FACULTY OF EDUCATION AND LANGUAGES

HBET1403: SOCIOLINGUISTICS IN LANGUAGE TEACHING SEMESTER: MAY 2010 COURSE ASSIGNMENT (30%)

INSTRUCTIONS 1. The assignment will be evaluated on the basis of the accuracy of the answers given and the credibility of the supporting arguments, data and references. 2. Type your assignment using Times New Roman, font size 12 with 1.5 line spacing on A4 size paper. 3. Your assignment must be submitted before or by the 4th tutorial OR according to the announcement given later. 4. 5. 6. Your assignment should be limited to 10 12 pages. This assignment is worth 30 % of your final course grade. Plagiarism in any form is prohibited. Plagiarised materials will not be accepted and no marks would be awarded for the work.

INSTRUCTIONS Your assignment will be evaluated according to your ability to select the most important evidence and other material needed to support the arguments advanced, as well as your ability to present both the arguments and supporting materials concisely.

UNDERSTANDING THE AIM AND SCOPE OF THE ASSIGNMENT 1. This two-part assignment is on basic understanding of the relationship between language, society and culture, and the application of this understanding to the teaching practice. 2. For this assignment, you should use your own words as far as possible and cite related literature only when necessary, using the APA or any other established style.

ASSIGNMENT TASKS Task 1: Designing a language task This part of the assignment requires you to design a language task that develops communicative competence, specifically the use of registers, to a particular group of learners. The design of this language task should take into consideration selected aspect(s) of the speech situations, and the linguistic and non-linguistic features of register. Develop relevant worksheet(s) for the task. The worksheet(s) should be submitted as part of your assignment. In not more than 600 words: a) briefly describe the language task and its objective(s), b) provide relevant details about the target learners (the social group(s) and speech communit(ies) they belong to), and c) explain in detail how the task can promote the communicative competence, specifically the use of registers among the target learners. (15 marks)

Task 2: Essay Language expresses, embodies and symbolises cultural reality (Kramsch, 1998). Based on your own teaching experience, discuss the effects of this intricate relationship between language, culture and society on the teaching and learning of English in Malaysian classrooms. In not more than 700 words: a) briefly describe the cultural environment where the teaching and learning of English takes place (e.g. geographical location, socio-cultural make-up, major speech communit(ies), etc.), b) demonstrate how culture and society affect the teaching and learning of English, c) highlight some major challenges that confront teachers in dealing with the effects of culture and society on language teaching and learning, and d) outline relevant considerations in managing the challenges highlighted in (b).

Your discussion should hinge largely on your own response and experience, supported with relevant literature and examples where necessary. (15 marks) [Total: 30 marks]