SFE11308 English: Culture Studies II with Didactics (Spring 2009)

The course is connected to the following study programs

Compulsory in the one-year English programme as part of the education programme, and also compulsory in the 30 ECTS credit module English 1.

Prerequisites

The course builds on SFE11108 Culture Studies I with Didactics (15 ECTS credits).

Lecture Semester

Spring 2009

Content

The culture studies take their point of departure in a chronological presentation of the development of national institutions, politics, social life and culture as well as an overview of the main events that brought on this development.

In the literature part an overview is given of the literary development in the USA 

The didactics part aims to make students realise how culture and literature can be used in the classroom. Students' language awareness is stimulated and further developed through the study of texts written by pupils. Various forms of assessment will also be discussed. Further, a central aspect of the course is analysing and evaluating teaching material such as coursebooks, dictionaries and ICT software. Knowledge of and skills in planning, giving reasons for, implementing and assessing English teaching is further developed and linked to the role of the teacher as language model and facilitator. This aspect is closely connected to knowledge of learning strategies, learning styles and learning environments.

 

In two weeks of the spring semester the instruction takes place at The Norwegian Study Centre in York.

Forms of teaching and learning

Lectures and groups. Students are expected to participate actively in discussions, group tasks and seminars on reference technique. Study groups outside scheduled classes are encouraged and facilitated.

Practical training/internship

Work practice is integrated in the study programme and takes place in close cooperation between the student, the placement supervisor and the course instructor. The placement period is normally three weeks in the spring semester.

Coursework requirements - conditions for taking the exam

• An essay (a minimum of 5 standard pages or 11,500 characters) and a second paper of the same length, applying secondary sources that are documented in a bibliography and in footnotes.
• Study period at The Norwegian Study Centre in YorkYork
• Compulsory attendance at the didactics lessons (a minimum of 80%).

All coursework must be approved before a student may sign up for the final examination.

Examination

A 5-hour written examination. Aids permitted: English-English dictionary. Grading scale: A-F.

Literature

• The Norton Anthology of American Literature, Shorter Seventh Ed. (New York: Norton, 2007). Literature marked with asterisk (*) is in the anthology.
  Ro, S, Literary America: An Introduction to the Literature of the United States (Oslo 1997)
  Mikkelsen, R, Culture Studies 2, Compendium, local print.

Children's books. The students choose one of the following:

• E. B. White, Charlotte's Web
• E. B. White, Stuart Little
• Carolyn Keene, Password to Larkspur Lane (Nancy Drew).
• Brad Strickland, The Whistle, the Grave and the Ghost
• Blue Balliett, Chasing Vermeer

A selection of the following literary texts will be read (the reading list will be available at course start):

Novels and plays

• F. S. Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby
• A. Walker, The Color Purple
• M. Cunningham, The Hours
• J. S. Foer, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close
• E. O'Neill, The Hairy Ape
• A. Miller, The Crucible

Prose and short stories

• *N. Hawthorne, ‘Young Goodman Brown'
• *Mark Twain, ‘The Notorious Jumping Frog of Calaveras'
• *C.P. Gilman, ‘The Yellow Wallpaper'
• * L. Silko, ‘The Man to Send Rainclouds'  

Poetry

• *W. Whitman, ‘Song of Myself' (1,2,6,51,52)
• *E. Dickinson, ‘There's a certain Slant of light' and ‘A Bird came down the walk'
• *T.S. Eliot, ‘Journey of the Magi'
• *Robert Frost, ‘Birches' and ‘The Road Not Taken'
• *William Carlos Williams, ‘The Red Wheelbarrow' and ‘This Is Just  to Say'
• *Langston Hughes,‘Mulatto'
• *Gwendolyn Brooks, ‘The White Troops Had Their Orders...'
• *Allen Ginsberg,‘A Supermarket in California
• *Sylvia Plath, ‘Daddy'  

Culture

• D. Mauk & J. Oakland, American Civilization, Fourth Edition (Routledge 2002)
• B. O'Callaghan, An Illustrated History of the USA . Longman (1996)
• Norton: the introduction and overview sections

Newspapers and journals will be read regularly. 

 

Didactics

• Munden, J & A Myhre (2002): Twinkle Twinkle -  English 1-4. Høyskoleforlaget.
• Bøhn et al, Fagdidaktikk. Compendium, local print.
• Drew, I & B Sørheim (2004), English Teaching Strategies - Methods for English Teachers of 10 to 16-year-olds. Det Norske Samlaget.
• Utdannings- og forskningsdepartementet  (2006), Kunnskapsløftet: Læreplaner for gjennomgående fag i grunnskolen og videregående opplæring.
• Relevant material from the European Council.      

All students must have an English-English dictionary such as Collins Cobuild Dictionary, Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary, or another learner's dictionary for non-native users of English.

 

Supplementary literature in English didactics 

• Bakke, B & N Millar (2000) IKT - også DET! NKS-Forlaget.                 
• Bautz, M (1984), Better English in the Classroom. NKS-Forlaget/Pensumtjenesten.
• Halliwell, S (1992), Teaching English in the Primary Classroom. Longman.          
• Harmer, J (3rd ed. 2001), The Practice of English Language Teaching. Longman.
• Korsvold, A K (2000), Engelsk i 10c. Universitetsforlaget.
• Pinter, A (2006), Teaching Young Language Learners. Oxford UP
• Scott, W A & L H Ytreberg, Teaching English to Children. Longman.
• Ytreberg, L H (1993), Engelsk i grunnskolen, En fagdidaktisk introduksjon. Tano.