CLD 508 - Bilingualism

3 Credit(s)

This course is a study of what it means to be a bilingual child or adult. It explores both the minds role in bilingualism and in language acquisition as well as societal considerations. It surveys educational systems response to language variance among students and explores the social, academic and language learning consequences of growing up bilingual. Content seeks to familiarize students with various aspects of bilingual education and language contact from a social-psychological perspective. It aims at providing for analysis and evaluation of current theory and research on bilingualism, as well as for examination of pertinent pedagogical implications/applications.First, we are interested in both social and individual factors related to bilingualism. That is, how and why bilingualism originates both as an individual and a societal phenomenon, and the social-psychological consequences of the same. Accordingly, we will consider topics such as: language attitudes, language and nation, bilingualism and inter-group relations, speech style and social evaluation.Second, we will also consider some important aspects of language contact such as: linguistic borrowing; code switching; language maintenance and language shift; English as a language of wider communication; language and context; diglossia; conversational interactions; language policy; language and culture.Third, we will also examine some significant aspects of the psychology of bilingualism. Specific topics to be covered are: cognitive and sociocultural consequences of bilingualism; neurolinguistic aspects of language acquisition and bilingualism; theoretical and research issues of bilingual education; performance of bilingual children on standardized tests; alternative approaches to testing and assessment of bilinguals; the teaching of English to non-native English speakers in the State of Colorado.