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On Becoming A Doctor: The Discourse and Language of Medicine  (APLNG 083--Freshman Honors Seminar; Fall 2009)

The practice of medicine is its own culture and involves its own language.  Becoming a doctor—going to medical school—includes learning particular ways of speaking (e.g. describing the body, taking a history, communicating a diagnosis, presenting a case) and writing (e.g. charting, prescribing, reporting to insurers).  In essence, medical vocabulary and medical discourse mediate a unique cultural world with its own logic and semiotics.  Finally, as both patients’ and doctors’ stories become increasingly reflexive, certain narrative forms are intriguingly transformed: the patient’s presenting problem and course of treatment become the published illness narrative, stories from medical school become the book-length description of professional rites of passage, and the clinician’s daily experiences become the confessional tale.  This course considers how medical school initiates medical students into a new ‘linguacultural’ world, how the language of biomedicine shapes the disease experience and treatment, and how autobiographical accounts about medical school and clinical practice open a window onto who doctors are and what they hope to offer the world.

Language and Lifespan Development (APLNG 512; Fall 2009)

In this course we will examine the psychology of the language learner from a developmental perspective.   Specifically, we will examine the psychosocial and cognitive factors that influence second language acquisition from late adolescence through adulthood.   Such factors include learner aptitude, motivation, personality, cognitive and emotional maturation, learning styles, identity development, cultural beliefs, etc.  The focus is on language learners across the lifespan in both formal settings (such as language classrooms) and informal settings (associated with sojourning and immigration).   We will also consider the mechanisms and circumstances of first- and second- language attrition in both younger and older multilinguals.

Applied Linguistics and Health Sciences (APLNG 511; Spring 2007; Fall 2008) 

This course is designed for graduate students with interests in health science research who work with participants and patients who speak languages other than English or have limited English proficiency. The course considers the following issues: (a) the translation and cultural adaptation of data collection instruments (questionnaires, scales, tests, etc), (b) models and practices of bilingual translation in medical and research interviews, (c) the analysis of narrative and self-report data from health settings, and (d) the investigation of the nature, causes and consequences of poor health literacy. 

Anthropological Approaches to Language, Culture, and Health (APLNG 597A; Fall 2004) 

The aim of this seminar is to explore the role of language, culture and health in bilingual communities in the United States and internationally. The objective of the seminar is to develop an integrative approach to health assessment and delivery by drawing upon the critical input of research into language, culture and health from psycholinguistics, sociolinguistics, and medical anthropology. In addition to a review of key material on language, culture and health, seminar participants will review the design and provisional data from either ongoing or recently completed research projects on communication in health. 

Research Design and Methodology in Applied Linguistics (APLNG 593; Fall 2004,2005,2006, Spring 2009) 

In the research track of the APLNG curriculum this course provides the basic introduction to experimental, quantitative research.  (Companion courses in qualitative methods are also offered regularly by the department).  In this vein the course introduces the student in step-by-step fashion to the range of data elicitation methods commonly used in applied linguistics and second language acquisition, the design and development of a research project, beginning with the identification of a research question, then considering a variety of research methods in applied linguistics, sampling issues, effective research designs, and basic statistical skills.  In addition to regular exercises focused on data elicitation techniques, students choose some research question that interests them  and then design a research proposal that tests some aspect of this question. 
The latter third of the course is devoted to the basic statistical knowledge necessary to appreciate the quantitative literature in applied linguistics and to design a quantitative project.  No knowledge of particular statistical packages is necessary. 

Grantsmanship and Publications (APLNG 597A, Spring 2005, Fall 2006, Spring 2010)

The major requirement for this course is writing a standard scientific research grant.  In pursuit of this aim, the course covers each of the major stages in grant preparation and submission: developing research ideas into a comprehensive research program, identifying funding sources, designing the project (aims, hypotheses, lit review, pilot work, data collection, and analysis), writing a well-organized and persuasive text, generating a time-line, preparing a budget, complying with human subjects requirements, and submitting the grant to mock peer review.  The course will also cover the practical steps involved in preparing articles for publication and responding to editorial review.

Language Testing (APLNG 583; Spring 2005, 2006, 2010) 

This course is designed as both a theoretical treatment of language testing and a practical "hands-on" introduction to developing and using language tests. The course lays the theoretical foundation for language testing on current conceptions of language proficiency as communicative ability and on classical and modern psychometric techniques. Practical applications explore how to select, develop, administer, and analyze both norm-referenced and criterion-referenced instruments in both research and teaching. Students will also have practice in interpreting and reporting scores.

 Statistics in Applied Linguistics (APLNG 597B; Spring 2006) 

This course is an in-depth introduction to the statistical analyses usually used in applied linguistics and second language research.  The course lays a foundation in multiple regression and correlation and considers the analysis of variance within that framework.  Students gain considerable experience in the use of spreadsheet software, statistical software (SPSS), graphing techniques, the construction of tables, and the presentation of statistical results in prose.