Instructor: Dr. Robert S. Carlisle
Section: 01; MWF from 9:30-10:55

Office: 201E Faculty Tower
Office Hours: MWF 8:45-9:30 and 11:00 to 12:00
Email Address: rcarlisle@csubak.edu

Required Texts
Carlisle, R. S. (1999). Lectures in the Structure of English.
Carlisle, R. S. (1999). Exercises in English Phonology and Morphology.
Carlisle, R. S. (1999). Exercises in English Syntax.
CD containing answers to practice examinations.

This class is primarily designed to provide students with a broad knowledge of the three major components of the structure of English: phonology, morphology, and syntax. The class concentrates on providing students with a systematic means for identifying, describing, and categorizing linguistic structures. In addition, a few given grammatical structures will be presented in reference to children and second language learners. Such an approach enables students to view grammar not as an isolated and irrelevant topic, but rather one that enables them to understand the type of linguistic structures that these groups produce and the reasons for their production. Specifically, we will examine the pronunciation of English by native Spanish speakers and the deletion of inflectional morphemes by elementary school children (both native and non-native speakers of English).

We will also examine the relationship between phonemes and graphemes in English to try to determine why some children have so much difficulty learning to spell and read.

Students will find a general list of the topics and the dates that they will be covered in the class schedule.

All students in the class must take a pretest which will be available online from 9:00 a.m on March 28 to Midnight on March 30. The pretest is important because it supplies diagnostic information about the effectiveness of the course. Students missing the pretest will have to drop the course.

Students essentially learn the material for this course by doing a large number of exercises in phonology, morphology, and syntax. Over the years, I have discovered a direct correlation between doing the exercises and scores on the examinations; students who complete the exercises do much better on the examinations than those who do not. Also, students who have a high average on the exercises do better than those with a low average. As a consequence of this finding, I have initiated the policy that students must complete all exercises before taking examinations, and they must have a minimal average of 80% correct. For example, before students can take the phonology test they must complete all the exercises in phonology in Exercises in English Phonology and Morphology and all the online exercises under phonology with the minimal correct response of 80%. Students who do not complete the exercises with the minimal average of 80% will not be allowed to take the examination, consequently forcing them to drop the class. All the online exercises must be completed by 10:00 p.m. of the day before the relevant examination. At that time the instructor will review all students' files and inform all who are disqualified from taking the examination on the following day. Follow the deadlines in the table below:

In addition, on the day of the exam, students must bring their exercise books and demonstrate that they have completed all the exercises in the books as well.

Any students who score below 60% on any examination will not receive a grade any higher than D+ in the course regardless of the scores on the other three examinations. No exceptions to this policy will be made. Students can avoid receiving the D+ dropping the class.

The final grade will be calculated according to the following schema.

As indicated in the table above, each of the examinations will be 25% of the final grade. Exams are given on specific dates and times; students who are enrolled in a class that interferes with the testing schedule should not take this class.

Students may calculate their own final grades by filling out a grading guide.

Any students who score below 60% on any examination will not receive a final grade higher than D+ regardless of the scores on the other three examinations. No exceptions to this policy will be made.

The online exercises are located on a CSUB server running WebCt, the web-based teaching software used to design the course. To get into WebCt, students need a userid and a password. The userid for all students will be the same as that of their Runner accounts. The password for all students is the last five digits of their social security number or the last five digits of their new student identification number. However, students can change their own passwords once they get into the system.

I urge students to go to WebCt and hit the link entitled "Getting Started." Students do not need a userid or password to get into this section of WebCt, and the section has important information about the system.

Communicating with the Instructor

I have scheduled four hours of office hours per week for students, but I realize that many students have problems meeting with their instructors at specific times. Therefore, I actively encourage students to send me  messages if they have questions about the content of the course. The questions should be as specific as possible and relate directly to the material being studied. More general questions should be asked during the class. I can guarantee same day responses to email messages. I prefer that students do not phone me; many do not leave phone numbers; others say them so fast that I cannot hear them; and still others do not have answering machines. Students who phone may not receive an answer for the reasons listed above.

If you enjoy this course, the minor in linguistics might be for you.