ENGE 4650 Special Topics in Applied Linguistics: Bilingualism

Mondays, 4:30-6:15pm
Lee Shau Kee Building 210
Description
The rise of English as a global language lights the fuse for bilingualism (and multilingualism). This course aims to
introduce theories and research findings concerning bilingualism and related phenomena. Bilingualism is both
individual and societal. The first half of the course focuses on bilingual development within individuals. Topics include
bilingual language development, factors affecting bilingual acquisition, and cognitive advantages conferred by being
bilinguals. The second half of the course turns to societal bilingualism. It will examine issues concerning language use,
policymaking, and bi/multilingual education in different regions around the world, including but are not limited to
Canada, Switzerland, Singapore, and Hong Kong. This course will be of interests to students who are keen on
linguistics and literacy development, language education, cognitive science, and developmental psychology.

Learning outcomes
The overall aim of the course is to enable you to understand how bilingualism affects individuals and societies. In more
details, the course aims:

To introduce you to current knowledge of key topics in bilingualism

To enhance your understanding of the implications of bilingualism at individual and societal levels

To develop your intellectual and critical-thinking abilities in discussing bilingualism issues in and out of class

As a result of this course, you should be able to demonstrate achievement of the following learning outcomes:
To be able to discuss theories and findings of bilingualism research
Understand common methods and techniques used in bilingualism research
Connect your personal experience in bilingual language development with societal bilingualism at large

Learning activities
Lecture
(hr)
in/ out class
2
0
M

NA

Interactive
tutorial
(hr)
in/ out class
1
0
M

NA

Lab

Term paper

Reading

(hr)
in/ out class
0
0

(hr)
in/ out class
0
3

(hr)
in/ out class
0
4

NA

NA

NA

M: Mandatory activity in the course

O: Optional activity
NA: Not applicable

Assessment scheme
Task nature
Attendance and
participation

Description
Attend and participate actively in all sessions of lecture and tutorial. Show up at
least eight times in lectures to get full credits.

Weight
10%

Tutorial
presentation

Deliver an interesting and thoughtful presentation based on the tutorial question

prompt(s). Prepare visual (notes, handouts, and/or Powerpoint slides) as well as
other teaching aids to facilitate understanding. Encourage participation from
fellow classmates, if possible. Given time: 20 minutes.

15%

Reflection paper

Produce an 8-page (maximum) reflection paper, following either your tutorial

presentation topic OR a newspaper clipping of your own research. This is a great
opportunity to reflect on/ share your personal experience/ provide original
analysis on a specific topic in bilingualism. 12-point-font Times New Roman,
double-spaced, references excluded in page number count. Put a hardcopy with
VeriGuide receipt in my mailbox (Number 15). Due Date: December 14, 2015,
Monday, 5 pm.

45%

Final
examination

The final examination requires you to demonstrate understanding of the key ideas
and concepts covered in the course. No make-up exam will be administered.

30%

Academic honesty, plagiarism, late-submission penalty, and make-up policy

The University has implemented a zero tolerance policy against plagiarism and has required all written work to be
submitted via VeriGuide at http://www.cuhk.edu.hk/veriguide.
To comply with University regulations, you are therefore asked to:
1) submit your paper via VeriGuide before due date and print the receipt issued by VeriGuide
2) submit a hard copy of the paper, along with the receipt from VeriGuide and the declaration of honesty (which
comes with the VeriGuide receipt).
Assignments without the receipt from VeriGuide and the signed declaration of honesty will not be graded.
Late-submission penalty: 9 points (out of 45) will be deducted for late submission. Penalty will be dealt with
separately from the academic quality of work.
Make-up policy: Make up exams are provided only with a documented justificationthis is typically a documented
medical excuse or other official documentation of a condition that prevented the student from attending. Students
without a justified medical excuse will not be given a makeup test and their grade will be automatically set to 0.

Feedback for evaluation

In addition to the course evaluation, you will have various opportunities to provide feedback about the course and your
work throughout the semester. You can discuss your comments with me, and/or the TA(s). If you prefer, you can email
your comments to me, or write your suggestions in an anonymous letter to me.

Course schedule
Block

Week

Date

Topic

Sep 7

Overview

Sep 14

Studying bilinguals

Grosjean (1998)

Sep 21

Bilingual children vs. adults

Yip & Matthews (2000); Siemund

(2015)

Sep 28

Mid-Autumn No class

Oct 5

Bilingual memory, language

control and selection

De Groot Ch. 8 (2013)

Oct 12

Language mixing,
competition, and transfer

Hernandez et al. (2005), (2007);

Wei (2009)

Oct 19

Cognitive effects

Bialystok & Barac Ch. 9 (2013);

Fabbro (2001)

Oct 26

Bilingualism: Promises and

challenges to the educational
system

Nov 2

Bilingualism in Canada

10

Nov 9

Bilingualism in Europe

11

Nov 16

Bilingualism in Singapore
Guest lecture

Siemund et al. (2014)

12

Nov 23

Bilingualism in Hong Kong

OHalloran (2000)

13

Nov 30

Sign bilingualism

Reading
(Essential readings in bold)

Tutorial

Note. This schedule above is tentative. There are bound to be changes as the semester unfolds.
Details of course website
This course uses the CU e-Learning System (http://www.cuhk.edu.hk/eLearning/) to post course-related documents and
assignment descriptions. Check regularly for course announcements. Copies of PowerPoint slides will be uploaded
before or after each lecture.

Reading materials
Bialystok, E. (2001). Bilingualism in development: Language, literacy, and cognition. New York: Cambridge
University Press.
Fabbro, F. (2001). The bilingual brain: Bilingual aphasia. Brain and Language, 79, 201-210.
Gal, S. (1978). Peasant men cant get wives: Language change and sex roles in a bilingual community. Language in
Society, 7, 1-16.
Grosjean, F. (1998). Studying bilinguals. Methodological and conceptual issues. Bilingualism: Language and
Cognition, 1, 131-149.

Grosjean, F. (2008). Studying bilinguals. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Grosjean, F, & Ping Li. (2013). The psycholinguistics of bilingualism. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley-Blackwell.
Hernandez, A., Li, P., & MacWhinney, B. (2005). The emergence of competing modules in bilingualism. Trends in
Cognitive Sciences, 9, 220-225.
Kroll, J. F., & De Groot, A. M. B., Eds. (2005). Handbook of bilingualism: Psycholinguistic approaches. New York:
Oxford University Press.
OHalloran, S. (2000). English medium secondary schools: Privileged orphans in the SAR. Intercultural
Communication Studies, 2, 145-158.
Paradis, M. (2004). A neurolinguistic theory of bilingualism. Amsterdam: John Benjamins.
Siemund, P., Schulz, M. E., & Schweinberger, M. (2014). Studying the linguistic ecology of Singapore: A comparison
of college and university students. World Englishes, 33, 340-362.
Other online resources
http://www.nature.com
http://www.sciencemag.org
https://www.psychologytoday.com
http://www.economist.com
http://www.bbc.com/news
http://www.scmp.com/frontpage/hk

Contact details for professor and TA

Professor:
Name:

Derek Ho Leung CHAN

Office Location:

Fung King Hey 325

Telephone:

3943-7020

Email:

derekchan@cuhk.edu.hk

Office hours:

Wednesdays 2:00-4:00pm, or by appointment

Tutor:
Name:

Bonnie Sin Yu HO

Office Location:

Fung King Hey 304

Telephone:

3943-5711

Email:

bonnieho@link.cuhk.edu.hk

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