library databases. Many children and adolescents have the ability to speak two or more languages. Sadly, this skill is not always seen as an asset but a drawback. Children in the United States who do not speak English as a first language, for example, may be inappropriately discriminated against. As a result, these children and adolescents may face challenges not faced by monolingual English-speaking students or some of their more English-proficient peers.

· Ranney, S (2012). Defining and teaching academic language: Developments in K-12 ESL language and linguistics compass. Language & Linguistics Compass, 6(9), 560–574.
Retrieved from the Walden Library databases.

· Sohr-Preston, S. L., Scaramella, L. V., Martin, M. J., Neppl, T. K., Ontai, L., & Conger, R. (2013). Parental socioeconomic status, communication, and children’s vocabulary development: A third-generation test of the family investment model. Child Development, 84(3), 1046–1062.
Retrieved from the Walden Library databases.

· Souto-Manning, M. (2006). Families learn together: Reconceptualizing linguistic diversity as a resource. Early Childhood Education Journal, 33(6), 443–446.
Retrieved from the Walden Library databases.

· Spencer, S., Clegg, J. & Stackhouse, J. (2012). Language and disadvantage: A comparison of the language abilities of adolescents from two different socioeconomic areas. International Journal of Language & Communication Disorders, 47(3), 274–284.
Retrieved from the Walden Library databases.

Media

· Laureate Education (Producer.) (2014b). Cognitive development and language [Video file]. Baltimore, MD: Author.

Note: The approximate length of this media piece is 5 minutes.

Accessible player  –Downloads– Download Video w/CC Download Audio Download Transcript

ADDITIONAL INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE CLASS

Discussion Questions (DQ)

• Initial responses to the DQ should address all components of the questions asked, include a minimum of one scholarly source, and be at least 250 words.
• Successful responses are substantive (i.e., add something new to the discussion, engage others in the discussion, well-developed idea) and include at least one scholarly source.
• One or two sentence responses, simple statements of agreement or “good post,” and responses that are off-topic will not count as substantive. Substantive responses should be at least 150 words.
• I encourage you to incorporate the readings from the week (as applicable) into your responses.

Weekly Participation

• Your initial responses to the mandatory DQ do not count toward participation and are graded separately.
• In addition to the DQ responses, you must post at least one reply to peers (or me) on three separate days, for a total of three replies.
• Participation posts do not require a scholarly source/citation (unless you cite someone else’s work).
• Part of your weekly participation includes viewing the weekly announcement and attesting to watching it in the comments. These announcements are made to ensure you understand everything that is due during the week. Many children and adolescents have the ability to speak two or more languages. Sadly, this skill is not always seen as an asset but a drawback. Children in the United States who do not speak English as a first language, for example, may be inappropriately discriminated against. As a result, these children and adolescents may face challenges not faced by monolingual English-speaking students or some of their more English-proficient peers.

APA Format and Writing Quality

• Familiarize yourself with APA format and practice using it correctly. It is used for most writing assignments for your degree. Visit the Writing Center in the Student Success Center, under the Resources tab in LoudCloud for APA paper templates, citation examples, tips, etc. Points will be deducted for poor use of APA format or absence of APA format (if required).
• Cite all sources of information! When in doubt, cite the source. Paraphrasing also requires a citation.
• I highly recommend using the APA Publication Manual, 6th edition.

Use of Direct Quotes

• I discourage overutilization of direct quotes in DQs and assignments at the Masters’ level and deduct points accordingly.
• As Masters’ level students, it is important that you be able to critically analyze and interpret information from journal articles and other resources. Simply restating someone else’s words does not demonstrate an understanding of the content or critical analysis of the content.
• It is best to paraphrase content and cite your source.

Assignment: Linguistic Diversity

LopesWrite Policy

• For assignments that need to be submitted to LopesWrite, please be sure you have received your report and Similarity Index (SI) percentage BEFORE you do a “final submit” to me.
• Once you have received your report, please review it. This report will show you grammatical, punctuation, and spelling errors that can easily be fixed. Take the extra few minutes to review instead of getting counted off for these mistakes.
• Review your similarities. Did you forget to cite something? Did you not paraphrase well enough? Is your paper made up of someone else’s thoughts more than your own?
• Visit the Writing Center in the Student Success Center, under the Resources tab in LoudCloud for tips on improving your paper and SI score.

Late Policy

• The university’s policy on late assignments is 10% penalty PER DAY LATE. This also applies to late DQ replies.
• Please communicate with me if you anticipate having to submit an assignment late. I am happy to be flexible, with advance notice. We may be able to work out an extension based on extenuating circumstances.
• If you do not communicate with me before submitting an assignment late, the GCU late policy will be in effect.
• I do not accept assignments that are two or more weeks late unless we have worked out an extension.
• As per policy, no assignments are accepted after the last day of class. Any assignment submitted after midnight on the last day of class will not be accepted for grading.

Communication

• Communication is so very important. There are multiple ways to communicate with me:
  • Questions to Instructor Forum: This is a great place to ask course content or assignment questions. If you have a question, there is a good chance one of your peers does as well. This is a public forum for the class.
  • Individual Forum: This is a private forum to ask me questions or send me messages. This will be checked at least once every 24 hours.