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Instructions for the Course Project
with International Students


English 420: Sociolinguistics
fall 2002


The project consists of three sections: a typed annotated bibliography on culture shock, a hand-written journal describing the conversations with your international student, and a typed paper (six page minimum) about how your conversational partner displays (or does not display) signs of culture shock. The paper must contain references to the articles that you read for your annotated bibliography. Each section is described in more detail below.

Annotated Bibliography

Each student must read and summarize five articles on culture shock. I brief bibliography is available to help get the students started. Please do not take the articles out of the library and return them to their original place on the shelf so that other students can easily find them. Each summary will be a minimum of one double-spaced typed page in APA format. Students may examine examples of annotated bibliogrpahies in my office during office hours. This part of the project must be submitted on October 16,.

Journal

All students will spend at least eight hours in conversation with their international student. At the end of each conversation, the students will write an account of the conversation making special reference to any signs of culture shock. This journal does not have to be typed and the students are urged to put anything in the journal that is relevant or important to them. In the past, some of the journals have been quite insightful and sensitive because the conversational partners formed friendships during the project.

Paper

Finally, all students will type a paper that is at least six pages long and in APA format. The paper will be specifically about any indications of culture shock displayed by the international student. Write the paper by making reference to the articles that you read for the annotated bibliography. You will be partially graded on how well you connect your international student's affective and psychological state to the contents of the articles. I urge all of you to read examples of the projects that I have saved in my office.

I hope that you all enjoy this project. Students in previous classes have found working with an international student very interesting and educational.

The completed project is due on November 27.

Students who do not wish to participate in the project may write a term paper instead. I have supplied a list of possible topics and instructions for writing the term paper.


English 420 Course Syllabus.