University Of Puerto Rico At Humacao English Department English B.A. Program COURSE SYLLABUS I. Title: Structural Analysis of English And Spanish II. Codification: INGL 4235 III. Number of credits: 3 Credits/3 conference hours Per Week/45 Hours Per Semester/3 Credits Per Professor IV. Prerequisites: Phonetics and Phonemics of American English/INGL 3227 Morphology and Syntax/INGL 4206 V. COURSE DESCRIPTION: This course is a comparative analysis of the syntactic, semantic, phonological and lexical structures of English and Spanish. Identification, summarization, and explanation of the nature and origin of different types of errors common in students of English as a second language. Analysis of oral and written English samples. VI. COURSE OBJECTIVES: Upon completion of the course, students will be able to: Α. explain and critique the theoretical underpinnings of the Contrastive Analysis Hypothesis (CAH), with particular reference to its utility and limitations in current foreign language teaching methodology. Β. describe the phonological, morphosyntactic and discourse level similarities and differences between the English and Spanish languages, utilizing appropriate linguistic terminology. C. analyze oral and written samples of ESL production and describe the possible sources of language errors. D. prepare, adapt and carry out ESL lessons and materials on the basis of knowledge obtained from the course. VII. COURSE CONTENT AND TIME DISTRIBUTION: The 45 contact hours (15 weeks) will be distributed in covering the following topics: Course Content I. Introduction A. General Introduction: Language and Linguistics 1. Language and linguistics 2. Comparing and contrasting languages 1.5 hours
Course Content I. Introduction (Con t.) B. What is Contrastive Analysis? 1. A working definition 2. A historical sketch 3. Errors, mistakes, and other useful points 4. The place of CA in linguistics 5. CA as interlanguage study 6. CA as pure or applied linguistics 7. CA and bilingualism 8. Some general pedagogical implications C. The Native Language Factor 1. Main critiques of CAH 2. Transfer and Interference 3. Avoidance, borrowing and code-switching 1.5 hours (con t.) 5 hours D. Performing CA 1. Detecting errors 2. Micro CA 4. Macro CA E. CA and the teacher 1. CA and teaching 2. Error correction in the classroom II. Phonology
A. Introduction to Phonology 1. Phonology vs. orthography 2. Review of phonetics B. Phonemes, allophones, and rules 1. Phonemes a. Consonants b. Vowels and diphthongs c. The combing of syllables and words 2. Phonemic vs. orthographic representation 3. Orthographical Systems of English and Spanish C. Phonological Rules 1. Types of rules 2. Spanish rules 3. English rules D. Stress and Intonation 1. Stress 2. Intonation 4 hours Course Content III. Morphosyntax A. Basic word order in English and Spanish B. Basic sentence structure in English and Spanish C. The verbal forms of English and Spanish 1. English regular verbs 2. English irregular verbs 3. English auxiliaries 4. Spanish regular verbs: simple tenses, subjunctive mood, perfect tenses, progressive tenses, perfect progressive tenses) 5. Spanish irregular verbs D. Verb Morphology 1. Verb forms and their nomenclatures 2. Spanish finite verb forms 3. English finite verb forms and modals 4. Nonfinites and compound forms 5. Verb + verb and auxiliaries 9 hours Midterm Exam 1 hour
E. Tense and Mood 3 hours F. English modal auxiliaries and their Spanish equivalents 1. English verbs, adjectives and nouns composed of verb + preposition 2. Nouns and articles G. Noun Phrase Syntax and Morphology 1. Descriptive and limiting adjectives 2. Possessive and demonstrative adjectives and Pronouns 3. Expressions of possession 4. Partitive constructions 5. Adverbs and prepositions 6. The present participle and the infinitive 7. English and Spanish personal pronouns 8. Pronouns 9. Relative words used between clauses 10. Spanish and English verb + relator constructions 5 hours
Course Content III. Morphosyntax (Con t.) 11. Expressions of comparison 12. Affirmative words and their negative counterparts 13. Spanish integrated vs. English separable interrogatives 14. Sentences with indefinite subjects 15. Reflexive and reciprocal actions 16. Passive constructions 17. English and Spanish contractions 18. Elliptical verbal usages and verification tags 19. The Spanish and English imperative systems 20. Ser vs. estar and similar contrasts 21. Por vs. Para 22. The Spanish imperfect vs. the preterite 23. Verbal expressions using Spanish dar, hacer, tener, gustar and faltar 24. Spanish and English conditional sentences and unreal comparison 25. The Spanish subjunctive 10 hours Oral Presentations of research projects IV. Lexicon A. Words and their Meanings 1. The lexicon 2. Derivational morphology (Guide to Spanish suffixes) 3. Cognates: true friends or false? 4. Dialect differences in vocabulary 5. Different lexicons, different meanings B. Idioms (2001 Spanish and English Idioms) 2 hours 3 hours VIII. Instructional Strategies: Class activities will consist of the discussion of assigned readings as well as practical applications of the material, including evaluation of ESL textbooks within a CA framework. In-class analysis of ESL oral production will also be performed using audiotapes of authentic ESL speech. Students will prepare research projects and present them orally in class.
IX. Learning Resources: A. The text for the class will be Hill, S. (2000). Contrastive English-Spanish grammatical structures (3 rd Ed.). Landham, MD: University of America Press. B. Students will need access to the computer lab for Internet research and/or other resources the instructor may request. X. Evaluation: Careful preparation of daily assignments (75 points). Active participation in class discussion and activities, including attendance (75 points) Completion and in-class presentation of a project involving some CA-related concept, explaining the concept and its applications in the ESL classroom (150 points). Comprehensive midterm exam* (100 points). Comprehensive final exam* (100 points). Any number of quizzes, both announced and unannounced* (100 points). XI. Grading System: Students will be evaluated on their completion of the above course requirements. The final grade for the course will be calculated on a point system by dividing the total number of points possible into the total number of points earned. The resulting percentage will fall into one of the following letter grades: 90-100 = A 80-89.9 = B 70 79.9 = C 60 69.9 = D 0 59.9 = F XII. Bibliography: A. Principal Text: Hill, S. (2000). Contrastive English-Spanish Grammatical Structures (3 rd Ed.). Landham, MD: University of America Press. B. SUPPLEMENTARY TEXTS (On Reserve In The Library Or Instructor s Office): Hill, Sam (2000). Bilingual grammar of English and Spanish. Lanham: University Press of America. Richards, Jack C. and Renandya, Willly, (eds). Methodology in Language Teaching: An Anthology of Current Practice (2002). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
* Stockwell, Robert P. & Bowen, J. D. (1965). The sounds of English and Spanish. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press. * Stockwell, Robert P. et al. (1965). The grammatical structures of English and Spanish. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press. * Stockwell, R., Bowen, J.D. & Martin, John W. (1965) The grammatical structure of English and Spanish: An analysis of structural differences between the two languages. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. *Classic and seminal edition available in the library. LAW 51 UPR-HUmacao complies with ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) and Law 51 (Integrated Educational Resources for Persons with Disabilities) to guarantee equal access to education and services. Students with disabilities should inform the professor of the course about special needs and/or reasonable accommodations for the course on the student information card filled out during the first week of classes. He/she should also visit the Services for Students with Disabilities Office. Strict confidentiality will be maintained. Revised by: Prof. Elizabeth Hodges, February 2006