ELN101: Introduction to Bilingualism

Last update:

Course information

  • Instructor: Tomonori Nagano, Ph.D.
  • Syllabus: Download the syllabus
  • Homepage: https://www.t-nagano.com/mycourses/ELN101/
  • Email: tnagano@lagcc.cuny.edu
  • Phone: 718-482-5484
  • Office: B-234FF
  • Office hours: E-mail is preferred, with which you should expect my response within 24 hours. Also, please talk to me after class if you have any question about the class.
  • Class schedule (ELN101.0390 (24621)):
    • Wednesday 10:30-12:45pm (Room B-A17)
    • online (1H asynchronous)

Class Modality and Announcements

The class is conducted as a hybrid class (in-person + online asynchronous). Please see the information below for information and policies about the instruction modality.
  1. ELN101.0390 (24621) is a hybrid (in-person + asynchronous online) class.
  2. Each lesson cycle (each week) is in the following structure.
    • Reading: Each lesson has required readings. Links to the reading assignments will be posted on Blackboard.
    • Reading comprehension (RC) questions: You will take the RC questions (multiple choice questions about your reading assignments) during class. The RC is open-book (you can use the reading and your notes), but it is timed (usually 5-10 min). The RC questions are graded.
    • Mini lecture on the reading assignments: This must be watched before the synchronous meeting. Links to the mini lectures will be posted on Blackboard.
    • In-person meeting: During the in-person, we will review the topic(s) of the week and engage in group/individual work.
    • Post-lecture comprehension (PLC) questions: PLC questions will be conducted at the end of the in-person meeting. These questions are graded.
    • Post-lecture activity (PLA): Each topic has a post-lecture activity (PLA), which must be submitted before the deadline. The post-lecture activity is graded.
  3. Course communication will take place on two platforms on this website and Blackboard.

  1. The Spring 2024 semester begins on Friday, March 1, 2024 (see the academic calendar for important dates in Spring 2024)
  2. LaGuardia's Fall Fest is taking place on Wednesday, March 27, 2024 (from 12:00pm – 4:00pm @ E-atrium and/or Cobblestone area). See https://t-nagano.com/projects/JapanClub/#current for more info.

Weekly schedule

Class Topic
  • Course outline, grade policy, syllabus, homework & exams
  • Linguistic Diversity in the U.S.
What you should do this week Deadline is on Sunday, March 10, 2024
  1. In-person meetings on Wednesday (ELN101.0390)
  2. Submit your information on the following forms
  3. Read (link to the readings is in the welcome e-mail):
    • Wiley, T. G. (2010). The United States. In J. Fishman (Ed.), Handbook of Language and Ethnic Identity - Disciplinary and Regional Perspectives (Volume 1). (pp. 302-322). Cambridge, UK: Oxford University Press.
    • [only a few pages] Nagano, T. (2015). Demographics of Adult Heritage Language Speakers in the United States: Differences by Region and Language and their Implications. The Modern Language Journal, 99(4), 771-792. (read only p.772 and pp.788-791)
  4. PLC (on BlackBoard )
    • Do the post-lecture comprehension (PLC) questions on Blackboard.
  5. PLA (on BlackBoard )
    • PLA: Linguistic autobiography (see here for a copy of the instructions)
  6. Q&A
    • Ask questions via e-mail, visiting the instructor's office (B-234), or texting the instructor's cellphone (see the welcome message for the number)

Class Topic
  • Linguistic Diversity in New York City
What you should do this week Deadline is on Sunday, March 17, 2024
  1. In-person meetings on Wednesday (ELN101.0390)
  2. Read (link to the readings is in the welcome e-mail):
    • Labo, A. P. & Salvo, J. J. (2013). A Portrait of New York's Immigrant Mélange. In N. Foner (Ed.), One Out of Three: Immigrant New York in the Twenty-First Century. (pp. 35-63). New York, NY: Columbia University Press.
  3. RC (in class)
    • You will take the RC assessment in class.
  4. PLC (on BlackBoard )
    • Do the post-lecture comprehension (PLC) questions on Blackboard.
  5. PLA (on BlackBoard )
    • PLA: MTA language access mini-project (see here for a copy of the instructions)
  6. Q&A
    • Ask questions via e-mail, visiting the instructor's office (B-234), or texting the instructor's cellphone (see the welcome message for the number)
  7. Bonus activity

Class Topic
  • Different Types of Bilingualism
What you should do this week Deadline is on Sunday, March 24, 2024
  1. In-person meetings on Wednesday (ELN101.0390)
  2. Read (link to the readings is in the welcome e-mail):
    • Wei, L. (2007). Dimensions of bilingualism. In L. Wei (Ed.), The Bilingualism Reader. (pp. 3-25). New York, NY: Routledge.
  3. RC (in class)
    • You will take the RC assessment in class.
  4. PLC (on BlackBoard )
    • Do the post-lecture comprehension (PLC) questions on Blackboard.
  5. PLA (on BlackBoard )
  6. Q&A
    • Ask questions via e-mail, visiting the instructor's office (B-234), or texting the instructor's cellphone (see the welcome message for the number)

Class Topic
  • Introduction to Interview Research and Transcript Analysis
What you should do this week Deadline is on Sunday, March 31, 2024
  1. In-person meetings on Wednesday (ELN101.0390)
  2. Read (link to the readings is in the welcome e-mail):
    • Merriam, S. B. & Tisdell, E. J. (2015). Conducting Effective Interviews. In Qualitative Research: A Guide to Design and Implementation. (only pp. 117-130). Hoboken, NJ: Jossey-Bass.
  3. RC (in class)
    • You will take the RC assessment in class.
  4. PLC (on BlackBoard )
    • Do the post-lecture comprehension (PLC) questions on Blackboard.
  5. PLA (on BlackBoard )
  6. Q&A
    • Ask questions via e-mail, visiting the instructor's office (B-234), or texting the instructor's cellphone (see the welcome message for the number)
  7. Bonus activity

Class Topic
  • Views on Language Diversity in the U.S.
What you should do this week Deadline is on Sunday, April 7, 2024
  1. In-person meetings on Wednesday (ELN101.0390)
  2. Read (link to the readings is in the welcome e-mail):
    • Garcia (2009). Ch. 1 Introducing Bilingual Education (pp.3-20)
  3. RC (in class)
    • You will take the RC assessment in class.
  4. PLC (on BlackBoard )
    • Do the post-lecture comprehension (PLC) questions on Blackboard.
  5. PLA (on BlackBoard )
  6. Q&A
    • Ask questions via e-mail, visiting the instructor's office (B-234), or texting the instructor's cellphone (see the welcome message for the number)
  7. Quiz 1
    • Quiz 1 is posted on Blackboard. You can take the quiz anytime before Sunday, April 7, 2024. It is a timed quiz (35 min) and you need to complete the entire quiz when you start it. Please watch the mini-lecture on how to take a quiz on Blackboard before taking your quiz (https://youtu.be/mzNjPJxkovU).

Class Topic
  • Individual Bilingualism
What you should do this week Deadline is on Sunday, April 14, 2024
  1. In-person meetings on Wednesday (ELN101.0390)
  2. Read (link to the readings is in the welcome e-mail):
    • Garcia (2009). Ch. 3 Bilingualism and Translanguaging (pp.42-72)
  3. RC (in class)
    • You will take the RC assessment in class.
  4. PLC (on BlackBoard )
    • Do the post-lecture comprehension (PLC) questions on Blackboard.
  5. PLA (on BlackBoard )
  6. Q&A
    • Ask questions via e-mail, visiting the instructor's office (B-234), or texting the instructor's cellphone (see the welcome message for the number)
  7. Research Paper 1
    • The draft of research paper 1 (instructions here ) is due on Sunday, April 21, 2024. This is an optional deadline (only if you want to receive feedback to your paper before the formal deadline on Sunday, April 28, 2024). If you want to share your draft paper, submit it through Blackboard.

Class Topic
  • First Language Acquisition
What you should do this week Deadline is on Sunday, April 21, 2024
  1. In-person meetings on Wednesday (ELN101.0390)
  2. Read (link to the readings is in the welcome e-mail):
    • Lightbown, P. & Spada, N. (2013). Language Learning in Early Childhood. In How Languages are Learned. (pp. 5-34). Cambridge, Mass.: Oxford University Press
  3. RC (in class)
    • You will take the RC assessment in class.
  4. PLC (on BlackBoard )
    • Do the post-lecture comprehension (PLC) questions on Blackboard.
  5. PLA (on BlackBoard )
  6. Q&A
    • Ask questions via e-mail, visiting the instructor's office (B-234), or texting the instructor's cellphone (see the welcome message for the number)
  7. Research Paper 1
    • The research paper 1 (instructions here ) is due on Sunday, October 29, 2023. Submit it through Blackboard.