ECTS:
4
Syllabus
Module aim
Course description:
The course is intended to explore and design a map of multilingual Europe, focusing on in its linguistic diversity and multilingual identity. As present-day Europe is becoming increasingly multilingual, with more and more people using languages different from their native one(s) in different contexts and for different purposes (education, work or travel) it is important to gain an indepth understanding of this phenomenon as seen from historical, linguistic and cognitive perspectives.
The course aims to focus on language as part of European identity, to promote knowledge concerning linguistic diversity in Europe and beyond, to increase general awareness concerning bi/multilingualism, and to discuss issues related to language policy inside the EU and beyond. We wish to make state-of-the-art research findings accessible to course participants, to help them make informed decisions on language learning and use and, in particular, to encourage the exploration of the multilingual landscape of Europe. During the course students will collaborate on a project to create a multilingual map of Europe containing descriptions of selected languages. The map
could be further developed in future editions of the course, depending on participants’ linguistic background and interests.
Specially designed interactive modules will include fi rst an overview of the linguistic history of Europe, featuring Indo-European migrations, language families in Europe, linguistic reconstruction and language change. Further, we will investigate linguistic diversity in world languages, analyzing trends in language distributions across Europe and beyond, and discussing such notions as a language and dialect, local varieties, sociolects, and technolects.
In practice, the linguistic diversity will be exemplified by a close examination of the varieties of English, including British, Irish, Scottish, American as well as English as a lingua franca. We will continue mapping the linguistic landscape of Europe by selecting some of its minority languages (e.g. Welsh and Irish) as well as larger regional languages (e.g. Dutch). In the course of this analysis, participants will be equipped with necessary tools and knowledge allowing them to make their own discoveries about the language(s) of their choice.
We will discuss what it means to be bi- or multilingual from an individual perspective, examine the different factors affecting bilingual development, observe the interplay between the different languages in the bilingual mind and brain, discuss the phenomenon of cross-linguistic influence and focus on the relationship between language and bilingual cognition. We will also discuss if emotions are felt differently in the respective languages of a multilingual, and what effect it may have for decision-making and everyday life.
Recapitulating, the participants of the course will explore selected linguistic, psycho- and neurolinguistic aspects of multilingualism, which will allow them to co-create a multilingual map of Europe on a virtual platform.
Techniques: collaborative tasks for each module on a selected European language, international mixed-group co-operation on miniprojects (e.g. virtual portfolios, quizzes, videos; an example task: Provide the names for the colour blue in your language and illustrate them with the most typical visual of this colour), fi nal project presentation (the multilingual map of Europe).
Tools: Moodle platform, MS TEAMS, ZOOM, a dedicated course website.
Information
Year: 2020/2021
Semester: Summer
Hours: 30
Language: English
Building:
Room:
Tips:
Topic: Multilingual map of Europe: identity and diversity
Module: 15-MMOE-EC
Prerequisites
Format and dates: Spring semester 2021 (01/03/2021 – 23/06/2021), an online course<br />
Prerequisites: Keen interest in multilingualism and the languages of Europe<br />
Open to students: Year(s) 2 – 3 BA undergraduate<br />
Teaching period: Spring semester 2021, 15 weeks<br />
Max. enrollment: 30-40<br />
Contact hours/ credit points: 30 contact hours transfer to 4 ECTS<br />
Location and room(s): Virtual campus, original location: Faculty of English, Adam Mickiewicz
University, Poznań<br />
Examination dates and format:<br />
Continuous assessment on task performance, a fi nal project at the end of the semester.
Lecturer
Prof. Magdalena Wrembel, prof. Anna Ewert, dr Rafał Jończyk, dr Anna Basińska
Academic title: Professor
Email: magdala@wa.amu.edu.pl
Reading list
De Angelis, G. 2007. Third or Additional Language Acquisition. Clevedon: Multilingual
Matters.
Grosjean, F. (2010). Bilingual: Life and reality. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Ludden, D. (2015). The psychology of language: An Integrated Approach. Sage Publications.
Pavlenko, A. (2014). The Bilingual Mind. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
http://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781139021456
Jarvis, S., and A. Pavlenko. 2008. Crosslinguistic Infl uence in Language and Cognition.
Routledge.
Singleton, D. & Aronin, L. (eds.). 2019. Twelve Lectures on Multilingualism. Bristol: Multilingual
Matters.
The Ethnologue https://www.ethnologue.com/
