Second Language and Cultural Acquisition
S05, F07 
Peter Jones
How can we understand the challenges of becoming speakers of other languages and participants in new cultures? We are all language and culture learners, whether we seek out the opportunities explicitly or simply notice our engagement in new ways of being, doing, and thinking. These opportunities for understanding and change come into focus, however, when engaging in communication in other languages. We will investigate the langua-cultural challenges of participation in such contexts and the processes of adjustment, and resistance to them. We orient to these questions with specific reference to models of second language acquisition and communication, with emphasis on those taking sociolinguistic, sociocultural, and anthropological perspectives. We will also explore the most prominent psycholinguistic model of language learning, input-interaction-output, in relation to these social and cultural models. Course participants will engage in second language tutoring as a practical application and source of insight into language and cultural learning. Tutoring can take place in the local school district with English as a second language students or on campus with foreign language learners. The course is particularly recommended for those preparing for a semester abroad, and can also serve as an opportunity to reflect and theorize one's experiences upon return.