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Amanda Sladek
ENGL 203 Course Proposal
English 203: English around the World
COURSE DESCRIPTION
My proposed course focuses on the topic of World Englishes and dialects, a subject I
have studied extensively in my time at KU. The first unit would cover the basics of the English
language and give students the tools they would need to understand the rest of the course
content. This would include a crash course in grammar (so students can later describe the
grammatical differences between varieties of English), an introduction to the International
Phonetic Alphabet (so students can later describe pronunciation differences between dialects),
and an introduction to some of the key concepts of the course (the difference between a language
and a dialect, the notion that all languages change, etc.). This unit would likely be short, as I
dont think students at this level need to cover the topic in a great deal of linguistic and
grammatical detail. I would be more concerned that they could discuss and write about larger
issues related to the globalization of English. The project for this unit would be a take-home or
open-book exam.
The second unit would center on theoretical issues related to the spread of English. We
would explore why English is spreading so rapidly throughout the world, how this spread is tied
to socioeconomic factors, and what implications this has for non-Western countries. I would
bring in examples of documents written in different dialects of English so we could analyze them
for their linguistic, generic, and rhetorical features. The unit project would be a group research
presentation. Groups would pick a specific country and investigate English usage in that country
(how many people speak English, the contexts in which English is used, the differences in the
way English is spoken, etc.). Because this will be a presentation, the entire class could learn
about English as it is spoken in different countries.
The third unit would concentrate on the issue of language attitudes and linguistic
discrimination. Topics include the rise of the English Only movement, media portrayal of
speakers of minority dialects, and the oppressive potential of Standard English. For this unit
project, I would ask students to interview people who speak English as a second or third
language about their experiences with learning English and with linguistic discrimination. They
would situate these interviews and their own experience/opinions in the context of our course

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discussions and readings. With this assignment, I would hope that students would be able to
understand that issues of linguistic discrimination arent just abstract, theoretical conceptsthey
are connected to actual people with real life experiences. Ideally, students would interview
people from multiple cultures and would see how certain varieties of English are more
stigmatized than others (and how these levels of stigmatization are connected to larger racial and
political factors).
The fourth and final unit would ask students to think about language issues in the
classroom. I assume that most students would enter the class having been taught the importance
of proper English, and I hope this unit and the class in general would lead them to challenge
their previously held assumptions about language. We would first pick apart (I would perhaps
use the word problematize if I were proposing a graduate course) what Standard English
means in the light of language globalization. We would then discuss arguments for and against
teaching StE, as well as specific teaching strategies to encourage linguistic sensitivity. Because I
think this is an issue that is relevant for all students, the final project would be aimed at a general
audience. I would ask students to take a position as to whether or not Standard English should
be taught in college English classrooms, and I would ask them to frame their response as an
editorial in the University Daily Kansan. I hope that his would further drive home the
contemporary significance of language issues as well as help students frame complex issues in
non-academic terms, a valuable skill for all educated people.

POTENTIAL READINGS
David Crystal, English as a Global Language, 2nd ed.
Rosina Lippi-Green, English with an Accent: Language, Ideology, and Discrimination in the
United States, 2nd ed.
Selected readings from Gita DasBenders Language: A Reader for Writers:

James Baldwin, If Black English Isnt a Language, Then Tell Me, What Is?

Felipe de Ortego y Gasca, Regarding Spanglish

Henry Hitchings, Conquer English to Make China Strong: The Globalization of

English

Pallavi Polanki, Operation Mind Your Language

Shehzad Nadeem, Accent Neutralisation and a Crisis of Identity in Indias Call Centres

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Gloria Gibbons, Investigating Globish

Selected readings from The Handbook of World Englishes (ed. Kachru, Kachru, and Nelson):

Vijay K. Bhatia, Genres and Styles in World Englishes

Tamara M. Valentine, World Englishes and Gender Identities

Robert J. Baumgardner, Teaching World Englishes

Margie Berns, World Englishes and Communicative Competence

Selected readings from Students Right to Their Own Language: A Critical Sourcebook (ed.
Perryman-Clark, Kirkland, and Jackson):

CCCC, Students Right to Their Own Language

John Trimbur, Linguistic Memory and the Politics of U.S. English

Jeff Zorn, Students Right to Their Own Language: A Counter-Argument

Allen N. Smith, No One Has a Right to His Own Language

A. Suresh Canagarajah, The Place of World Englishes in Composition: Pluralization

Continued

Leah A. Zuidema, Myth Education: Rationale and Strategies for Teaching Against
Linguistic Prejudice

Lovejoy, Fox, and Wills, From Language Experience to Classroom Practice: Affirming
Linguistic Diversity in Writing Pedagogy

FULFILLMENT OF FSE COURSE GOALS

Below, I list the FSE course goals for 200-level English classes and how my proposed
course would fulfill them.
1. Maintain and continue to improve the abilities gained in English 101 and 102: Students
will write collaboratively in the second unit and conduct primary research, both of which are
ENGL 102 goals. Additionally, our discussion of World Englishes would give students a new
lens through which to consider the rhetorical, contextually situated nature of language. We
would also write in a variety of genres, allowing students the opportunity to further hone their
rhetorical flexibility.

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2. Use multiple strategies of reading to develop interpretations of texts: Students would
evaluate arguments about language and use their analyses to build their own arguments. We
would also discuss how generic and structural features of texts vary across cultures and how
these differences reflect the cultural experiences of authors and their audiences.
3. Demonstrate the ability to think critically about language, texts, and experience: I think
this topic is uniquely situated to get students to integrate previously held beliefs, assumptions,
and knowledge with new information and ideas about language. People often have very strongly
held beliefs about language, and these beliefs are typically informed by the persons own
experiences. By exposing students to a variety of perspectives on English, I hope to challenge
their assumptions about language and encourage linguistic and cultural sensitivity.
4. Write in ways appropriate to the genre or theme of the course: Students would be asked
to write in a variety of academic and non-academic genres. They would also be required to
address multiple perspectives on language issues (such as arguments for and against using
American or British English as the standard). They would learn critical terminology related to
the subject, and I believe our focus on language would be a great catalyst for asking students to
think about their own language and rhetorical style.