Course Schedule

ANTH 680 – Foundations in Linguistic Anthropology

An introductory survey of the major linguistic-anthropological theories and modes on analysis as these have developed over the last century, with a textual focus on original articles. Topics include: language; culture and thought; semiotics; social interaction; verbal art.

EDL 560 – Trends in Educational Leadership

This class is an introduction to the foundations of educational administration and leadership. An open social-systems model of schools provides the theoretical framework that organizes and relates this theory and research to educational administration practice.

EDL 608 – Advanced Qualitative Methods in Education

The purpose of this course is to deepen the breadth of the students' skillset and knowledge necessary for the design, implementation, analysis, completion, and presentation of a qualitative dissertation study. Foci for this course may include (but are not limited to): (auto)ethnography, content (theme) analysis, deconstruction, (counter) narrative, discourse analysis, narrative analysis, dialogic analysis, video and photo analysis, arts-based qualitative methods, phenomenological study, case study, participant and nonparticipant observation, and focus groups. Special attention will be paid to the process of analyzing data and discerning themes as they are revealed in the data. This course will further acclimate students to the language and practice of qualitative research and help them develop a critical posture capable of differentiating various ways of developing and executing qualitative research for the culmination of a written, visual, and oral presentation of a research proposal. By course's end, students should be confident in their ability to explain and justify the methodological decisions of their study.

EDL 696A – Topics in Educational Leadership

The development and exchange of scholarly information, usually in a small group setting. The scope of work shall consist of research by course registrants, with the exchange of the results of such research through discussion, reports, and/or papers.

EDP 541 – Statistical Methods in Education

Descriptive, correlational, and inferential procedures for presenting and analyzing school and research data. For students in all fields.

ENGL 555 – Introduction to Teaching English as a Second/Foreign Language

The course will provide a general overview of the TESL profession covering prominent theories, methodologies, and issues in the field. Coursework will cover the major methods, including Grammar-Translation, the Direct Method, Audiolingualism, and Communicative Language Teaching. In addition, issues of learner variables, motivation, and contexts of teaching and learning will also be addressed. Students will participate in mock lessons, tutoring sessions, and observations.

Graduate level requirements include a 12-15 page research paper with bibliography of at least eight sources.

ENGL 580 – Second Language Writing

This course provides an introduction to the teaching of second, foreign, or additional language (L2) writing in diverse contexts. Through readings, discussions, and activities, you will develop your understanding of the theory, research, and practice of L2 writing. We will explore a range of issues, including L2 writing development, culture and identity, pedagogical approaches, course design, feedback on student writing, and writing assessment. While we will work to develop familiarity with L2 writing research and theory and its inter-relations with L1 composition, the course will be grounded in practical and hands-on work with the goal of building your pedagogical knowledge as well as tools and strategies for working with second language writers across settings.

ENGL 596J – Second Language Acquisition Research

The development and exchange of scholarly information, usually in a small group setting. The scope of work shall consist of research by course registrants, with the exchange of the results of such research through discussion, reports, and/or papers.

ENGL 596O – Topics in Second Language Teaching

The development and exchange of scholarly information, usually in a small group setting. The scope of work shall consist of research by course registrants, with the exchange of the results of such research through discussion, reports, and/or papers.

ENGL 597R – Research Methods in Rhetoric and Composition

This course surveys quantitative and qualitative methods in composition and rhetoric in order to introduce students to different communities of inquiry and basic questions about the nature of research.

ENGL 598 – Approaches to Teaching Writing

English 598 connects composition theory to praxis. Through a number of activities, we will think carefully about our inclinations, actions and reactions as teachers in the writing classroom. Required of all graduate teaching assistants (GTAs) in their first year of teaching in the Writing Program, preceptorship provides a brief introduction to theory in writing studies and pedagogy as well as embedded support for classroom management. During the course, you will be asked to reflect on the teaching of first-year writing, and we encourage collaboration as we develop our teaching philosophies and approaches to first-year writing.

A major objective of 598 is to embed support within your first year of teaching. You will meet twice weekly with your Mentor, who will provide practical support for your teaching of English 101 and 102. These mentor sessions should be a safe space to reflect on and discuss your experiences with teaching.. It is in these sessions that you will respond to any immediate questions or concerns teaching English 101 and 102. One of the major tasks of mentor groups is arranging a mentor class visit.

ENGL 612 – Grammatical Analysis

Advanced English grammatical analysis in relation to the acquisition of English as a second language.

ENGL 620 – Cultural Dimensions: Second Language Acquisitions

Relationships between language and culture.

GER 518 – Intercultural Communication and Second Language Acquisition

Intercultural Communication (ICC) and Second Language Acquisition (SLA) is a graduate course on theory, research and practice of communication between people from different cultures and how it relates to language learning. The course is designed for future language professionals (e.g., teachers, translators, and researchers). It will (a) help them prepare themselves for intercultural encounters and develop the skills needed to communicate effectively and appropriately when interacting and collaborating with people that are culturally different from themselves and (2) it will help them prepare to teach, and/or conduct research about ICC and SLA.

GER 579 – Second/Foreign Language Teaching and Learning

This class is intended to prepare students to teach a second/foreign language. It will provide students with the essential foundations in language teaching methodology and theory, pedagogical grammar, curriculum and materials development, classroom management, and formal and informal assessment techniques. In addition, students will gain practical knowledge through video practicum components, which allow them to watch and reflect on actual classroom teaching. Students will complete this program with the pedagogical knowledge and practical understanding necessary to be confident and effective language teachers.

INFO 514 – Computational Social Science

This course will guide students through advanced applications of computational methods for social science research. Students will be encouraged to consider social problems from across sectors, like health science, education, environmental policy and business. Particular attention will be given to the collection and use of data to study social networks, online communities, electronic commerce and digital marketing. Students will consider the many research designs used in contemporary social research and will learn to think critically about claims of causality, mechanisms, and generalization in big data studies. Graduate requirements include additional readings and a more in-depth final paper than is required at the undergraduate level.

INFO 516 – Introduction to Human Computer Interaction

The field of Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) encompasses the design, implementation, and evaluation of interactive computing systems. This course will provide a survey of HCI theory and practice. The course will address the presentation of information and the design of interaction from a human-centered perspective, looking at relevant perceptive, cognitive, and social factors influencing in the design process. It will motivate practical design guidelines for information presentation through Gestalt theory and studies of consistency, memory, and interpretation. Technological concerns will be examined that include interaction styles, devices, constraints, affordances, and metaphors. Theories, principles and design guidelines will be surveyed for both classical and emerging interaction paradigms, with case studies from practical application scenarios. As a central theme, the course will promote the processes of usability engineering, introducing the concepts of participatory design, requirements analysis, rapid prototyping, iterative development, and user evaluation. Both quantitative and qualitative evaluation strategies will be discussed. This course is co-convened: Upper-level undergraduates and graduate students are encouraged to enroll. Graduate students will be expected to complete more substantial projects and will be given more in-depth reading assignments.

INFO 521 – Introduction to Machine Learning

Machine learning describes the development of algorithms which can modify their internal parameters (i.e., "learn") to recognize patterns and make decisions based on example data. These examples can be provided by a human, or they can be gathered automatically as part of the learning algorithm itself. This course will introduce the fundamentals of machine learning, will describe how to implement several practical methods for pattern recognition, feature selection, clustering, and decision making for reward maximization, and will provide a foundation for the development of new machine learning algorithms.

INFO 524 – Virtual Reality

Virtual reality is an emerging technology that has been widely used in recent years in various areas, such as education, training, well-being, and entertainment. Virtual reality offers a highly immersive experience as the head mounted displays replace the vision of the users with digital imagery. It encompasses many disciplines, such as computer science, human computer interaction, game design and development, information science, and psychology. This course merges a theoretical and practical approach to give students the necessary knowledge to design, develop, and critique virtual reality games and applications.

INFO 551 – Game Development

This course provides an introduction to video game development. We will explore game design (not just computer games, but all games) and continue with an examination of game prototyping. Once we have working prototypes, we will continue with the development of a complete 2D computer game. The remaining course topics include: designing the game engine, rendering the graphics to the screen, and artificial intelligence. Students will be given periodic homework that reinforces what was learned in class. Homework will include developing a game prototype, game design documentation, some programming tasks. Students will work in small teams to develop a working game as a term project. Grades will be primarily based on the term project with some small amount of weight to homework. The examples provided in class will be programmed in Java and available for execution on any operating system. Programming homework assignments will be done in either Java or the language chosen by the instructor. The term project can be written in any programming language with instructor permission.

INFO 555 – Applied Natural Language Processing

Most of the data available on the web or managed by institutions and businesses consists of unstructured text. Natural language processing tools help to organize such texts, extract relevant information from them, and automatize time-consuming processes. This course will teach the fundamental knowledge necessary to design and develop end-to-end natural language understanding applications, drawn from examples such as question answering, sentiment analysis, information extraction, automated inference, machine translation, chatbots, etc. We will use several natural language processing toolkits and libraries.

JPN 511 – Introduction to Japanese Linguistics

Phonology, morphology, syntax, pragmatics, and sociolinguistics of the Japanese language. Graduate-level requirements include a substantial term paper and a class presentation based on that paper.

JPN 536 – Japanese Sociolinguistics

Introduction to Japanese sociolinguistics: questionnaire studies, variation analysis, ethnography of communication, conversation analysis, interactional sociolinguistics, and language and social interaction. Graduate-level requirements include a substantial term paper and may include extra readings and an additional weekly meeting when the class is convened with JPN 436.

LING 501 – Formal Foundations of Linguistics

A survey of the aims of linguistic research and introduction to the basic mathematics of formal linguistics; logic, sets, algebra, graphs, feature structures, formal language theory.

LING 503 – Foundations of Syntactic Theory

An introduction to syntactic theory with an emphasis on data analysis, critical thinking, and theory development. Taught within the generative Principles and Parameters approach to syntax. Graduate-level requirements include a greater number of problems.

LING 508 – Computational Techniques for Linguists

Students are introduced to computer programming as it pertains to collecting and analyzing linguistic data. The particular programming language is chosen at the discretion of the instructor. Graduate-level requirements include more challenging exams; 50% greater contribution to their respective group projects; 9 instead of 6 assignment; additional readings from the primary literature.

LING 510 – Foundations of Phonological Theory I

Investigation of the principles that underlie current phonological theory, concentrating on the representation of sounds and the regular patterns of sound in natural language. Topics include distinctive feature theory, syllable theory, the core skeleton, rule formulation and rule interactions. Graduate-level requirements include a greater number of problems.

LING 529 – Human Language Technology I

This class serves as an introduction to human language technology (HLT), an emerging interdisciplinary field that encompasses most subdisciplines of linguistics, as well as computational linguistics, natural language processing, computer science, artificial intelligence, psychology, philosophy, mathematics, and statistics.
Content includes a combination of theoretical and applied topics such as (but not limited to) tokenization across languages, n-grams, word representations, basic probability theory, introductory programming, and version control.

LING 531 – Human Language Technology II

Human Language Technology II
Course Description (no char. limit): This intermediate-level course is a continuation of LING 529 and covers a combination of theoretical and applied topics such as (but not limited to) unsupervised learning (clustering), decision trees, and the basics of information retrieval.

LING 532 – Psychology of Language

Introduction to language processing. The psychological processes involved in the comprehension and production of sounds, words, and sentences. Other topics may include language breakdown and acquisition, brain and language, and bilingual processing. Graduate-level requirements include more extensive readings and writing.

LING 538 – Computational Linguistics

Fundamentals of formal language theory; syntactic and semantic processing; the place of world knowledge in natural language processing. Graduate-level requirements include a greater number of assignments and a higher level of performance.

LING 544 – Typology and Universals

An examination of the syntactic diversity presented by natural human languages and an exploration of the issues that such diversity presents for syntactic analysis. Topics include AUX, word order, constituency, and subjects.

LING 564 – Formal Semantics

Introduction to model-theoretic investigations of natural language interpretation, including coordination, quantification, referential relations, tense, aspect and modality.

LING 578 – Speech Technology

Topics include speech synthesis, speech recognition, and other speech technologies. This course gives students background for a career in the speech technology industry. Graduate students will do extra readings, extra assignments, and have an extra presentation. Their final project must constitute original work in a speech technology.

LING 595A – Linguistics

The exchange of scholarly information and/or secondary research about Linguistics, Instruction often includes lectures by several different persons. Short research projects are required of participants.

LING 597A – Descriptive Linguistics for Native American Languages

Workshop includes methods and techniques on how to describe a language in the four basis sub-areas of linguistics: phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics; terminology and general processes associated with the four sub-areas.

LING 696A – Topics in Syntax and Semantics

The development and exchange of scholarly information, usually in a small group setting examining in depth topics in syntactic and semantic theory. The scope of work shall consist of research by course registrants, with the exchange of the results of such research through discussion, reports, and/or papers.

MENA 530A – Language and Society in the Middle East

Explores the social and linguistic aspects of the languages and cultures of Middle Eastern countries with the central goal of introducing students to the correlation between social and linguistic variables from a contemporary sociolinguistic perspective. Graduate-level requirements include additional readings and meeting with the instructor biweekly to discuss the readings of which written critiques will be submitted.

PSY 530 – Neural Basis of Language

The neural basis of language comprehension and production, with reference to its relationship to other perceptual, cognitive and motor skills.

RSSS 515 – Advanced Topics in Russian Language, Literature and Linguistics

A variable topics course taught in English or Russian (depending on subject material). Graduate-level requirements include graduate students being held to higher standards of proficiency in all exams and coursework. Graduate students will be given more challenging assignments and may have additional, separate meetings with the instructor.

SLAT 572 – Language Program Evaluation: Policies, Standards and Practice

This course is designed to introduce students to the key theories, approaches, and concepts governing academic program evaluation and accreditation processes as they apply to language programs broadly and to language institutions as applicable. Topics will include the importance of the mission statement, processes and standards for curricular development, the role of good assessment in language program evaluation, faculty qualifications, professional development and management standards, and language program review processes, as well as the documentation and implementation of program review processes. The course will revolve around weekly readings, interpretation of relevant standards within varied environments of accreditation for each topic, and dialogical discussions regarding each topic in class. An online forum (D2L) will further the discussions in class and support classroom learning. The course is designed for students anticipating leadership roles in educational administration and will lay the groundwork for a future practice that is comprehensive, systematic, and practical.

SLAT 596Y – Proseminar in Second Language Acquisition and Teaching

The purpose of the Proseminar is to provide incoming SLAT major and minor students with a forum in which they can acquire knowledge about current major issues in the field of Applied Linguistics and methods applied to investigate them, critically engage with research and scholarship, and develop a stance in relation to these major issues. Please register through the SLAT Program Coordinator.

SLAT 693 – Internship

Specialized work on an individual basis, consisting of training and practice in Second Language Acquisition and Teaching, at UA or at an academic or government institution.

SLAT 694A – SLAT Practicum

The practical application, on an individual basis, of previously studied theory and the collection of data for future theoretical interpretation.

SLAT 699 – Independent Study

Qualified students working on an individual basis with professors who have agreed to supervise such work. Graduate students doing independent work which cannot be classified as actual research will register for credit under course number 699 or 799.

SLAT 799 – Independent Study

Qualified students working on an individual basis with professors who have agreed to supervise such work. Graduate students doing independent work which cannot be classified as actual research will register for credit under course number 699 or 799.

SLAT 920 – Dissertation

Research for the doctoral dissertation (whether library research, laboratory or field observation or research, artistic creation, or dissertation writing).

SLHS 562B – Acoustics and Auditory Perception

This graduate-level course in psychoacoustics covers the scientific foundation of various aspects of auditory perception of simple and complex sounds, including the established methods for experimental investigations, the key empirical facts, and the contemporary neural and computational models for explaining the auditory perception by human listeners. The emphasis of this course is on the scientific thinking and principles that have propelled the study of auditory perceptual phenomena.

SPAN 581A – Foreign Language Teaching Theory and Methodology

The goal of this course is to systematically examine methods, approaches, techniques and activities for the teaching of foreign languages and its use in the classroom. It will include an overview of learner strategies and cooperative learning, the use and adaptation of textbooks, and some of the journals available in the field. Participants will be introduced to second language acquisition theories, course design, lesson planning and testing, and have experience creating a cohesive instructional unit.

SPAN 582A – Spanish Syntax I

This course involves an examination of the methods and argumentation used in syntactic analysis, both from a general point of view and from the perspective of generative grammar. Emphasis is placed on analyzing language data, on constructing and evaluating syntactic argumentation, and on understanding the Principles & Parameters approach to the study of sentence structure. Secondarily, this course is also an introduction to scientific theorizing: what it means to construct a scientific theory, how to test a scientific theory, how to choose among competing theories. Linguistic data will be drawn from Spanish.

SPAN 584A – Spanish Sociolinguistics I : Language Contact

This course presents an overview of sociolinguistic issues pertaining to the contact between languages in general and the contact between Spanish with other languages in particular. We will discuss basic concepts that emerge in this field of inquiry, such as diglossia, language maintenance, attrition, shift, convergence, code-switching, and borrowing, and apply these concepts to our discussion of contexts that involve Spanish. We will read about speech communities where Spanish is the majority language (in the Iberian Peninsula and Latin America) and the minority language (in the United States). We will compare these situations and discuss how linguistic and extra-linguistic factors influence the output of contact, from both qualitative and quantitative viewpoints.

SPAN 696D – Hispanic Linguistics

This course is designed to explore theoretical and applied issues involving language and linguistics. Throughout the course we will examine an array of perspectives. In the light of the readings students will develop original research projects.

TLS 516 – Structured English Foundations

Theory and practice in sheltered content instruction for English learners, national and state education policies affecting ELLs, and the relationship between these policies and second language acquisition theory.

TLS 536 – World Languages Methodology

Specific strategies, methodologies, assessment practices, and design approaches to teaching world language classes in diverse secondary classrooms are examined, discussed, and applied. Extends professional knowledge and develops skills and dispositions necessary to meet some of the national standards for teachers:
- The Interstate Teacher Assessment and Support Consortium (InTASC Standards)
- The International Society for Technology in Education Standards for Teachers (ISTE NETS-T Standards)

TLS 547 – Data Literacy

In this course, learners will acquire skills in visual design, mathematical reasoning and computational thinking to gain an understanding of data literacy. Learners are introduced to theories of cognition and visual perception as they relate to data visualization. Together, the class will create data visualizations and engage in meaning making around representations of data to explore profiling, prediction, judgement, and decision making. Learners will explore the concepts of proprietary data versus open data resources, critically examining their uses to recognize the role data play in their lives and societal outcomes.

Learning outcomes:
- Demonstrate ability to use presentation software to produce a multi-modal communication that incorporates data in order to inform. (Final Part 1)
- Demonstrate use of reasoning to draw conclusions. (Final Part 1, 2, 3)
- Construct an alternative infographic given the same data set highlighting different interpretations. (Part 1, 2, 3)
- Demonstrate critical thinking to critique how data are used to make and support arguments. (Part 2, 3)

TLS 596 – Topics in Teacher Education

The development and exchange of scholarly information, usually in a small group setting. The scope of work shall consist of research by course registrants, with the exchange of the results of such research through discussion, reports, and/or papers.

TLS 605 – Qualitative Methods in Education

Introduction to theory and methods of conducting research through extended participant observation in school or community settings; field work, ethnography, case study, qualitative methods.

TLS 654 – Educational and Applied Linguistics

This course explores the applications of linguistics in a range of professional contexts and real world situations, but with a particular focus on language and literacy education. The social and political nature of language use will be explored through topics such as dialect and language variation, bilingual programs and policies, language revitalization, and language literacy.

TLS 793A – Classroom Research

Specialized work on an individual basis, consisting of training and practice in actual service in a technical, business, or governmental establishment.

TLS 793B – Teacher Education Research

Specialized work on an individual basis, consisting of training and practice in actual service in a technical, business, or governmental establishment.