APLING 621 Psycholinguistics

This course introduces students to contemporary issues and theories of language acquisition and development. Students compare various perspectives on first and second language acquisition and examine various types of analyses and research methods. In addition,as students investigate the multiple factors that influence language acquisition and understand the main phenomena common to most learners of a second language, they also consider possible applications of theory and research to teaching.

APLING 614 Foundations of Bilingual/Multicultural Education

This course is designed to introduce students to issues pertaining to the historical, philosophical, legal, and theoretical foundations of bilingualism, bilingual & multicultural education. Through the study of the relevant literature students will develop a theoretical/philosophical framework that will enable them to better understand the politics of diversity and multiculturalism and their implications for education.

APLING 640 Methods and Materials in Bilingual/ESL Education

This course is designed to provide systematic study of effective ways to structure learning opportunities for English Language Learners. An understanding of the instructional needs of language minority students is developed and an awareness of the appropriate programs and services to meet those specific needs is presented. The course is intended to engage graduate students in exploring theories of language learning, and a variety of methods, approaches and appropriate materials for use in bilingual and ESL classrooms. It further provides an overview of the historic and current trends and social issues affecting the education of language minority students as well as the political and ideological ramifications. Beyond the overcelebration of methods, this course embraces a pedagogy of praxis where theory and practice are dialectically interrelated to produce the best teaching practices for linguistic minority students.

APLING 682 Computer Assisted Instruction in the Bilingual/ESL Classroom

This course examines the role technology can play in the ELL/ESL Classroom. Built on a necessary historical overview of CAI (Computer Assisted Instruction) and CALL (Computer Assisted Language Learning) it provides a theoretical background for educators who want to integrate technology in the form of simple computer applications, instructional software, the Internet, Multimedia, Hypermedia and Hypertext in their ELL/ESL Classrooms. At the same time it draws from real situations and explores technological solutions to problems that educators currently face in their teaching practices. Most importantly, it adopts a critical eye regarding technology-supported instruction and examines issues influencing the integration of technology in language and content instruction.

APLING 685 Internet in the Bilingual/ESL Classroom

This course explores the role of the World Wide Web in Language Education. It provides a theoretical background for educators who want to use the Internet in their classrooms in a meaningful and pedagogically sound way. Major units include: Finding the best resources on the Web, Enhancing lesson plans with the Web, Critical Use of Technology in the Language Classroom & Technology Tools evaluation, The Digital Divide, Acceptable Use Policies, Copyright, Quality Assurance, and Content Validity.

APLING 697 Historical Foundations and Contemporary Issues in Critical Pedagogy

This is an introductory course to critical theory and the ways it has affected and shaped educational theory, pedagogy, and classroom practice. It draws upon the seminal work of a diverse group of theorists, including writings from the Frankfurt School (Marcuse, Adorno, Horkheimer), Antonio Gramsci, Louis Althusser and others. Within a historical context, the course focuses on early theories of social and cultural reproduction, theories of resistance and the hidden curriculum. It further, situates some of the early reform issues about schooling within a more recent context in order to illuminate how such issues resonate with current public discourses on schooling and radical pedagogy. We examine the work of Critical Pedagogues such as Paulo Freire, Henry Giroux, bell hooks, Stanley Aronowitz, Michael Apple, etc. Major themes of the course include: education as cultural force, hegemony and the politics of hidden curriculum, popular culture, public pedagogy and cultural politics, capitalism, neoliberalism and education and the role of educators as public intellectuals.

APLING 698 Practicum (seminar and school supervision)

The practicum, the culminating experience for teacher candidates, provides students with opportunities to put theory and technique into practice through a semester-long placement in a classroom appropriate to the grade level and content area of the licensure sought. Students develop their teaching competencies, with assistance from both a certified cooperating teacher and a university supervisor. Students also attend a seminar with the university supervisor, where they explore the connections between theory and practice and share practicum experiences.