Keep an eye on this post - additional info will be posted as it becomes available!

~AK

11/2/18 - ProctorU sign-up is now available! Please make sure to sign up by 11/15 to avoid any 'late registration' fees (the cost of the exam is covered by the APLING department, late fees are not). There are two versions of the exam:

• APLING Comp-Exam - December 2018 - FL Version
• APLING Comp-Exam - December 2018 - ESL Version

Please book a proctoring time for the appropriate exam :-) Sign-up link:  http://www.proctoru.com/umb

10/4/18 - Comp-Exam InfoSession information confirmed! 

• October 17 @6pm EST
• Available on-campus (APLING conference room)
• Concurrently available online via Zoom
  • register here: https://umassboston.zoom.us/meeting/register/efad4d807f9a55d4cde7dc3c8da9331e

10/3/18 - UPDATE - Added an updated handout (word document) and a powerpoint for the info session:

• Updated handout: (click here)
• PowerPoint file for InfoSession: (click here)

------------------

Hello everyone!

This InfoPost will provide you with information about the December 2018 comprehensive exam. Please refer back to this post for more info over time.

The Comprehensive Exam is scheduled for Monday December 17, 2018, which is a Monday.

If you have questions relating to the comprehensive exam that are not covered in this post, please post them as a comment at the bottom of this post.

DATE & LOCATION OF THE EXAM

The date of the exam is Monday December 17th, 2018 for both campus and online students.

For students who are taking the exam on-campus, the exam will take place in Healey Library, Blue Lab (Healey Library-3rd floor). The exam will take place from Noon to 4pm.  Please arrive by 11:30. 

For students taking the exam online, the exam takes place at a location of your own choosing. Proctoring will be provided by a service called ProctorU (more down below). The exam for those taking it online is a little more flexible in terms of when you can start so that we can accommodate more time-zones.  The exam opens at 12:05 am EST on the day of the exam and is available to start until 1:00pm EST on the same date. You still have 4 hours to complete it, but the starting time is a little more flexible. You can use Day and Time to calculate what these times are in your timezone.

Usually online students take the exam online, and on-campus students take the exam on-campus. However, if you are an online student and happen to be in the Boston area and want to come to campus to take the exam you can do that.  Or, if you are an on-campus student and you want to take it online we can do that too! Just indicate on the RSVP what your plans are so we can prepare the appropriate exam for you.

REGISTRATION INFORMATION

In order to take the comprehensive exam you need to do two things:

1. Please complete the RSVP form for taking the comprehensive exam (PDF) and return it to the department by email (applied.linguistics@umb.edu), by fax (+1 617-287-5403) or in person (M-4-458A).
   • This form is due by October 15, 2018
2. Please complete your graduation request paperwork. You should have received a letter from the registrar's office in late September if you are potentially eligible to graduate.

As soon as we have processed your paperwork, you will be given access to a Blackboard course (http://umb.umassonline.net) where the information session will take place, and where you will be taking your exam.

EXIT EVALUATION FORM

Both online and on-campus students will be emailed an online survey by, or on, Friday November 23rd, 2018. If you don't receive a survey please first check your spam folder to see if it's there. If not, please email applied.linguistics@umb.edu and we can troubleshoot :-)

You will have until Friday December 14th, 2018 to complete this survey.You must complete the survey before taking the comprehensive exam. Please follow the link to the survey as you will be unable to take the exam until it is completed. This survey is anonymous and evaluations will be opened and analyzed only after comprehensive exam results are in and grades submitted.

COMPREHENSIVE EXAM INFORMATIONAL Q&A SESSION

Online

Please post questions at the bottom of this InfoPost

On-Campus

The on-campus face to face comprehensive exam information session is TBD.  Before you attend, please read this InfoPost and use the Discussion forum (same as online students) to ask questions you might have about the comprehensive exam.  If you are planning on attending please RSVP to this event so that we know how many are attending:  (Link to TBD). 

Document:

Comp exam handout 2017

PROCTORING

Online students: You can take the exam at (almost) any location you'd like! It seems that over the past few semesters most students taking the exam do so at home or at their office. To provide proctoring we are working with a company called ProctorU to make sure that each and every one of you has a proctor. It is really important to work out the time zone information correctly; all times are referenced in Eastern Standard Time (Boston time). Online students can choose to take the exam online, or on-campus.

Please see this Student Handout (PDF file) to see what the system requirements are for proctoring the exam remotely.

A common question that has been asked is whether or not you can go to a testing center, or find your own proctor, instead of using ProctorU.  The answer is that you cannot use any other proctoring service other than ProctorU.  ProctorU is the only option :)

On-campus exam students: Faculty members from the department of Applied Linguistics will be proctoring the on-campus exam on December 17th.  

Exam Material

Students are examined on material from their FIVE core and TWO required courses in their concentration (ESL or Foreign Language).  Questions which appear on the exam are taken from exams, paper topics, and assignments in core and required courses and are periodically updated by faculty to reflect new course materials. Questions may also be submitted to the Comprehensive Exam Committee by students and will be considered for inclusion on the exam. If you are interested to do so, please email your questions to the coordinator of the Comprehensive Exam at applied.linguistics@umb.edu

Exam Structure

Questions on the exam are arranged into THREE areas of study. Two questions are asked in
each area. Students must answer ONE question in each area, thus THREE questions in FOUR
hours.

In each area, we suggest in parentheses possible themes questions might address. However, this
is NOT an exhaustive list.

Students are responsible for preparing to answer questions in each area by referring to course
syllabi where main content and goals are highlighted. Materials from one specific course may be
helpful and used to answer questions in more than one area.

All answers to exam questions should be informed by theory and research and  include a detailed linguistic analysis when required. The content of all core and  concentration courses will be tested on the exam (601, 603, 605, 621, 623, 611 or 618, 612 or 614)

ESL Concentration Exam Areas:

1. LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT (601, 605, 614, 621)

• foundations of language teaching,
• literacy
• first and second language acquisition issues and theories,
• theories and foundations of bilingualism,
• language analysis and learning on syntactic, morphological, semantic, lexical, pragmatic, and discourse levels, etc.

2. LANGUAGE METHODOLOGY AND PEDAGOGY (601,618, 614, 605)

• methods and materials (CLT, NA, etc.)
• learner diversity,
• Cooperative learning
• curriculum development,
• prescriptivism and language teaching,
• culturally sensitive teaching, etc.

3. LANGUAGE, CULTURE, AND SOCIETY (601, 603, 614, 623)

• sociolinguistic and socio-cultural factors in language development
• sociolinguistic methods of analysis
• language varieties, language variation
• assimilation, cultural discontinuities, cross-cultural communication
• literacy and culture, pragmatics and social context of language
• national language debates, etc

Foreign Language Concentration Exam Areas:

1. LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT (601, 605,  621)

• foundations of language teaching,
• literacy
• first and second language acquisition issues and theories,
• theories and foundations of bilingualism,
• language analysis and learning on syntactic, morphological, semantic, lexical, pragmatic, and discourse levels, etc.

2. LANGUAGE METHODOLOGY AND PEDAGOGY (601,611, 612, 605)

• methods and materials
• integration of the teaching of culture and language
• prescriptivism and language teaching
• authenticity of teaching materials
• language analysis and teaching on syntactic, morphological, semantic, lexical, pragmatic, and discourse levels, etc.).

3. LANGUAGE, CULTURE, AND SOCIETY (601, 603, 623, 612)

• sociolinguistic and socio-cultural factors in language development
• sociolinguistic methods of analysis
• language varieties, language variation
• assimilation, cultural discontinuities, cross-cultural communication
• literacy and culture, pragmatics and social context of language
• national language debates, etc.

SAMPLE QUESTIONS

Language Development

Describe two major theories of FIRST language acquisition. Explain how each
may account for different levels of language development (phonological,
morphological, syntactic, semantic, pragmatic, etc.). Choose the theory you
consider most tenable and explain why you do. Make sure to substantiate your
response with examples and relevant literature.

Language, Culture, and Society

Language change is influenced by social status, gender, and interaction.
Discuss and illustrate two of these factors. Illustrate your discussion with
examples from different levels of language description (syntactic, morphological,
discursive, phonological, etc.) Make sure to support your response with relevant
literature.

Grading

The exams are graded by a committee of Applied Linguistics faculty.  Exams are graded “blind;”  no names are recorded on the printouts of the exams.  Students are assigned a letter code and the list which identifies letters with student names is sealed until grading is completed.

Each exam is read by at least two faculty members.  If the first reader and the second reader agree that the exam is a “Pass,” then the student is passed.  If the first and second reader disagree, or if there is any uncertainty in their evaluation, then a third reader is enlisted. 

Each answer is assigned a grade of High Pass, Pass, or Fail. No exam can be deemed as a Pass if one of the three required questions is not answered or has been assigned a failing grade.

Given the high number of students taking the exam, it may take up to two weeks for results to be sent out. Exam results are emailed when all grading has been completed.  Students should not email or call the office about results. Faculty always complete evaluations by graduation date. Students who pass the exam don’t have access to their exam answers.

Readers use the same comprehensive exam evaluation rubric to evaluate exams. You are encouraged to familiarize yourself with this rubric before the exam.  The rubric includes the following criteria:

1. Does student answer the question asked?
2. Are all parts of the question answered?
3. Does the student answer the question in sufficient depth?  Are there important issues not covered?
4. Does the student make repeated or gross misstatements that would lead you to believe that they do not understand the relevant material?
5. Is the material presented coherently organized?  Can you follow the student’s argument without having to do a lot of “interpreting” or “filling in the blanks”?
6. Are technical terms used clearly and appropriately?  Are terms defined where necessary?
7. Are references made to course content and material where obvious/necessary?  (If, for example, you teach a course which addresses the question posed, does the student mention those aspects of the issue covered in your course?)
8. Does the student cite relevant sources?  Does the student link theories or methods to particular individuals?  (In other words, if s/he is clearly referring to a particular author’s work, does s/he cite the author?)
9. If the student draws on personal experiences to answer a question, is that experience linked in some way to theoretical issues, relevant literature, or coursework?
10. Does the student merely repeat the same material, references, and arguments in one or more of his or her responses or does s/he demonstrate a comprehensive grasp of the field?

Click here to view grading rubric for the exam. As you study, prepare for the exam, and ultimate write your exam, keep this rubric in mind!

Strategies for preparing for and taking the exam:

Preparing:

• Carefully review your course syllabi paying attention to the course objectives and the main headings of weekly sessions. These headings outline important topics and issues; you should know the literature related to these themes and topics. You should be able to formulate basic questions about these themes and issues that could be exam questions.
• In general, exam questions ask you to define and discuss an issue, its context and origins; to support your discussion referring to scholars who contributed to the discussion of the issue, and to draw some classroom implications.
• Knowing the literature means being able to summarize the main ideas of a given scholar and assess her/his contribution to the field of applied linguistics. You are not expected to quote in the exam but you should spell scholars’ names properly, know the decade in which they contributed to the field, and present and summarize scholar’s ideas using and defining the terminology and connecting these ideas to the questions asked.
• If you like working in groups, it is a good idea to meet online with classmates.
• Advice for group work
  • Form a small group with 3-5 other students
  • Commit to each other to a meeting schedule, time and mode
  • Individually list the major theories that you remember
    (Do this before you open the books to see how much you already know!)
  • Include the key theorists’ name and dates.
  • Write a paragraph or two from memory with the key details.
  • Meet with your group to compare notes.
  • Revise your summaries as needed
  • Make a timeline of key theorists and dates.
    Include ONLY names and dates for a “clean” visual memory support.
    Use colors if you are a visual learner.
• Practice timed essays with each other:
  • Familiarize yourself with the evaluation rubric used by comprehensive exam graders
  • Write and exchange your questions
  • Assess each other’s essays using the comprehension evaluation rubric
  • Suggested: two “assessors” read and grade independently, THEN compare grades and feedback.
  • Give feedback in terms of the rubric and what the question asks

• You may consult any of the faculty members if you have doubt or questions about some concept or issue.

Taking the Exam

• Set up a document in word before you access the exam so you are ready to write as soon as you access the questions. SAVE it! Remember to hit save regularly as you write, or set it up to autosave every 5 minutes. Make sure you give yourself 5-10 minutes at the end to copy/paste your answers to Blackboard.
• Do not worry about formatting. It will disappear when you copy to Blackboard. Try to insert a blank line or two between paragraphs. Don’t worry about indenting.
• Copy the key phrases that you must answer in each question. Enter spaces between each phrase before you start to write. This will create a structure and help you remember what you have to answer. The last line of each question will ALWAYS tell you to support your answer with relevant literature. It is not necessary to copy this phrase—you are doing this throughout each answer.
• It is very important that you mark clearly by number each of the questions you choose to answer. The area designator and question number is sufficient. You do not have to copy the entire question. (e.g., A3)
• You should not waste time making detailed notes, extensive outlines, or rewriting your answers.  The exam committee realizes this is a timed exam and you are under considerable pressure; therefore, we do not grade on language mechanics or expository prose -- so long as your argument and meaning are clear.
• You should not spend more than an hour on each question.
• You should run a spell check before uploading your exam.
• Make sure to not only submit the exam as a 'test' in Blackboard (where you copy/paste your answers from Word), but also submit your word document as a backup in the designated spot!

Exam Rules

• The comprehensive exam is a closed book, closed notes exam
• The internet, and internet sources are not allowed either
• Scrap paper and pens/pencils are allowed for you to brainstorm before you write
• Breaks are allowed!  If you need to get up a stretch, or take a biobreak, that's OK! (on average students seem to take a break every 40-60 minutes of writing)
• Once the exam starts it doesn't stop. You have 4 hours

If you Fail the Exam

Students who fail the exam on the first attempt can take the exam a second time.  Before retaking the exam, the student should set up a phone, skype, or chat appointment with the faculty member coordinating the comprehensive exam process in order to discuss the reasons for the failure.  Students who fail the exam will be given the comments of readers and be shown parts of their exam in light of the readers’ evaluations.

Students who fail the exam can retake the exam only once.  In preparing to retake the exam, students are encouraged to discuss with their advisors or other faculty how they might strengthen their performance.  If a student feels he or she has been unjustly evaluated, an appeal procedure exists and may be discussed with the comprehensive exam chair.

Students who take their coursework seriously, seek and obtain the guidance of their faculty advisor periodically throughout their program of study, and prepare conscientiously for the comprehensive exam, usually have no difficulties passing. 

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

As always, if you find this blog post helpful, please hit the "like" button :-)

https://tesol.informz.net/informzdataservice/onlineversion/ind/bWFpbGluZ2luc3RhbmNlaWQ9NzkyNzYyMSZzdWJzY3JpYmVyaWQ9MTA4MDgwNzY0OA==

Review by Jan Blommaert.pdf

Chun-2018-TESOL_Quarterly.pdf

Welcome to Fall 2018 semester, everyone!

For the new students, I would like to share my Introduction video and my research:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wQgvobm2Z8I&t=7s

https://um-boston.academia.edu/ChristianWChun

Watch this space for details  and updates!

~AK

5/8/18 - Registration for courses complete.  If you spoke to an advisor, and you don't have holds on your account, you are all set for classes (or the program fee). If you don't see your classes in WISER do let us know! (applied.linguistics@umb.edu)

4/13/2018 - APLING 621 (on-campus) has been cancelled for the  fall semester.  We will be offering it in the spring.

---------------

In a couple of short weeks the adviding & registration period for the summer and fall 2018 semesters will begin :-)  In this InfoPost you will find out a bit more about the Summer and Fall 2018 advising timeline and when certain things will happen.  As new information is available, this blog post will be updated, so keep it in mind, and check back, when you have questions!  If your questions are not answered by this blog post, please use the comments feature at the bottom of this post to ask questions.

PREPARATORY WORK:

Before meeting your with advisor:

1. please log into WISER (http://wiser.umb.edu) and make sure you don't have any holds on your account!  The only hold that we (applied linguistics) can remove is the "Advising Hold." If you have other holds on your account you need to get those resolved ASAP with the appropriate departments. An immunization hold, or hold of any other sort, means that we are not going to be able to register you!  Please make sure to take care of all holds on your account as soon as possible.
2. please log into WISER and download a copy of your unofficial transcript.  Your advisor will need you to provide this to them in preparation for advising and course registration.

Immunization Hold:

If you are an online student, and you opt to apply for the immunization exemption, then you have to fill out the form every semester and mail it to University Health Services so that the immunization hold can be removed.  If you are an on-campus student you will need to make sure that all immunizations are in order.  Please see the University Health Services website for more information: http://www.umb.edu/healthservices/information_for_new_students. 

Note for new students (On-campus & Online):

Even though new students will not be registered right away (since your paperwork for admissions may not have been fully processed yet) no need to worry. There will be spots available in introductory courses for you! We will be registering you for APLING 601, APLING 603, and/or APLING 605 (two of our three introductory courses). If you would like to register for a 3rd course, please contact applied.linguistics@umb.edu for more information. Please see your welcome letter, sent by email, for more information.

COURSES:

The tentative list of courses has been posted in the Classroom Group for quite some time :-).  Instructions, as well as days and times of courses (for on-campus courses) will be posted here as they become available. 

SUMMER Online courses

Electives courses

• APLING 670: Testing in the ESL Classroom - INFANTE, Paolo (12 week summer course)
  • NOTE: If you are a campus student and you need this course for licensure purposes please make sure to talk to your advisor earlier rather than later. This course fills up quickly!
• APLING 697: Forensic Linguistics - BECKMAN, Kristina (12 week summer course)

FALL ONLINE courses

Core courses

• APLING 601: Linguistics - MIKROS, George
• APLING 603: Cross-Cultural Perspectives - KISS, Katherine
• APLING 605: Theories and Principles of Language Teaching -  SHIN, Jaran
• APLING 621: Psycholinguistics - O'BRYAN, Anne
• APLING 623: Sociolinguistics  - BECKMAN, Kristina

Concentration Courses

• APLING 611: Methods and Material in Foreign Language Pedagogy - BUESCHER, Kimberly
• APLING 614: Foundations of Bilingual and Multicultural Education - KISS, Katherine

Elective Courses

• APLING 629: Structure of the English Language - MEYER, Chuck
• APLING 669: Writing Theories - BARBOSA, Perla

FALL CAMPUS Courses

Core Courses

• APLING 601: Linguistics (W @ 4pm) - MEYER, Chuck
• APLING 603: Language, Culture, and Identity (M @ 4pm) - CHUN, Christian
• APLING 605: Theories and Principles of Language Teaching (W @ 7pm) - BARTOLOME, Lilia
• APLING 621: Psycholinguistics - (M @ 4pm) - ETIENNE, Corinne - CANCEL
• APLING 623: Sociolinguistics (Th @ 7pm) - MACEDO, Donaldo
• APLING 698: Practicum (licensure) (BY ARRG)  - SERCOMBE, Deborah

Concentration Courses

• APLING 611: Methods and Material in Foreign Language Pedagogy (Tu @ 7pm) - BUESCHER, Kimberly
• APLING 614: Foundations of Bilingual and Multicultural Education (Th @ 4pm) - BARTOLOME, Lilia

Elective Courses

• APLING 643: Historical Foundations of Critical Pedagogy (Tu @ 4pm) - GOUNARI, Panagiota

TEXTBOOKS:

Please do not ask for textbooks just yet :-)  As soon as we have a list of textbooks for each course, we will post a notice on the Announcements box (top center of umasslinguistics.com). We expect textbooks to be posted by June 1st.

TIMELINE:

March 10 – March 30: 

Your advisors will be contacting you via email. Please check both your UMass Boston student email and any emails you've given to us as part of your application process. Your advisor will contact you to set up an appointment to meet with you. You can meet by phone, by email, by skype, or if you are local you can meet in person! :-)  Be prepared to discuss your goals, and what courses you might be interested in signing up for. In consultation with your advisor you will pick 2 or 3 courses for next semester. Your advisors will tell us (AK or Evy) which courses you decided to sign up for and we will sign you up.

Please note that you advisor is not listed on WISER. We keep an internal departmental database to keep advisors and advisees :-)

Student Checklist Item:If you haven't heard from your advisor by March 15, please email applied.linguistics@umb.edu and let us know :-)

If you have not received advising by March 30, please contact Applied.Linguistics@umb.edu.

April 15 – April 30: During this period of time we will be going through and registering all students for courses. This is true for both online and on-campus students. If you log into WISER and you are not registered for a course yet, don't panic!  By May 1st you will be :-) We will be monitoring this forum to make sure everything's going well and answering questions as they come up. If, for some reason, you aren't registered May 1 – May 10 will be a catch-up and correction week for registrations.

Student Checklist Item: On May 10, please check your WISER account to make sure that you are registered for courses, and that you are registered for the courses you and you advisor agreed upon. If you are not registered for courses, please go into the appropriate Registration Q&A forum. 

May 5 - May 20 Non-Degree Registration period (for summer semester). If you are a non-degree student, once all currently enrolled students are registered, we will begin processing non-degree registrations.  It's important to note that prior to May 5 we will not know how many available spots there are in courses :-)

Student Checklist Item: If you are a non-degree student who wishes to register for a Summer 2016 course, please check in on May 5th to see what courses are available. Once you submit registration paperwork, you should be registered within a few days (depending on how busy the registrar's office is :-)  )

June 1st: Book Lists will be posted, for Fall Semester courses, in the Classroom group. Please be patient until then and refrain from emailing us or asking questions about book lists :-) 

August 10 - September 1 Non-Degree Registration period (for fall semester). If you are a non-degree student, once all currently enrolled students are registered, we will begin processing non-degree registrations.  It's important to note that prior to August 20th we will not know how many available spots there are in courses :-)

Student Checklist Item: If you are a non-degree student who wishes to register for a fall 2016 course, please check in on August 10 to see what courses are available. Once you submit registration paperwork, you should be registered within a few days (depending on how busy the registrar's office is)

FAQ

1. Who is my advisor?
   Your advisor is not listed on WISER (this is only an undergraduate advising feature :(  ). If you don't hear from your advisor by March 15th please email applied.linguistics@umb.edu and we'll get you in touch with them :). Your advisor's name is listed in the welcome letter from the time of your admissions (if you haven't changed your advisor).
2. WISER does not show my advisor, what's up with that?
   The WISER system is setup for undergraduate advisors.  Unfortunately we do not have access to change this, so graduate students will show a blank advisor.  Rest assured that you have an advisor , they just don't show up in WISER :-)
3. Can I change advisors?
   Of course! If you would like to change advisor, please email applied.linguistics@umb.edu. Please include your UMS number in the request, and the reason you would like to change advisors.
4. Can I register without meeting my advisor?
   You will not be able to register without meeting your advisor
5. I have a hold, can you register me?
   We can only override the "Advising" hold if you've met with your advisor.  We cannot override other holds, so we cannot register you if you have holds.
6. I met with my advisor, and I was told I was "all set" but I don't see courses in WISER. What's the deal?
   When you meet with your advisor you are placed in a queue to be registered by either AK or Evy.  We usually register students in the queue on Thursdays and Fridays.  We will not begin registering students until April 15th. If it's before 4/15 it's normal that you may not be registered yet.  If it's after 4/15 and you are not registered there might be a hold on your account preventing us from registering you - please check to see if there is a hold and have it removed :).  Finally, if you have no holds, and it's past 4/15, and you're still not registered, please contact applied.linguistics@umb.edu and we can sort it out :)

---------- 

As always, if you find this infopost helpful, please hit the "like" button :)

Keep an eye on this post - additional info will be posted as it becomes available!

~AK

4/6/18 UPDATE - The exam 'course' should be visible on Blackboard around May 4-8 :)

3/26/18 UPDATE -  ProctorU spots should now be available for students to sign up for the exam.  Please note that these are 'regular' exam spots for the Foreign Language and ESL Tracks.  If you need accommodations please make sure to contact the Ross Center so that we can different exam parameters.

------------------

Hello everyone!

This InfoPost will provide you with information about the May 2018 comprehensive exam. Please refer back to this post for more info over time.

The Comprehensive Exam is scheduled for Monday May 14, 2018, which is a Monday.

If you have questions relating to the comprehensive exam that are not covered in this post, please post them as a comment at the bottom of this post.

DATE & LOCATION OF THE EXAM

The date of the exam is Monday May 14th, 2018 for both campus and online students.

For students who are taking the exam on-campus, the exam will take place in Healey Library, Blue Lab (Healey Library-3rd floor). The exam will take place from Noon to 4pm.  Please arrive by 11:30. 

For students taking the exam online, the exam takes place at a location of your own choosing. Proctoring will be provided by a service called ProctorU (more down below). The exam for those taking it online is a little more flexible in terms of when you can start so that we can accommodate more time-zones.  The exam opens at 12:05 am EST on the day of the exam and is available to start until 1:00pm EST on the same date. You still have 4 hours to complete it, but the starting time is a little more flexible. You can use Day and Time to calculate what these times are in your timezone.

Usually online students take the exam online, and on-campus students take the exam on-campus. However, if you are an online student and happen to be in the Boston area and want to come to campus to take the exam you can do that.  Or, if you are an on-campus student and you want to take it online we can do that too! Just indicate on the RSVP what your plans are so we can prepare the appropriate exam for you.

REGISTRATION INFORMATION

In order to take the comprehensive exam you need to do two things:

1. Please complete the RSVP form for taking the comprehensive exam (PDF) and return it to the department by email (applied.linguistics@umb.edu), by fax (+1 617-287-5403) or in person (M-4-458A).
   • This form is due by March 15, 2018
2. Please complete your graduation request paperwork. You should have received a letter from the registrar's office in late September if you are potentially eligible to graduate.

As soon as we have processed your paperwork, you will be given access to a Blackboard course (http://umb.umassonline.net) where the information session will take place, and where you will be taking your exam.

EXIT EVALUATION FORM

Both online and on-campus students will be emailed an online survey by, or on, Friday April 20, 2018. If you don't receive a survey please first check your spam folder to see if it's there. If not, please email applied.linguistics@umb.edu and we can troubleshoot :-)

You will have until Friday May 11, 2018 to complete this survey.You must complete the survey before taking the comprehensive exam. Please follow the link to the survey as you will be unable to take the exam until it is completed. This survey is anonymous and evaluations will be opened and analyzed only after comprehensive exam results are in and grades submitted.

COMPREHENSIVE EXAM INFORMATIONAL Q&A SESSION

Online

Please post questions at the bottom of this InfoPost

On-Campus

The on-campus face to face comprehensive exam information session is TBD.  Before you attend, please read this InfoPost and use the Discussion forum (same as online students) to ask questions you might have about the comprehensive exam.  If you are planning on attending please RSVP to this event so that we know how many are attending:  (Link to TBD). 

Document:

Comp exam handout 2017

PROCTORING

Online students: You can take the exam at (almost) any location you'd like! It seems that over the past few semesters most students taking the exam do so at home or at their office. To provide proctoring we are working with a company called ProctorU to make sure that each and every one of you has a proctor. It is really important to work out the time zone information correctly; all times are referenced in Eastern Standard Time (Boston time). Online students can choose to take the exam online, or on-campus.

Please see this Student Handout (PDF file) to see what the system requirements are for proctoring the exam remotely.

A common question that has been asked is whether or not you can go to a testing center, or find your own proctor, instead of using ProctorU.  The answer is that you cannot use any other proctoring service other than ProctorU.  ProctorU is the only option :)

On-campus exam students: Faculty members from the department of Applied Linguistics will be proctoring the on-campus exam on May 14th.  

Exam Material

Students are examined on material from their FIVE core and TWO required courses in their concentration (ESL or Foreign Language).  Questions which appear on the exam are taken from exams, paper topics, and assignments in core and required courses and are periodically updated by faculty to reflect new course materials. Questions may also be submitted to the Comprehensive Exam Committee by students and will be considered for inclusion on the exam. If you are interested to do so, please email your questions to the coordinator of the Comprehensive Exam at applied.linguistics@umb.edu

Exam Structure

Questions on the exam are arranged into THREE areas of study. Two questions are asked in
each area. Students must answer ONE question in each area, thus THREE questions in FOUR
hours.

In each area, we suggest in parentheses possible themes questions might address. However, this
is NOT an exhaustive list.

Students are responsible for preparing to answer questions in each area by referring to course
syllabi where main content and goals are highlighted. Materials from one specific course may be
helpful and used to answer questions in more than one area.

All answers to exam questions should be informed by theory and research and  include a detailed linguistic analysis when required. The content of all core and  concentration courses will be tested on the exam (601, 603, 605, 621, 623, 611 or 618, 612 or 614)

ESL Concentration Exam Areas:

1. LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT (601, 605, 614, 621)

• foundations of language teaching,
• literacy
• first and second language acquisition issues and theories,
• theories and foundations of bilingualism,
• language analysis and learning on syntactic, morphological, semantic, lexical, pragmatic, and discourse levels, etc.

2. LANGUAGE METHODOLOGY AND PEDAGOGY (601,618, 614, 605)

• methods and materials (CLT, NA, etc.)
• learner diversity,
• Cooperative learning
• curriculum development,
• prescriptivism and language teaching,
• culturally sensitive teaching, etc.

3. LANGUAGE, CULTURE, AND SOCIETY (601, 603, 614, 623)

• sociolinguistic and socio-cultural factors in language development
• sociolinguistic methods of analysis
• language varieties, language variation
• assimilation, cultural discontinuities, cross-cultural communication
• literacy and culture, pragmatics and social context of language
• national language debates, etc

Foreign Language Concentration Exam Areas:

1. LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT (601, 605,  621)

• foundations of language teaching,
• literacy
• first and second language acquisition issues and theories,
• theories and foundations of bilingualism,
• language analysis and learning on syntactic, morphological, semantic, lexical, pragmatic, and discourse levels, etc.

2. LANGUAGE METHODOLOGY AND PEDAGOGY (601,611, 612, 605)

• methods and materials
• integration of the teaching of culture and language
• prescriptivism and language teaching
• authenticity of teaching materials
• language analysis and teaching on syntactic, morphological, semantic, lexical, pragmatic, and discourse levels, etc.).

3. LANGUAGE, CULTURE, AND SOCIETY (601, 603, 623, 612)

• sociolinguistic and socio-cultural factors in language development
• sociolinguistic methods of analysis
• language varieties, language variation
• assimilation, cultural discontinuities, cross-cultural communication
• literacy and culture, pragmatics and social context of language
• national language debates, etc.

SAMPLE QUESTIONS

Language Development

Describe two major theories of FIRST language acquisition. Explain how each
may account for different levels of language development (phonological,
morphological, syntactic, semantic, pragmatic, etc.). Choose the theory you
consider most tenable and explain why you do. Make sure to substantiate your
response with examples and relevant literature.

Language, Culture, and Society

Language change is influenced by social status, gender, and interaction.
Discuss and illustrate two of these factors. Illustrate your discussion with
examples from different levels of language description (syntactic, morphological,
discursive, phonological, etc.) Make sure to support your response with relevant
literature.

Grading

The exams are graded by a committee of Applied Linguistics faculty.  Exams are graded “blind;”  no names are recorded on the printouts of the exams.  Students are assigned a letter code and the list which identifies letters with student names is sealed until grading is completed.

Each exam is read by at least two faculty members.  If the first reader and the second reader agree that the exam is a “Pass,” then the student is passed.  If the first and second reader disagree, or if there is any uncertainty in their evaluation, then a third reader is enlisted. 

Each answer is assigned a grade of High Pass, Pass, or Fail. No exam can be deemed as a Pass if one of the three required questions is not answered or has been assigned a failing grade.

Given the high number of students taking the exam, it may take up to two weeks for results to be sent out. Exam results are emailed when all grading has been completed.  Students should not email or call the office about results. Faculty always complete evaluations by graduation date. Students who pass the exam don’t have access to their exam answers.

Readers use the same comprehensive exam evaluation rubric to evaluate exams. You are encouraged to familiarize yourself with this rubric before the exam.  The rubric includes the following criteria:

1. Does student answer the question asked?
2. Are all parts of the question answered?
3. Does the student answer the question in sufficient depth?  Are there important issues not covered?
4. Does the student make repeated or gross misstatements that would lead you to believe that they do not understand the relevant material?
5. Is the material presented coherently organized?  Can you follow the student’s argument without having to do a lot of “interpreting” or “filling in the blanks”?
6. Are technical terms used clearly and appropriately?  Are terms defined where necessary?
7. Are references made to course content and material where obvious/necessary?  (If, for example, you teach a course which addresses the question posed, does the student mention those aspects of the issue covered in your course?)
8. Does the student cite relevant sources?  Does the student link theories or methods to particular individuals?  (In other words, if s/he is clearly referring to a particular author’s work, does s/he cite the author?)
9. If the student draws on personal experiences to answer a question, is that experience linked in some way to theoretical issues, relevant literature, or coursework?
10. Does the student merely repeat the same material, references, and arguments in one or more of his or her responses or does s/he demonstrate a comprehensive grasp of the field?

Click here to view grading rubric for the exam. As you study, prepare for the exam, and ultimate write your exam, keep this rubric in mind!

Strategies for preparing for and taking the exam:

Preparing:

• Carefully review your course syllabi paying attention to the course objectives and the main headings of weekly sessions. These headings outline important topics and issues; you should know the literature related to these themes and topics. You should be able to formulate basic questions about these themes and issues that could be exam questions.
• In general, exam questions ask you to define and discuss an issue, its context and origins; to support your discussion referring to scholars who contributed to the discussion of the issue, and to draw some classroom implications.
• Knowing the literature means being able to summarize the main ideas of a given scholar and assess her/his contribution to the field of applied linguistics. You are not expected to quote in the exam but you should spell scholars’ names properly, know the decade in which they contributed to the field, and present and summarize scholar’s ideas using and defining the terminology and connecting these ideas to the questions asked.
• If you like working in groups, it is a good idea to meet online with classmates.
• Advice for group work
  • Form a small group with 3-5 other students
  • Commit to each other to a meeting schedule, time and mode
  • Individually list the major theories that you remember
    (Do this before you open the books to see how much you already know!)
  • Include the key theorists’ name and dates.
  • Write a paragraph or two from memory with the key details.
  • Meet with your group to compare notes.
  • Revise your summaries as needed
  • Make a timeline of key theorists and dates.
    Include ONLY names and dates for a “clean” visual memory support.
    Use colors if you are a visual learner.
• Practice timed essays with each other:
  • Familiarize yourself with the evaluation rubric used by comprehensive exam graders
  • Write and exchange your questions
  • Assess each other’s essays using the comprehension evaluation rubric
  • Suggested: two “assessors” read and grade independently, THEN compare grades and feedback.
  • Give feedback in terms of the rubric and what the question asks

• You may consult any of the faculty members if you have doubt or questions about some concept or issue.

Taking the Exam

• Set up a document in word before you access the exam so you are ready to write as soon as you access the questions. SAVE it! Remember to hit save regularly as you write, or set it up to autosave every 5 minutes. Make sure you give yourself 5-10 minutes at the end to copy/paste your answers to Bb.
• Do not worry about formatting. It will disappear when you copy to Blackboard. Try to insert a blank line or two between paragraphs. Don’t worry about indenting.
• Copy the key phrases that you must answer in each question. Enter spaces between each phrase before you start to write. This will create a structure and help you remember what you have to answer. The last line of each question will ALWAYS tell you to support your answer with relevant literature. It is not necessary to copy this phrase—you are doing this throughout each answer.
• It is very important that you mark clearly by number each of the questions you choose to answer. The area designator and question number is sufficient. You do not have to copy the entire question. (e.g., A3)
• You should not waste time making detailed notes, extensive outlines, or rewriting your answers.  The exam committee realizes this is a timed exam and you are under considerable pressure; therefore, we do not grade on language mechanics or expository prose -- so long as your argument and meaning are clear.
• You should not spend more than an hour on each question.
• You should run a spell check before uploading your exam.

Exam Rules

• The comprehensive exam is a closed book, closed notes exam
• The internet, and internet sources are not allowed either
• Scrap paper and pens/pencils are allowed for you to brainstorm before you write
• Breaks are allowed!  If you need to get up a stretch, or take a biobreak, that's OK! (on average students seem to take a break every 40-60 minutes of writing)
• Once the exam starts it doesn't stop. You have 4 hours

If you Fail the Exam

Students who fail the exam on the first attempt can take the exam a second time.  Before retaking the exam, the student should set up a phone, skype, or chat appointment with the faculty member coordinating the comprehensive exam process in order to discuss the reasons for the failure.  Students who fail the exam will be given the comments of readers and be shown parts of their exam in light of the readers’ evaluations.

Students who fail the exam can retake the exam only once.  In preparing to retake the exam, students are encouraged to discuss with their advisors or other faculty how they might strengthen their performance.  If a student feels he or she has been unjustly evaluated, an appeal procedure exists and may be discussed with the comprehensive exam chair.

Students who take their coursework seriously, seek and obtain the guidance of their faculty advisor periodically throughout their program of study, and prepare conscientiously for the comprehensive exam, usually have no difficulties passing. 

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

As always, if you find this blog post helpful, please hit the "like" button :-)

It's only been a few weeks since the start of the fall semester, but (believe it or not!) it's time to think about, and plan, for Spring 2018 courses!

If you are a matriculated student, you will be receiving an email from the Registrar's office sometime in mid-to-late October for Spring 2018 registration, and you might be eager to register, but you cannot yet because you probably have holds. You also need to meet with your advisor before you can sign-up for courses.

In this blog you will find out a bit more about the Spring 2018 advising timeline and when certain things will happen.  As new information is available, this blog post will be updated, so keep it in mind when you have questions :-)  If your questions are not answered by this blog post, please use the commenting functionality to post a question (trying something a little different this semester)

PREPARATORY WORK:

Before meeting your with advisor, please log into WISER (http://wiser.umb.edu) and make sure you don't have any holds on your account!  This is really important! The only hold that we (applied linguistics) can remove is the "Advising Hold." If you have other holds on your account you need to get those resolved ASAP with the appropriate departments otherwise we will not be able to register you for courses. 

Immunization Hold:

If you are an online student you can apply for the immunization exemption. You will need to fill out the form and submit it to University Health Services via their online health portal. This way the immunization hold can be removed and we can register you for courses. The form can be found here: http://www.umb.edu/healthservices/forms . Both campus and online students should check their WISER accounts to see if they have a hold on their account. If you do, log in to the Health Portal (MyHealth Beacon --> https://myhealthbeacon.umb.edu/ ) ASAP to get the hold removed - otherwise we cannot register you :-)

Note for new students (On-campus & Online):

Even though new students will not be registered right away (since all of your information probably has not been processed yet) no need to worry. There will be spots available in introductory courses for you! We will be registering you for APLING 601, APLING 603 and/or APLING 605 (our two introductory courses) if you are on-campus. 

COURSES:

The tentative list of courses has been posted in the Classroom Group for quite some time :-).  Instructions, as well as days and times of courses (for on-campus courses) will be posted here as they become available. 

SPRING Online courses

Core courses

• APLING 601: Linguistics - Section 1 - MIKROS, George
• APLING 603: Cross Cultural Perspectives - Section 1 - BECKMAN, Kristina
• APLING 605: Theories and Principles of Language Teaching - SHIN, Jaran
• APLING 621: Psycholinguistics - O'Bryan, Anne
• APLING 623: Sociolinguistics - BARTOLOME, Lilia
• APLING 690: Field Experience - KISS, Kate

Concentration Courses

• APLING 612: Integrating Culture into the Curriculum (Foreign Language Track) - KISS, Katherine
• APLING 618: Methods & Approaches in ESL (ESL/Bilingual Track) - CARHILL-POZA, Avary

Elective Courses

• APLING 627: Phonetics & Phonemics - MIKROS, George
• APLING 678: Technology in the Language Classroom - COMPTON, Lily

SPRING On-Campus Courses

Core Courses

• APLING 601: Linguistics (M @ 7pm) - MEYER, Chuck
• APLING 603: Cross-Cultural Perspectices (Th @ 4pm) - CHUN, Christian
• APLING 605: Theories and Principles of Language Teaching (W @ 7pm) - SHIN, Jaran
• APLING 621: Psycholinguistics (Tu @ 4pm) - ETIENNE, Corinne
• APLING 623: Sociolinguistics (W @ 4pm) - MACEDO, Donaldo
• APLING 698-1: Practicum (Licensure) (BY ARRG) - STAFF

Concentration Courses

• APLING 618: Methods & Approaches in ESL (ESL/K-12 Licensure Track) (M @ 4pm) - CARHILL-POZA, Avary

Elective Courses

• APLING 673: Teaching Reading in the ESL Classroom (Th @ 7pm) - BARTOLOME, Lilia
• APLING 684: Usage-Based Linguistic Analysis (W @ 4pm) - MEYER, Chuck

Just as a reminder, the tentative schedule of classes (that goes to 2019) can be found in the Classroom Group.  Here is a quick link to that tentative schedule.

TIMELINE:

October 10 – October 15: Your advisors will be contacting you via email. Please check both your UMass Boston student email and any emails you've given to us as part of your application process. Your advisor will contact you to setup an appointment to meet with you.  You can meet by phone, by email, by skype, or if you are local you can meet in person! :-)  Be prepared to discuss your goals, and what courses you might be interested in signing up for. In consultation with your advisor you will pick 2 or 3 courses for next semester. Your advisors will tell us (AK & Evy) which courses you decided to sign up for and we will sign you up.

Please note that you advisor is not listed on WISER. We keep an internal departmental database to keep advisors and advisees :-)

Student Checklist Item:If you haven't heard from your advisor by October 21 (Friday), please email applied.linguistics@umb.edu and let us know :-)

November 15 – December 10: During this period of time we will be going through and registering all students for courses. This is true for both online and on-campus students. If you log into WISER and you are not registered for a course yet, don't panic!  By December 20th you will be :-) We will be monitoring this forum to make sure everything's going well and answering questions as they come up. If, for some reason, you aren't registered December 10 – December 20 will be a catch-up and correction week for registrations.

Student Checklist Item: On December 16 (Friday), please check your WISER account to make sure that you are registered for courses, and that you are registered for the courses you and you advisor agreed upon. If you are not registered for courses, please go into the appropriate Registration Q&A forum. 

December 15 - 25: Book Lists will be posted, for Spring Semester courses, in the Classroom group. Please be patient until then and refrain from emailing us about book lists :-)

January 2 - January 30: Non-Degree Registration period (for spring semester). If you are a non-degree student, once all currently enrolled students are registered, we will begin processing non-degree registrations.  It's important to note that prior to January 2nd we will not know how many available spots there are in courses :-)

Student Checklist Item: If you are a non-degree student who wishes to register for a Spring 2017 course, please check in on January 2nd to see what courses are available. Once you submit registration paperwork, you should be registered within a few days (depending on how busy the registrar's office is :-)  )

FAQ

1. Who is my advisor?
   Your advisor's name is mentioned in the welcome letter you received when you matriculated to the program.  If you don't remember your advisor that's OK :-)  Please email applied.linguistics@umb.edu to inquire about your advisor's contact information if you have not heard from your advisor by October 21.
2. WISER does not show my advisor, what's up with that?
   The WISER system is setup for undergraduate advisors.  Unfortunately we do not have access to change this, so graduate students will show a blank advisor.  Rest assured that you have an advisor , they just don't show up in WISER :-)
3. Can I change advisors?
   Of course! If you would like to change advisor, please read this blog post for information, and then email applied.linguistics@umb.edu.
4. Can I register without meeting my advisor?
   You will not be able to register without meeting your advisor.
5. I have a hold, can you register me?
   We can only override the "Advising" hold if you've met with your advisor.  We cannot override other holds, so we cannot register you if you have holds.

-------

As always, if you find this blog post helpful, please click the "like" button so that others know to look for it :-)

Keep an eye on this post - additional info will be posted as it becomes available!

~AK

Update 12/1/17

• If you submitted an RSVP you are now on Blackboard and should be able to see the title of your exam.
• There are a couple of students for whom I have RSVP forms, but there is no ProctorU reservation. Please make your ProctorU reservation ASAP to avoid late fees (exam proctoring is paid by the department, but the late fee is paid by the student)

Update 10/24/17

• ProctorU should be available for registration :) If you don't see it do let us know! (applied.linguistics@umb.edu)
• ETA for exam 'course' on Blackboard: December 1-8

Update 10/10/17

• Comp exam handout 2017
• Comp-exam info session powerpoint 2017

_____________

Hello everyone!

This InfoPost will provide you with information about the December 2017 comprehensive exam. Please refer back to this post for more info over time.

The Comprehensive Exam is scheduled for Monday December 18, 2017, which is a Monday.

If you have questions relating to the comprehensive exam that are not covered in this post, please post them as a comment at the bottom of this post.

DATE & LOCATION OF THE EXAM

The date of the exam is Monday December 18th, 2017 for both campus and online students.

For students who are taking the exam on-campus, the exam will take place in Healey Library, Blue Lab (Healey Library-3rd floor). The exam will take place from Noon to 4pm.  Please arrive by 11:30. 

For students taking the exam online, the exam takes place at a location of your own choosing. Proctoring will be provided by a service called ProctorU (more down below). The exam for those taking it online is a little more flexible in terms of when you can start so that we can accommodate more time-zones.  The exam opens at 12:05 am EST on the day of the exam and is available to start until 1:00pm EST on the same date. You still have 4 hours to complete it, but the starting time is a little more flexible. You can use Day and Time to calculate what these times are in your timezone.

Usually online students take the exam online, and on-campus students take the exam on-campus. However, if you are an online student and happen to be in the Boston area and want to come to campus to take the exam you can do that.  Or, if you are an on-campus student and you want to take it online we can do that too! Just indicate on the RSVP what your plans are so we can prepare the appropriate exam for you.

REGISTRATION INFORMATION

In order to take the comprehensive exam you need to do two things:

1. Please complete the RSVP form for taking the comprehensive exam (PDF) and return it to the department by email (applied.linguistics@umb.edu), by fax (+1 617-287-5403) or in person (W-6-98).
   • This form is due by October 15, 2017
2. Please complete your graduation request paperwork. You should have received a letter from the registrar's office in late September if you are potentially eligible to graduate.

As soon as we have processed your paperwork, you will be given access to a Blackboard course (http://umb.umassonline.net) where the information session will take place, and where you will be taking your exam.

EXIT EVALUATION FORM

Both online and on-campus students will be emailed an online survey by, or on, Thursday November 16, 2017. If you don't receive a survey please first check your spam folder to see if it's there. If not, please email applied.linguistics@umb.edu and we can troubleshoot :-)

You will have until Friday December 8, 2017 to complete this survey.You must complete the survey before taking the comprehensive exam. Please follow the link to the survey as you will be unable to take the exam until it is completed. This survey is anonymous and evaluations will be opened and analyzed only after comprehensive exam results are in and grades submitted.

COMPREHENSIVE EXAM INFORMATIONAL Q&A SESSION

Online

Through the Discussion Forum in the Comp-Exam group --> http://umasslinguistics.com/group/comprehensiveexam

On-Campus

The on-campus face to face comprehensive exam information session is TBD.  Before you attend, please read this InfoPost and use the Discussion forum (same as online students) to ask questions you might have about the comprehensive exam.  If you are planning on attending please RSVP to this event so that we know how many are attending:  (Link to TBD). 

PROCTORING

Online students: You can take the exam at (almost) any location you'd like! It seems that over the past few semesters most students taking the exam do so at home or at their office. To provide proctoring we are working with a company called ProctorU to make sure that each and every one of you has a proctor. It is really important to work out the time zone information correctly; all times are referenced in Eastern Standard Time (Boston time). Online students can choose to take the exam online, or on-campus.

Please see this Student Handout (PDF file) to see what the system requirements are for proctoring the exam remotely.

A common question that has been asked is whether or not you can go to a testing center, or find your own proctor, instead of using ProctorU.  The answer is that you cannot use any other proctoring service other than ProctorU.  ProctorU is the only option :)

On-campus exam students: Faculty members from the department of Applied Linguistics will be proctoring the on-campus exam on December 18th.  

Exam Material

Students are examined on material from their FIVE core and TWO required courses in their concentration (ESL or Foreign Language).  Questions which appear on the exam are taken from exams, paper topics, and assignments in core and required courses and are periodically updated by faculty to reflect new course materials. Questions may also be submitted to the Comprehensive Exam Committee by students and will be considered for inclusion on the exam. If you are interested to do so, please email your questions to the coordinator of the Comprehensive Exam at applied.linguistics@umb.edu

Exam Structure

Questions on the exam are arranged into THREE areas of study. Two questions are asked in
each area. Students must answer ONE question in each area, thus THREE questions in FOUR
hours.

In each area, we suggest in parentheses possible themes questions might address. However, this
is NOT an exhaustive list.

Students are responsible for preparing to answer questions in each area by referring to course
syllabi where main content and goals are highlighted. Materials from one specific course may be
helpful and used to answer questions in more than one area.

All answers to exam questions should be informed by theory and research and  include a detailed linguistic analysis when required. The content of all core and  concentration courses will be tested on the exam (601, 603, 605, 621, 623, 611 or 618, 612 or 614)

ESL Concentration Exam Areas:

1. LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT (601, 605, 614, 621)

• foundations of language teaching,
• literacy
• first and second language acquisition issues and theories,
• theories and foundations of bilingualism,
• language analysis and learning on syntactic, morphological, semantic, lexical, pragmatic, and discourse levels, etc.

2. LANGUAGE METHODOLOGY AND PEDAGOGY (601,618, 614, 605)

• methods and materials (CLT, NA, etc.)
• learner diversity,
• Cooperative learning
• curriculum development,
• prescriptivism and language teaching,
• culturally sensitive teaching, etc.

3. LANGUAGE, CULTURE, AND SOCIETY (601, 603, 614, 623)

• sociolinguistic and socio-cultural factors in language development
• sociolinguistic methods of analysis
• language varieties, language variation
• assimilation, cultural discontinuities, cross-cultural communication
• literacy and culture, pragmatics and social context of language
• national language debates, etc

Foreign Language Concentration Exam Areas:

1. LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT (601, 605,  621)

• foundations of language teaching,
• literacy
• first and second language acquisition issues and theories,
• theories and foundations of bilingualism,
• language analysis and learning on syntactic, morphological, semantic, lexical, pragmatic, and discourse levels, etc.

2. LANGUAGE METHODOLOGY AND PEDAGOGY (601,611, 612, 605)

• methods and materials
• integration of the teaching of culture and language
• prescriptivism and language teaching
• authenticity of teaching materials
• language analysis and teaching on syntactic, morphological, semantic, lexical, pragmatic, and discourse levels, etc.).

3. LANGUAGE, CULTURE, AND SOCIETY (601, 603, 623, 612)

• sociolinguistic and socio-cultural factors in language development
• sociolinguistic methods of analysis
• language varieties, language variation
• assimilation, cultural discontinuities, cross-cultural communication
• literacy and culture, pragmatics and social context of language
• national language debates, etc.

SAMPLE QUESTIONS

Language Development

Describe two major theories of FIRST language acquisition. Explain how each
may account for different levels of language development (phonological,
morphological, syntactic, semantic, pragmatic, etc.). Choose the theory you
consider most tenable and explain why you do. Make sure to substantiate your
response with examples and relevant literature.

Language, Culture, and Society

Language change is influenced by social status, gender, and interaction.
Discuss and illustrate two of these factors. Illustrate your discussion with
examples from different levels of language description (syntactic, morphological,
discursive, phonological, etc.) Make sure to support your response with relevant
literature.

Grading

The exams are graded by a committee of Applied Linguistics faculty.  Exams are graded “blind;”  no names are recorded on the printouts of the exams.  Students are assigned a letter code and the list which identifies letters with student names is sealed until grading is completed.

Each exam is read by at least two faculty members.  If the first reader and the second reader agree that the exam is a “Pass,” then the student is passed.  If the first and second reader disagree, or if there is any uncertainty in their evaluation, then a third reader is enlisted. 

Each answer is assigned a grade of High Pass, Pass, or Fail. No exam can be deemed as a Pass if one of the three required questions is not answered or has been assigned a failing grade.

Given the high number of students taking the exam, it may take up to two weeks for results to be sent out. Exam results are emailed when all grading has been completed.  Students should not email or call the office about results. Faculty always complete evaluations by graduation date. Students who pass the exam don’t have access to their exam answers.

Readers use the same comprehensive exam evaluation rubric to evaluate exams. You are encouraged to familiarize yourself with this rubric before the exam.  The rubric includes the following criteria:

1. Does student answer the question asked?
2. Are all parts of the question answered?
3. Does the student answer the question in sufficient depth?  Are there important issues not covered?
4. Does the student make repeated or gross misstatements that would lead you to believe that they do not understand the relevant material?
5. Is the material presented coherently organized?  Can you follow the student’s argument without having to do a lot of “interpreting” or “filling in the blanks”?
6. Are technical terms used clearly and appropriately?  Are terms defined where necessary?
7. Are references made to course content and material where obvious/necessary?  (If, for example, you teach a course which addresses the question posed, does the student mention those aspects of the issue covered in your course?)
8. Does the student cite relevant sources?  Does the student link theories or methods to particular individuals?  (In other words, if s/he is clearly referring to a particular author’s work, does s/he cite the author?)
9. If the student draws on personal experiences to answer a question, is that experience linked in some way to theoretical issues, relevant literature, or coursework?
10. Does the student merely repeat the same material, references, and arguments in one or more of his or her responses or does s/he demonstrate a comprehensive grasp of the field?

Click here to view grading rubric for the exam. As you study, prepare for the exam, and ultimate write your exam, keep this rubric in mind!

Strategies for preparing for and taking the exam:

Preparing:

• Carefully review your course syllabi paying attention to the course objectives and the main headings of weekly sessions. These headings outline important topics and issues; you should know the literature related to these themes and topics. You should be able to formulate basic questions about these themes and issues that could be exam questions.
• In general, exam questions ask you to define and discuss an issue, its context and origins; to support your discussion referring to scholars who contributed to the discussion of the issue, and to draw some classroom implications.
• Knowing the literature means being able to summarize the main ideas of a given scholar and assess her/his contribution to the field of applied linguistics. You are not expected to quote in the exam but you should spell scholars’ names properly, know the decade in which they contributed to the field, and present and summarize scholar’s ideas using and defining the terminology and connecting these ideas to the questions asked.
• If you like working in groups, it is a good idea to meet online with classmates.
• Advice for group work
  • Form a small group with 3-5 other students
  • Commit to each other to a meeting schedule, time and mode
  • Individually list the major theories that you remember
    (Do this before you open the books to see how much you already know!)
  • Include the key theorists’ name and dates.
  • Write a paragraph or two from memory with the key details.
  • Meet with your group to compare notes.
  • Revise your summaries as needed
  • Make a timeline of key theorists and dates.
    Include ONLY names and dates for a “clean” visual memory support.
    Use colors if you are a visual learner.
• Practice timed essays with each other:
  • Familiarize yourself with the evaluation rubric used by comprehensive exam graders
  • Write and exchange your questions
  • Assess each other’s essays using the comprehension evaluation rubric
  • Suggested: two “assessors” read and grade independently, THEN compare grades and feedback.
  • Give feedback in terms of the rubric and what the question asks

• You may consult any of the faculty members if you have doubt or questions about some concept or issue.

Taking the Exam

• Set up a document in word before you access the exam so you are ready to write as soon as you access the questions. SAVE it! Remember to hit save regularly as you write, or set it up to autosave every 5 minutes. Make sure you give yourself 5-10 minutes at the end to copy/paste your answers to Bb.
• Do not worry about formatting. It will disappear when you copy to Blackboard. Try to insert a blank line or two between paragraphs. Don’t worry about indenting.
• Copy the key phrases that you must answer in each question. Enter spaces between each phrase before you start to write. This will create a structure and help you remember what you have to answer. The last line of each question will ALWAYS tell you to support your answer with relevant literature. It is not necessary to copy this phrase—you are doing this throughout each answer.
• It is very important that you mark clearly by number each of the questions you choose to answer. The area designator and question number is sufficient. You do not have to copy the entire question. (e.g., A3)
• You should not waste time making detailed notes, extensive outlines, or rewriting your answers.  The exam committee realizes this is a timed exam and you are under considerable pressure; therefore, we do not grade on language mechanics or expository prose -- so long as your argument and meaning are clear.
• You should not spend more than an hour on each question.
• You should run a spell check before uploading your exam.

Exam Rules

• The comprehensive exam is a closed book, closed notes exam
• The internet, and internet sources are not allowed either
• Scrap paper and pens/pencils are allowed for you to brainstorm before you write
• Breaks are allowed!  If you need to get up a stretch, or take a biobreak, that's OK! (on average students seem to take a break every 40-60 minutes of writing)
• Once the exam starts it doesn't stop. You have 4 hours

If you Fail the Exam

Students who fail the exam on the first attempt can take the exam a second time.  Before retaking the exam, the student should set up a phone, skype, or chat appointment with the faculty member coordinating the comprehensive exam process in order to discuss the reasons for the failure.  Students who fail the exam will be given the comments of readers and be shown parts of their exam in light of the readers’ evaluations.

Students who fail the exam can retake the exam only once.  In preparing to retake the exam, students are encouraged to discuss with their advisors or other faculty how they might strengthen their performance.  If a student feels he or she has been unjustly evaluated, an appeal procedure exists and may be discussed with the comprehensive exam chair.

Students who take their coursework seriously, seek and obtain the guidance of their faculty advisor periodically throughout their program of study, and prepare conscientiously for the comprehensive exam, usually have no difficulties passing. 

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As always, if you find this blog post helpful, please hit the "like" button :-)

Hi everyone,

Here is a short message from Dr. Infante who will be teaching APLING 670 this summer :)

--------------

Dear Students,

I am looking forward to working with you this semester as your instructor of APLING 670 Testing in the Bilingual/ESL/ELL Classroom. Please order the required texts below as soon as possible through an online bookseller:

All my best,

Paolo

The purpose of this InfoPost is to articulate the Applied Linguistics department policy on course "incompletes"  or "INC"

A grade of Incomplete (INC) is not automatically awarded when a student fails to complete a course. Incompletes are given at the discretion of the instructor. They are awarded when satisfactory work has been accomplished in the majority of the course work, but the student is unable to complete some course requirements as a result of circumstances beyond his/her control. These might include serious illness or extreme personal circumstances. The student must negotiate with, and receive the approval of the course instructor in order to receive a grade of incomplete as soon as they know they will not be able to complete course requirements; a copy of a written agreement between the faculty member and the student specifying the work to be completed and the terms and deadline for completion must be kept on file in the program office. This form is also submitted to the Registrar’s office so that the INC can be processed.

IMPORTANT: The student must have completed a significant portion of the course requirements and assignments (at least 70% of the required work, including course participation, term papers, and other course assignments) in order to be considered for an Incomplete.

If the student’s course record is such that they would fail the course regardless of the missing work and the emergency falls within the Withdrawal deadline, the student should consider withdrawing from the course in order to avoid the negative impact on their GPA.

If you are receiving the grade of incomplete (INC), depending on the contract you signed with your instructor, you are allowed up to one year in which to complete the course. The deadline will be set by your instructor, taking into consideration your circumstances, the amount of missing work that needs to be completed, as well as university deadlines. After a one-year period, if a grade is not submitted by the faculty member, a Failure will be recorded, turning the grade on the transcript to an IF. After the end of this period, the student must re-register for the course, pay for it again, and complete all its requirements in order to receive credit and a grade. The new grade must be submitted to the Registrar by the grading deadline for that semester, i.e., by the end of the next fall for the fall semester incompletes. The grade for any course not completed by this deadline will be converted to the grade of 'IF'. You may only sign up for, and receive a grade for, the same course twice.

Please Be Aware that:

• It is your responsibility to contact and/or meet with your professor as soon as an emergency arises that prevents you to meet the course requirements. Your professor is not responsible for “offering” you an INC because you “disappeared” from the course.
• It is also your responsibility to fill out the necessary paperwork, collect signatures and turn it to the Main Office.
• Make sure the contract and terms of completing the course are determined. Two copies of the Incomplete Contract Form must be returned with proper signatures to the Applied Linguistics Department Main Office, one for department records and one for the Registrar’s office.                   
• Incomplete grades in graduate courses are processed by the Office of the Registrar after receipt of the signed Incomplete Contract.
•  You should follow up with faculty to make sure the terms of the contract have been met and a grade has been submitted within the proper time limits.
• Individual faculty members have the right to set more stringent timetables for completion of course requirements than the general one-year. Your professor is not required to offer the full year for you to complete the missing work.

INC/IF Registration Policy

Any graduate student who has accumulated 4 or more INC or IF grades will be considered not to be making satisfactory progress toward the degree, will be placed on probation, and will normally be barred from registering for additional classes until the INC/IF grades are cleared. Additional registrations may, however, be approved by the graduate program director and Dean of Graduate Studies.

Your instructor will have copies of the Incomplete Contract form that they can share with you.  The department of applied linguistics (applied.linguistics@umb.edu) also has blank forms if you need them

Watch this space for details  and updates!

~AK

I know that  the semester just started, but the Advising Period is coming up in a few short weeks!  In this infopost you will find out a bit more about the Summer and Fall 2017 advising timeline and when certain things will happen.  As new information is available, this blog post will be updated, so keep it in mind, and check back, when you have questions!  If your questions are not answered by this blog post, please see the following discussion forums where you can post a question, and we will do our best to answer :-)  You can find the discussion forum here: http://umasslinguistics.com/group/classroom/forum/topics/summer-fall-2017-advising-and-registration-q-a

PREPARATORY WORK:

Before meeting your with advisor:

1. please log into WISER (http://wiser.umb.edu) and make sure you don't have any holds on your account!  The only hold that we (applied linguistics) can remove is the "Advising Hold." If you have other holds on your account you need to get those resolved ASAP with the appropriate departments. An immunization hold, or hold of any other sort, means that we are not going to be able to register you!  Please make sure to take care of all holds on your account as soon as possible.
2. please log into WISER and download a copy of your unofficial transcript.  Your advisor will need you to provide this to them in preparation for advising and course registration.

Immunization Hold:

If you are an online student, and you opt to apply for the immunization exemption, then you have to fill out the form every semester and mail it to University Health Services so that the immunization hold can be removed.  If you are an on-campus student you will need to make sure that all immunizations are in order.  Please see the University Health Services website for more information: http://www.umb.edu/healthservices/information_for_new_students. 

Note for new students (On-campus & Online):

Even though new students will not be registered right away (since your paperwork for admissions may not have been fully processed yet) no need to worry. There will be spots available in introductory courses for you! We will be registering you for APLING 601, APLING 603, and/or APLING 605 (two of our three introductory courses). If you would like to register for a 3rd course, please contact applied.linguistics@umb.edu for more information. Please see your welcome letter, sent by email, for more information.

COURSES:

The tentative list of courses has been posted in the Classroom Group for quite some time :-).  Instructions, as well as days and times of courses (for on-campus courses) will be posted here as they become available. 

SUMMER Online courses

Electives courses

• APLING 670: Testing in the ESL Classroom - TBA (12 week summer course)
  • NOTE: If you are a campus student and you need this course for licensure purposes please make sure to talk to your advisor earlier rather than later. This course fills up quickly!

FALL ONLINE courses

Core courses

• APLING 601: Linguistics - MIKROS, George
• APLING 603: Cross-Cultural Perspectives - BECKMAN, Kristina
• APLING 605: Theories and Principles of Language Teaching -  CARHILL-POZA, Avary
• APLING 621: Psycholinguistics - ETIENNE, Corinne
• APLING 623: Sociolinguistics  - CHUN, Christian
• APLING 690: Field Experience - KISS, Kate

Concentration Courses

• APLING 611: Methods and Material in Foreign Language Pedagogy - KISS, Katherine
• APLING 614: Foundations of Bilingual and Multicultural Education - BARTOLOME, Lilia

Elective Courses

• APLING 629: Structure of the English Language - MEYER, Chuck
• APLING 669: Writing Theories - BUESCHER, Kimberly

FALL CAMPUS Courses

Core Courses

• APLING 601: Linguistics (M @ 4pm) - MEYER, Chuck
• APLING 603: Cross-Cultural Perspectives (Th @ 7pm) - CHUN, Christian
• APLING 605: Theories and Principles of Language Teaching (W @ 4pm) - SHIN, Jaran
• APLING 621: Psycholinguistics - (M @ 7pm) - ETIENNE, Corinne
• APLING 623: Sociolinguistics (W @ 7pm) - MACEDO, Donaldo
• APLING 698: Practicum (licensure) (BY ARRG)  - TBA

Concentration Courses

• APLING 611: Methods and Material in Foreign Language Pedagogy (Tu @ 4pm) - BUESCHER, Kimberly
• APLING 614: Foundations of Bilingual and Multicultural Education (Tu @ 7pm) - GOUNARI, Panagiota

Elective Courses

• APLING 633: Discourse Analysis (Tu @ 4pm) - SHIN, Jaran
• APLING 635: Literacy & Culture (Th @ 4pm) - BARTOLOME, Lilia

TEXTBOOKS:

Please do not ask for textbooks just yet :-)  As soon as we have a list of textbooks for each course, we will post a notice on the Announcements box (top center of umasslinguistics.com). We expect textbooks to be posted by May 15th.

TIMELINE:

March 10 – March 30: 

Your advisors will be contacting you via email. Please check both your UMass Boston student email and any emails you've given to us as part of your application process. Your advisor will contact you to set up an appointment to meet with you. You can meet by phone, by email, by skype, or if you are local you can meet in person! :-)  Be prepared to discuss your goals, and what courses you might be interested in signing up for. In consultation with your advisor you will pick 2 or 3 courses for next semester. Your advisors will tell us (AK or Evy) which courses you decided to sign up for and we will sign you up.

Please note that you advisor is not listed on WISER. We keep an internal departmental database to keep advisors and advisees :-)

Student Checklist Item:If you haven't heard from your advisor by March 15 (Saturday), please email applied.linguistics@umb.edu and let us know :-)

If you have not received advising by March 30, please contact Applied.Linguistics@umb.edu.

April 15 – April 30: During this period of time we will be going through and registering all students for courses. This is true for both online and on-campus students. If you log into WISER and you are not registered for a course yet, don't panic!  By May 1st you will be :-) We will be monitoring this forum to make sure everything's going well and answering questions as they come up. If, for some reason, you aren't registered May 1 – May 10 will be a catch-up and correction week for registrations.

Student Checklist Item: On May 10, please check your WISER account to make sure that you are registered for courses, and that you are registered for the courses you and you advisor agreed upon. If you are not registered for courses, please go into the appropriate Registration Q&A forum. 

May 5 - May 20 Non-Degree Registration period (for summer semester). If you are a non-degree student, once all currently enrolled students are registered, we will begin processing non-degree registrations.  It's important to note that prior to May 5 we will not know how many available spots there are in courses :-)

Student Checklist Item: If you are a non-degree student who wishes to register for a Summer 2016 course, please check in on May 5th to see what courses are available. Once you submit registration paperwork, you should be registered within a few days (depending on how busy the registrar's office is :-)  )

May 20: Book Lists will be posted, for Fall Semester courses, in the Classroom group. Please be patient until then and refrain from emailing us or asking questions about book lists :-) 

August 10 - September 1 Non-Degree Registration period (for fall semester). If you are a non-degree student, once all currently enrolled students are registered, we will begin processing non-degree registrations.  It's important to note that prior to August 20th we will not know how many available spots there are in courses :-)

Student Checklist Item: If you are a non-degree student who wishes to register for a fall 2016 course, please check in on August 10 to see what courses are available. Once you submit registration paperwork, you should be registered within a few days (depending on how busy the registrar's office is)

FAQ

1. Who is my advisor?
   Your advisor is not listed on WISER (this is only an undergraduate advising feature :(  ). If you don't hear from your advisor by March 15th please email applied.linguistics@umb.edu and we'll get you in touch with them :). Your advisor's name is listed in the welcome letter from the time of your admissions (if you haven't changed your advisor).
2. WISER does not show my advisor, what's up with that?
   The WISER system is setup for undergraduate advisors.  Unfortunately we do not have access to change this, so graduate students will show a blank advisor.  Rest assured that you have an advisor , they just don't show up in WISER :-)
3. Can I change advisors?
   Of course! If you would like to change advisor, please email applied.linguistics@umb.edu. Please include your UMS number in the request, and the reason you would like to change advisors.
4. Can I register without meeting my advisor?
   You will not be able to register without meeting your advisor
5. I have a hold, can you register me?
   We can only override the "Advising" hold if you've met with your advisor.  We cannot override other holds, so we cannot register you if you have holds.
6. I met with my advisor, and I was told I was "all set" but I don't see courses in WISER. What's the deal?
   When you meet with your advisor you are placed in a queue to be registered by either AK or Evy.  We usually register students in the queue on Thursdays and Fridays.  We will not begin registering students until April 15th. If it's before 4/15 it's normal that you may not be registered yet.  If it's after 4/15 and you are not registered there might be a hold on your account preventing us from registering you - please check to see if there is a hold and have it removed :).  Finally, if you have no holds, and it's past 4/15, and you're still not registered, please contact applied.linguistics@umb.edu and we can sort it out :)

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As always, if you find this infopost helpful, please hit the "like" button :)

Keep an eye on this post - additional info will be posted as it becomes available!

~AK

3/22/17 - UPDATE: ProctorU exam-slots are now available to schedule.  Head over to ProctorU to pick your exam slot.  Please pick your exam slot no later than 5/10 to avoid any late registration fees (those are fees students pay for)

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Hello everyone!

This InfoPost will provide you with information about the May 2017 comprehensive exam. Please refer back to this post for more info over time.

The Comprehensive Exam is scheduled for Monday May 15, 2017, which is a Monday.

If you have questions relating to the comprehensive exam that are not covered in this post, please post them here: http://umasslinguistics.com/group/comprehensiveexam/forum/topics/may-2017-comprehensive-exam-q-a

DATE & LOCATION OF THE EXAM

The date of the exam is Monday May 15th, 2017 for both campus and online students.

For students who are taking the exam on-campus, the exam will take place in Healey Library, Green Lab (Healey Library-Upper Level). The exam will take place from Noon to 4pm.  Please arrive by 11:30. 

For students taking the exam online, the exam takes place at a location of your own choosing. Proctoring will be provided by a service called ProctorU (more down below). The exam for those taking it online is a little more flexible in terms of when you can start so that we can accommodate more time-zones.  The exam opens at 12:05 am EST on the day of the exam and is available to start until 1:00pm EST on the same date. You still have 4 hours to complete it, but the starting time is a little more flexible. You can use Day and Time to calculate what these times are in your timezone.

Usually online students take the exam online, and on-campus students take the exam on-campus. However, if you are an online student and happen to be in the Boston area and want to come to campus to take the exam you can do that.  Or, if you are an on-campus student and you want to take it online we can do that too! Just indicate on the RSVP what your plans are so we can prepare the appropriate exam for you.

REGISTRATION INFORMATION

In order to take the comprehensive exam you need to do two things:

1. Please complete the RSVP form for taking the comprehensive exam (PDF) and return it to the department by email (applied.linguistics@umb.edu), by fax (+1 617-287-5403) or in person (W-6-98).
   • This form is due by March 15, 2017
2. Please complete your graduation request paperwork. You should have received a letter from the registrar's office in late September if you are potentially eligible to graduate.

As soon as we have processed your paperwork, you will be given access to a Blackboard course (http://umb.umassonline.net) where the information session will take place, and where you will be taking your exam.

EXIT EVALUATION FORM

Both online and on-campus students will be emailed an online survey by, or on, Monday May 1, 2017. If you don't receive a survey please first check your spam folder to see if it's there. If not, please email applied.linguistics@umb.edu and we can troubleshoot :-)

You will have until Friday May 12, 2017 to complete this survey.You must complete the survey before taking the comprehensive exam. Please follow the link to the survey as you will be unable to take the exam until it is completed. This survey is anonymous and evaluations will be opened and analyzed only after comprehensive exam results are in and grades submitted.

COMPREHENSIVE EXAM INFORMATIONAL Q&A SESSION

Online

Through the forum link above

On-Campus

The on-campus face to face comprehensive exam information session is TBD.  Before you attend, please read the Comprehensive Exam Handout (see above) and use the Discussion forum Q&A to ask questions you might have about the comprehensive exam.  If you are planning on attending please RSVP to this event so that we know how many are attending:  (Link to TBD)

PROCTORING

Online students: You can take the exam at (almost) any location you'd like! It seems that over the past few semesters most students taking the exam do so at home or at their office. To provide proctoring we are working with a company called ProctorU to make sure that each and every one of you has a proctor. It is really important to work out the time zone information correctly; all times are referenced in Eastern Standard Time (Boston time). Online students can choose to take the exam online, or on-campus.

Please see this Student Handout (PDF file) to see what the system requirements are for proctoring the exam remotely.

A common question that has been asked is whether or not you can go to a testing center, or find your own proctor, instead of using ProctorU.  The answer is that you cannot use any other proctoring service other than ProctorU.  ProctorU is the only option :)

On-campus exam students: Faculty members from the department of Applied Linguistics will be proctoring the on-campus exam on May 15th.  

Exam Material

Students are examined on material from their FIVE core and TWO required courses in their concentration (ESL or Foreign Language).  Questions which appear on the exam are taken from exams, paper topics, and assignments in core and required courses and are periodically updated by faculty to reflect new course materials. Questions may also be submitted to the Comprehensive Exam Committee by students and will be considered for inclusion on the exam. If you are interested to do so, please email your questions to the coordinator of the Comprehensive Exam at applied.linguistics@umb.edu

Exam Structure

Questions on the exam are arranged into THREE areas of study. Two questions are asked in
each area. Students must answer ONE question in each area, thus THREE questions in FOUR
hours.

In each area, we suggest in parentheses possible themes questions might address. However, this
is NOT an exhaustive list.

Students are responsible for preparing to answer questions in each area by referring to course
syllabi where main content and goals are highlighted. Materials from one specific course may be
helpful and used to answer questions in more than one area.

All answers to exam questions should be informed by theory and research and  include a detailed linguistic analysis when required. The content of all core and  concentration courses will be tested on the exam (601, 603, 605, 621, 623, 611 or 618, 612 or 614)

ESL Concentration Exam Areas:

1. LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT (601, 605, 614, 621)

• foundations of language teaching,
• literacy
• first and second language acquisition issues and theories,
• theories and foundations of bilingualism,
• language analysis and learning on syntactic, morphological, semantic, lexical, pragmatic, and discourse levels, etc.

2. LANGUAGE METHODOLOGY AND PEDAGOGY (601,618, 614, 605)

• methods and materials (CLT, NA, etc.)
• learner diversity,
• Cooperative learning
• curriculum development,
• prescriptivism and language teaching,
• culturally sensitive teaching, etc.

3. LANGUAGE, CULTURE, AND SOCIETY (601, 603, 614, 623)

• sociolinguistic and socio-cultural factors in language development
• sociolinguistic methods of analysis
• language varieties, language variation
• assimilation, cultural discontinuities, cross-cultural communication
• literacy and culture, pragmatics and social context of language
• national language debates, etc

Foreign Language Concentration Exam Areas:

1. LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT (601, 605,  621)

• foundations of language teaching,
• literacy
• first and second language acquisition issues and theories,
• theories and foundations of bilingualism,
• language analysis and learning on syntactic, morphological, semantic, lexical, pragmatic, and discourse levels, etc.

2. LANGUAGE METHODOLOGY AND PEDAGOGY (601,611, 612, 605)

• methods and materials
• integration of the teaching of culture and language
• prescriptivism and language teaching
• authenticity of teaching materials
• language analysis and teaching on syntactic, morphological, semantic, lexical, pragmatic, and discourse levels, etc.).

3. LANGUAGE, CULTURE, AND SOCIETY (601, 603, 623, 612)

• sociolinguistic and socio-cultural factors in language development
• sociolinguistic methods of analysis
• language varieties, language variation
• assimilation, cultural discontinuities, cross-cultural communication
• literacy and culture, pragmatics and social context of language
• national language debates, etc.

SAMPLE QUESTIONS

Language Development

Describe two major theories of FIRST language acquisition. Explain how each
may account for different levels of language development (phonological,
morphological, syntactic, semantic, pragmatic, etc.). Choose the theory you
consider most tenable and explain why you do. Make sure to substantiate your
response with examples and relevant literature.

Language, Culture, and Society

Language change is influenced by social status, gender, and interaction.
Discuss and illustrate two of these factors. Illustrate your discussion with
examples from different levels of language description (syntactic, morphological,
discursive, phonological, etc.) Make sure to support your response with relevant
literature.

Grading

The exams are graded by a committee of Applied Linguistics faculty.  Exams are graded “blind;”  no names are recorded on the printouts of the exams.  Students are assigned a letter code and the list which identifies letters with student names is sealed until grading is completed.

Each exam is read by at least two faculty members.  If the first reader and the second reader agree that the exam is a “Pass,” then the student is passed.  If the first and second reader disagree, or if there is any uncertainty in their evaluation, then a third reader is enlisted. 

Each answer is assigned a grade of High Pass, Pass, or Fail. No exam can be deemed as a Pass if one of the three required questions is not answered or has been assigned a failing grade.

Given the high number of students taking the exam, it may take up to two weeks for results to be sent out. Exam results are emailed when all grading has been completed.  Students should not email or call the office about results. Faculty always complete evaluations by graduation date. Students who pass the exam don’t have access to their exam answers.

Readers use the same comprehensive exam evaluation rubric to evaluate exams. You are encouraged to familiarize yourself with this rubric before the exam.  The rubric includes the following criteria:

1. Does student answer the question asked?
2. Are all parts of the question answered?
3. Does the student answer the question in sufficient depth?  Are there important issues not covered?
4. Does the student make repeated or gross misstatements that would lead you to believe that they do not understand the relevant material?
5. Is the material presented coherently organized?  Can you follow the student’s argument without having to do a lot of “interpreting” or “filling in the blanks”?
6. Are technical terms used clearly and appropriately?  Are terms defined where necessary?
7. Are references made to course content and material where obvious/necessary?  (If, for example, you teach a course which addresses the question posed, does the student mention those aspects of the issue covered in your course?)
8. Does the student cite relevant sources?  Does the student link theories or methods to particular individuals?  (In other words, if s/he is clearly referring to a particular author’s work, does s/he cite the author?)
9. If the student draws on personal experiences to answer a question, is that experience linked in some way to theoretical issues, relevant literature, or coursework?
10. Does the student merely repeat the same material, references, and arguments in one or more of his or her responses or does s/he demonstrate a comprehensive grasp of the field?

Click here to view grading rubric for the exam. As you study, prepare for the exam, and ultimate write your exam, keep this rubric in mind!

Strategies for preparing for and taking the exam:

Preparing:

• Carefully review your course syllabi paying attention to the course objectives and the main headings of weekly sessions. These headings outline important topics and issues; you should know the literature related to these themes and topics. You should be able to formulate basic questions about these themes and issues that could be exam questions.
• In general, exam questions ask you to define and discuss an issue, its context and origins; to support your discussion referring to scholars who contributed to the discussion of the issue, and to draw some classroom implications.
• Knowing the literature means being able to summarize the main ideas of a given scholar and assess her/his contribution to the field of applied linguistics. You are not expected to quote in the exam but you should spell scholars’ names properly, know the decade in which they contributed to the field, and present and summarize scholar’s ideas using and defining the terminology and connecting these ideas to the questions asked.
• If you like working in groups, it is a good idea to meet online with classmates.
• Advice for group work
  • Form a small group with 3-5 other students
  • Commit to each other to a meeting schedule, time and mode
  • Individually list the major theories that you remember
    (Do this before you open the books to see how much you already know!)
  • Include the key theorists’ name and dates.
  • Write a paragraph or two from memory with the key details.
  • Meet with your group to compare notes.
  • Revise your summaries as needed
  • Make a timeline of key theorists and dates.
    Include ONLY names and dates for a “clean” visual memory support.
    Use colors if you are a visual learner.
• Practice timed essays with each other:
  • Familiarize yourself with the evaluation rubric used by comprehensive exam graders
  • Write and exchange your questions
  • Assess each other’s essays using the comprehension evaluation rubric
  • Suggested: two “assessors” read and grade independently, THEN compare grades and feedback.
  • Give feedback in terms of the rubric and what the question asks

• You may consult any of the faculty members if you have doubt or questions about some concept or issue.

Taking the Exam

• Set up a document in word before you access the exam so you are ready to write as soon as you access the questions. SAVE it! Remember to hit save regularly as you write, or set it up to autosave every 5 minutes. Make sure you give yourself 5-10 minutes at the end to copy/paste your answers to Bb.
• Do not worry about formatting. It will disappear when you copy to Blackboard. Try to insert a blank line or two between paragraphs. Don’t worry about indenting.
• Copy the key phrases that you must answer in each question. Enter spaces between each phrase before you start to write. This will create a structure and help you remember what you have to answer. The last line of each question will ALWAYS tell you to support your answer with relevant literature. It is not necessary to copy this phrase—you are doing this throughout each answer.
• It is very important that you mark clearly by number each of the questions you choose to answer. The area designator and question number is sufficient. You do not have to copy the entire question. (e.g., A3)
• You should not waste time making detailed notes, extensive outlines, or rewriting your answers.  The exam committee realizes this is a timed exam and you are under considerable pressure; therefore, we do not grade on language mechanics or expository prose -- so long as your argument and meaning are clear.
• You should not spend more than an hour on each question.
• You should run a spell check before uploading your exam.

Exam Rules

• The comprehensive exam is a closed book, closed notes exam
• The internet, and internet sources are not allowed either
• Scrap paper and pens/pencils are allowed for you to brainstorm before you write
• Breaks are allowed!  If you need to get up a stretch, or take a biobreak, that's OK! (on average students seem to take a break every 40-60 minutes of writing)
• Once the exam starts it doesn't stop. You have 4 hours

If you Fail the Exam

Students who fail the exam on the first attempt can take the exam a second time.  Before retaking the exam, the student should set up a phone, skype, or chat appointment with the faculty member coordinating the comprehensive exam process in order to discuss the reasons for the failure.  Students who fail the exam will be given the comments of readers and be shown parts of their exam in light of the readers’ evaluations.

Students who fail the exam can retake the exam only once.  In preparing to retake the exam, students are encouraged to discuss with their advisors or other faculty how they might strengthen their performance.  If a student feels he or she has been unjustly evaluated, an appeal procedure exists and may be discussed with the comprehensive exam chair.

Students who take their coursework seriously, seek and obtain the guidance of their faculty advisor periodically throughout their program of study, and prepare conscientiously for the comprehensive exam, usually have no difficulties passing. 

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

As always, if you find this blog post helpful, please hit the "like" button :-)

Hello,

I'm originally from Chile, but have lived in the South Florida area most of my life, where I currently reside. I have an undergraduate degree in Computer Science, but I'm interested in studying linguistics as well. I want to study linguistics because I want to learn more about other cultures. I believe the scientific study of languages is a good way to achieve those ends. The APLING 601 course will give me a good foundation into the scientific study of languages. I would like to learn French since I've been to Paris, and would love to be better able to communicate with the locals.

Thanks

Congrats on commencing your first semester in the Applied Linguistics Online Program! :-)

This info-post has been a long time coming, but before I wrote it I wanted to collect some frequently asked questions from you and your fellow peers that came before you in order to put together a more comprehensive write-up!

In your first semester, the Applied Linguistics program registered you (or will register you if you're reading this before it's done) for two introductory courses so that you don't have to worry about registration.  So, what’s next, you might ask? Well, the fact that you are reading this means that you are on the right path! 

The first thing that you should do is to read the main posting located in the New on-Campus Student Information group.  The information there deals mostly with administrative aspects of the program. This post is meant to address the more academic-related matters of studying in Applied Linguistics.

One big thing to do, before classes start, is to order your books. We usually aim to have textbook information for Spring semester available by December 20th, and Summer and Fall course information available by May 1st.  We usually post an announcement in the Announcements Block of this site (if you click on the Homepage menu item, you will see announcements top and center). By providing you with textbook lists early on, you have an opportunity to find the cheapest prices, and also to thumb through the books to get a feel for the material.  When I was a student, I took the opportunity to read texts for fall courses over the summer; this made my fall semesters feel a little less compact :)

Once you have textbooks ordered, the next big thing is to make sure that you are able to log into your student email, into WISER, and into Blackboard.  The credentials for logging on are the same across all three systems (UMB email and password).  

In the New Student Information Group, there are instructions for accessing email.  Simply login one time to make sure things are working.  Once you check this out, you should also get a library barcode (instructions to do so are in a discussion in the New Student Info group).  

OK. With all this prep-work done, what about classes? What should you do to get prepared for classes (and attending classes on campus)?

First, we have some helpful information in our FAQ!  Second, a number professors (but not necessarily all) usually send a quick introduction email (check your UMB emails!) the week before classes begin to welcome new students to the course and to make them aware of any class-specific tips and strategies.
If you can think of more questions - please email applied.linguistics@umb.edu and let us know!

I thought I was signed up, but I don't see anything in Blackboard yet. What's going on?
If the semester has not begun yet, it's normal not to see anything in Blackboard.  Courses do not show up there until the first day of the semester.  If the semester has begun, and you still don't see courses there yet - do contact us to troubleshoot!  As always our email is applied.linguistics@umb.edu.

How much interaction is there with professors?
Professors are highly interactive in our on-campus courses; it is extremely rare that you will be subjected to a lecture of any kind. By and large, students can interject and ask questions as problems arise. Most in-class instruction involves some measure of dialogue and peer-to-peer interaction. Moreover, professors are ready and willing to expand upon any topic that you are either having trouble with or find particularly interesting.

Each professor holds regular on-campus office hours should you require more assistance, have any personal questions, or would like to strategize about short-term or long-term course or program goals.


What does an average class look like?
The average class is small to medium sized; thus, you will never be packed into a room or overwhelmed by swarms of classmates whose names you’ll never know. Classes are 2.5 hours long and run one day per week. (Some professors provide a break in the middle to allow people some time for stretching, water, bathroom escapades, and snack-fetching). Moreover, all of our classes run in the evenings to ensure that those who work fulltime (especially teachers) do not have to adjust their daily routine too radically.


What is the outcome of this program? I want to know what this program would prepare me for. Is it more theoretical or practical?
Broadly speaking, our entire curriculum revolves around language and literacy and is very much anchored in the discipline of applied linguistics. We do cover methodology for teaching language, but we don't go in depth for classroom management techniques, or tackle specific content (i.e. social studies curriculum, teaching math to ESL students, etc.). So, our program is somewhere in the middle of the road, between theoretical and practical. I am an alumnus of the program (on-campus) and from my own experiences, some courses go more toward the theoretical, and some go more toward the practical. In recent years we've also expanded our research options, so if research is something you think you might want to pursue, do contact our Thesis Coordinator!


How is assessment done? What methods of evaluation do the professors use? Do students receive GPA/letter grades as in other programs?
This depends. Participation in class is a common factor in all of our courses. Beyond that there are exams, papers, group projects, presentations, annotated bibliographies and many more methods. This really depends on the subject matter of the course. Students do receive letter grades (and they have a calculated GPA) like all other programs.

How much time of studying does it take per course?

This really depends on the learner. Each course is 3 credits. The usual formula is that students study/prepare for 4-5 hours for each credit, each week. So, if a student is taking 1 course, the student should be expected to spend 12-15 hours each week working on materials for that course (2.5 hours of class attendance + outside of class activities such as doing the readings, watching any assigned video materials, participating in discussion boards, researching and writing papers, etc.). Granted, some weeks will be lighter than others, and some people are speedier readers than others. These are just general guidelines to help you plan your weekly schedule.

What is the campus like?
UMass Boston is located on the Harbor Point peninsula next to the JFK Library and Museum. Campus Center faces the water, and there are walking trails (The Harbor Walk) along the ocean on three sides. UMass Boston is in the midst of an architectural overhaul; three modern buildings have been erected over the past ten to fifteen years, including University Hall/.

Where and how do I park?
As long-term building plans continue to unfold, how and where to park has become less straightforward. By and large, Bayside Lot on Mt. Vernon Street (about a half mile from campus) always has spots available at any time of day. Moreover, there is a free shuttle bus that regularly runs from Bayside Lot to the Campus Center. There are also lots that are closer to the school (no shuttle bus necessary!), but spots in these lots are less reliably vacant. Such lots (Central Parking, “D” Lot, and the parking garage beneath Campus Center) surround many of the main campus buildings and should not be difficult to find. However, if you are traveling during rush hour, you may get bogged down in campus traffic if you try to access these lots. A good resource to have handy is the Parking & Transportation website of our university. This site will provide you with important information as the parking situation changes on-campus.

What other kinds of paperwork do I need in order to study on campus?
If you are enrolling as a full time graduate student, UMass Boston mandates that you provide a vaccination history. If you have not received all mandated vaccinations, you will have to do so prior to the beginning of your second semester. You should receive information about vaccinations from University Health Services prior to the beginning of your first semester.
If you have trouble supplying proof of vaccination but you are sure that you have received all appropriate vaccinations at a previous point in time, Health Services can in some cases take a blood sample to determine whether or not you still carry the appropriate antibodies. This is a quick and (relatively) painless procedure that can be performed on campus.

If I’m moving into the Boston area for the first time, what should I know?
If you are coming in from out of state (or from out of the country) to study with us at UMass Boston, you will need to know a few things about how Boston works.

 First, you will have to secure some form of housing for yourself as UMB does not offer any on-campus housing. Some students elect to live in one of the large apartment complexes adjacent to campus (Peninsula Apartments and Harbor Point Apartments), while others elect to live in various neighborhoods in the city (Allston, Brighton, Savin Hall, and Dorchester are favorites). UMB hosts a Department of Student Housing—so if you need help figuring out where to start, send an email their way.
If you will not be bringing a vehicle with you to Boston, you will have to make use of the MBTA, Boston’s system of public transit. This consists of various bus and train lines that cover, for the most part, the entirety of Boston and many of its suburbs. A one-way train ticket on the MBTA costs $2.40, so budget accordingly. If you think that you will be using the MBTA quite frequently, you can instead purchase a Monthly LinkPass for $90, which comes with unlimited rides within the city. Drop by the customer service desk at one of the major subway stops and ask about your options.

----------------

As always, if you found this post helpful please click on "like" :-) If you have suggestions for this FAQ please email us your suggestions to applied.linguistics@umb.edu and we'll incorporate them!

Keep an eye on this post - additional info will be posted as it becomes available!

~AK

NEW 11/22/16 (AK) - ProctorU sign-up should now be available

Hello everyone!

This InfoPost will provide you with information about the December 2016 comprehensive exam. Please refer back to this post for more info over time.

The Comprehensive Exam is scheduled for Monday December 19, 2016, which is a Monday.

If you have questions relating to the comprehensive exam that are not covered in this post, please post them here: http://umasslinguistics.com/group/comprehensiveexam/forum/topics/december-2016-exam-q-a-thread

As a companion to this blog post, please download and read the Comp Exam handout which contains the scoring rubric and some sample questions (this is the same as last semester)

DATE & LOCATION OF THE EXAM

The date of the exam is Monday December 19th, 2015 for both campus and online students.

For students who are taking the exam on-campus, the exam will take place in Healey Library, Blue Lab (Healey Library-3rd Floor). The exam will take place from Noon to 4pm.  Please arrive by 11:30. 

For students taking the exam online, the exam takes place at a location of your own choosing. Proctoring will be provided by a service called ProctorU (more down below). The exam for those taking it online is a little more flexible in terms of when you can start so that we can accommodate more time-zones.  The exam opens at 12:05 am EST on the day of the exam and is available to start until 1:00pm EST on the same date. You still have 4 hours to complete it, but the starting time is a little more flexible. You can use Day and Time to calculate what these times are in your timezone.

Usually online students take the exam online, and on-campus students take the exam on-campus. However, if you are an online student and happen to be in the Boston area and want to come to campus to take the exam you can do that.  Or, if you are an on-campus student and you want to take it online we can do that too! Just indicate on the RSVP what your plans are so we can prepare the appropriate exam for you.

REGISTRATION INFORMATION

In order to take the comprehensive exam you need to do two things:

1. Please complete the RSVP form for taking the comprehensive exam (PDF) and return it to the department by email (applied.linguistics@umb.edu), by fax (+1 617-287-5403) or in person (W-6-98).
   • This form is due by October 15, 2016
2. Please complete your graduation request paperwork. You should have received a letter from the registrar's office in late September if you are potentially eligible to graduate.

As soon as we have processed your paperwork, you will be given access to a Blackboard course (http://umb.umassonline.net) where the information session will take place, and where you will be taking your exam.

EXIT EVALUATION FORM

Both online and on-campus students will be emailed an online survey by, or on, Friday December 2, 2016. If you don't receive a survey please first check your spam folder to see if it's there. If not, please email applied.linguistics@umb.edu and we can troubleshoot :-)

You will have until Friday December 16, 2016 to complete this survey.You must complete the survey before taking the comprehensive exam. Please follow the link to the survey as you will be unable to take the exam until it is completed. This survey is anonymous and evaluations will be opened and analyzed only after comprehensive exam results are in and grades submitted.

COMPREHENSIVE EXAM INFORMATION SESSION 

Online

TBD

On-Campus

The on-campus face to face comprehensive exam information session is TBD.  Before you attend, please read the Comprehensive Exam Handout (see above) and use the Discussion forum Q&A to ask questions you might have about the comprehensive exam.  If you are planning on attending please RSVP to this event so that we know how many are attending:  (Link to TBD)

PROCTORING

Online students: You can take the exam at (almost) any location you'd like! It seems that over the past few semesters most students taking the exam do so at home or at their office. To provide proctoring we are working with a company called ProctorU to make sure that each and every one of you has a proctor. It is really important to work out the time zone information correctly; all times are referenced in Eastern Standard Time (Boston time). Online students can choose to take the exam online, or on-campus.

Please see this Student Handout (PDF file) to see what the system requirements are for proctoring the exam remotely.

A common question that has been asked is whether or not you can go to a testing center, or find your own proctor, instead of using ProctorU.  The answer is that you cannot use any other proctoring service other than ProctorU.  ProctorU is the only option :)

On-campus exam students: Faculty members from the department of Applied Linguistics will be proctoring the on-campus exam on December 19th.  

Exam Material

Students are examined on material from their FIVE core and TWO required courses in their concentration (ESL or Foreign Language).  Questions which appear on the exam are taken from exams, paper topics, and assignments in core and required courses and are periodically updated by faculty to reflect new course materials. Questions may also be submitted to the Comprehensive Exam Committee by students and will be considered for inclusion on the exam. If you are interested to do so, please email your questions to the coordinator of the Comprehensive Exam at applied.linguistics@umb.edu

Exam Structure

Questions on the exam are arranged into THREE areas of study. Two questions are asked in
each area. Students must answer ONE question in each area, thus THREE questions in FOUR
hours.

In each area, we suggest in parentheses possible themes questions might address. However, this
is NOT an exhaustive list.

Students are responsible for preparing to answer questions in each area by referring to course
syllabi where main content and goals are highlighted. Materials from one specific course may be
helpful and used to answer questions in more than one area.

All answers to exam questions should be informed by theory and research and  include a detailed linguistic analysis when required. The content of all core and  concentration courses will be tested on the exam (601, 603, 605, 621, 623, 611 or 618, 612 or 614)

Grading

The exams are graded by a committee of Applied Linguistics faculty.  Exams are graded “blind;”  no names are recorded on the printouts of the exams.  Students are assigned a letter code and the list which identifies letters with student names is sealed until grading is completed.

Each exam is read by at least two faculty members.  If the first reader and the second reader agree that the exam is a “Pass,” then the student is passed.  If the first and second reader disagree, or if there is any uncertainty in their evaluation, then a third reader is enlisted. 

Each answer is assigned a grade of High Pass, Pass, or Fail. No exam can be deemed as a Pass if one of the three required questions is not answered or has been assigned a failing grade.

Given the high number of students taking the exam, it may take up to two weeks for results to be sent out. Exam results are emailed when all grading has been completed.  Students should not email or call the office about results. Faculty always complete evaluations by graduation date. Students who pass the exam don’t have access to their exam answers.

Readers use the same comprehensive exam evaluation rubric to evaluate exams. You are encouraged to familiarize yourself with this rubric before the exam.  The rubric includes the following criteria:

1. Does student answer the question asked?
2. Are all parts of the question answered?
3. Does the student answer the question in sufficient depth?  Are there important issues not covered?
4. Does the student make repeated or gross misstatements that would lead you to believe that they do not understand the relevant material?
5. Is the material presented coherently organized?  Can you follow the student’s argument without having to do a lot of “interpreting” or “filling in the blanks”?
6. Are technical terms used clearly and appropriately?  Are terms defined where necessary?
7. Are references made to course content and material where obvious/necessary?  (If, for example, you teach a course which addresses the question posed, does the student mention those aspects of the issue covered in your course?)
8. Does the student cite relevant sources?  Does the student link theories or methods to particular individuals?  (In other words, if s/he is clearly referring to a particular author’s work, does s/he cite the author?)
9. If the student draws on personal experiences to answer a question, is that experience linked in some way to theoretical issues, relevant literature, or coursework?
10. Does the student merely repeat the same material, references, and arguments in one or more of his or her responses or does s/he demonstrate a comprehensive grasp of the field?

Strategies for preparing for and taking the exam:

Preparing:

• Carefully review your course syllabi paying attention to the course objectives and the main headings of weekly sessions. These headings outline important topics and issues; you should know the literature related to these themes and topics. You should be able to formulate basic questions about these themes and issues that could be exam questions.
• In general, exam questions ask you to define and discuss an issue, its context and origins; to support your discussion referring to scholars who contributed to the discussion of the issue, and to draw some classroom implications.
• Knowing the literature means being able to summarize the main ideas of a given scholar and assess her/his contribution to the field of applied linguistics. You are not expected to quote in the exam but you should spell scholars’ names properly, know the decade in which they contributed to the field, and present and summarize scholar’s ideas using and defining the terminology and connecting these ideas to the questions asked.
• If you like working in groups, it is a good idea to meet online with classmates.
• Advice for group work
  • Form a small group with 3-5 other students
  • Commit to each other to a meeting schedule, time and mode
  • Individually list the major theories that you remember
    (Do this before you open the books to see how much you already know!)
  • Include the key theorists’ name and dates.
  • Write a paragraph or two from memory with the key details.
  • Meet with your group to compare notes.
  • Revise your summaries as needed
  • Make a timeline of key theorists and dates.
    Include ONLY names and dates for a “clean” visual memory support.
    Use colors if you are a visual learner.
• Practice timed essays with each other:
  • Familiarize yourself with the evaluation rubric used by comprehensive exam graders
  • Write and exchange your questions
  • Assess each other’s essays using the comprehension evaluation rubric
  • Suggested: two “assessors” read and grade independently, THEN compare grades and feedback.
  • Give feedback in terms of the rubric and what the question asks

• You may consult any of the faculty members if you have doubt or questions about some concept or issue.

Taking the Exam

• Set up a document in word before you access the exam so you are ready to write as soon as you access the questions. SAVE it! Remember to hit save regularly as you write, or set it up to autosave every 5 minutes. Make sure you give yourself 5-10 minutes at the end to copy/paste your answers to Bb.
• Do not worry about formatting. It will disappear when you copy to Blackboard. Try to insert a blank line or two between paragraphs. Don’t worry about indenting.
• Copy the key phrases that you must answer in each question. Enter spaces between each phrase before you start to write. This will create a structure and help you remember what you have to answer. The last line of each question will ALWAYS tell you to support your answer with relevant literature. It is not necessary to copy this phrase—you are doing this throughout each answer.
• It is very important that you mark clearly by number each of the questions you choose to answer. The area designator and question number is sufficient. You do not have to copy the entire question. (e.g., A3)
• You should not waste time making detailed notes, extensive outlines, or rewriting your answers.  The exam committee realizes this is a timed exam and you are under considerable pressure; therefore, we do not grade on language mechanics or expository prose -- so long as your argument and meaning are clear.
• You should not spend more than an hour on each question.
• You should run a spell check before uploading your exam.

If you Fail the Exam

Students who fail the exam on the first attempt can take the exam a second time.  Before retaking the exam, the student should set up a phone, skype, or chat appointment with the Comprehensive Exam Coordinator to discuss the reasons for the failure.  Students who fail the exam will be given the comments of readers and be shown parts of their exam in light of the readers’ evaluations.

Students who fail the exam can retake the exam only once.  In preparing to retake the exam, students are encouraged to discuss with their advisors or other faculty how they might strengthen their performance.  If a student feels he or she has been unjustly evaluated, an appeal procedure exists and may be discussed with the comprehensive exam chair.

Students who take their coursework seriously, seek and obtain the guidance of their faculty advisor periodically throughout their program of study, and prepare conscientiously for the comprehensive exam, usually have no difficulties passing. 

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As always, if you find this blog post helpful, please hit the "like" button :-)

We are starting a Sociocultural Theory Reading Group and everyone in the department is welcome. Please click on the flyer here for more details!

With October almost here (but Pumpkin Spice Lattes already invading the cafes...) it's time to think about, and plan, for Spring 2017 courses!

If you are a matriculated student, you will be receiving an email from the Registrar's office for Spring 2017 registration, and you might be eager to register, but you cannot yet because you probably have holds. You also need to meet with your advisor before you can sign-up for courses.

In this blog you will find out a bit more about the Spring 2017 advising timeline and when certain things will happen.  As new information is available, this blog post will be updated, so keep it in mind when you have questions :-)  If your questions are not answered by this blog post, please see the following discussion forum where you can post a question, and we will do our best to answer ---> Q&A Forum for Spring 2017: http://umasslinguistics.com/group/classroom/forum/topics/advising-spring-2017-advising-and-registration-q-a

PREPARATORY WORK:

Before meeting your with advisor, please log into WISER (http://wiser.umb.edu) and make sure you don't have any holds on your account!  This is really important! The only hold that we (applied linguistics) can remove is the "Advising Hold." If you have other holds on your account you need to get those resolved ASAP with the appropriate departments otherwise we will not be able to register you for courses. 

Immunization Hold:

If you are an online student you can apply for the immunization exemption. You will need to fill out the form and submit it to University Health Services via their online health portal. This way the immunization hold can be removed and we can register you for courses. The form can be found here: http://www.umb.edu/healthservices/forms . Both campus and online students should check their WISER accounts to see if they have a hold on their account. If you do, log in to the Health Portal (MyHealth Beacon --> https://myhealthbeacon.umb.edu/ ) ASAP to get the hold removed - otherwise we cannot register you :-)

Note for new students (On-campus & Online):

Even though new students will not be registered right away (since all of your information probably has not been processed yet) no need to worry. There will be spots available in introductory courses for you! We will be registering you for APLING 601, APLING 603 and/or APLING 605 (our two introductory courses) if you are on-campus. 

COURSES:

The tentative list of courses has been posted in the Classroom Group for quite some time :-).  Instructions, as well as days and times of courses (for on-campus courses) will be posted here as they become available. 

SPRING Online courses

Core courses

• APLING 601: Linguistics - Section 1 - MEYER, Chuck
• APLING 603: Cross Cultural Perspectives - Section 1 - BECKMAN, Kristina
• APLING 605: Theories and Principles of Language Teaching - SHIN, Jaran
• APLING 621: Psycholinguistics - O'Bryan, Anne
• APLING 623: Sociolinguistics - BECKMAN, Kristina
• APLING 698: Field Experience - KISS, Kate

Concentration Courses

• APLING 612: Integrating Culture into the Curriculum (Foreign Language Track) - BUESCHER, Kimberly
• APLING 618: Methods & Approaches in ESL (ESL/Bilingual Track) - CARHILL-POZA, Avary

Elective Courses

• APLING 637: Ethnography - BARTOLOME, Lilia
• APLING 627: Phonetics & Phonemics - MIKROS, George
• APLING 697: Critical Pedagogy - CHUN, Christian ** NEW COURSE**

SPRING On-Campus Courses

Core Courses

• APLING 601: Linguistics (Th @ 4pm) - MEYER, Chuck
• APLING 603: Cross-Cultural Perspectices (Tu @ 7pm) - CHUN, Christian
• APLING 605: Theories and Principles of Language Teaching (Th @ 7pm) - SHIN, Jaran
• APLING 621: Psycholinguistics (W @ 7pm) - GOUNARI, Panagiota
• APLING 623: Sociolinguistics (Tu @ 4pm) - MACEDO, Donaldo
• APLING 698-1: Practicum (Licensure) (BY ARRG) - STAFF

Concentration Courses

• APLING 612: Integrating Culture into the Curriculum (Foreign Language Track) (M @ 7pm) - BUESCHER, Kimberly
• APLING 618: Methods & Approaches in ESL (ESL/K-12 Licensure Track) (M @ 4pm) - CARHILL-POZA, Avary

Elective Courses

• APLING 673: Teaching Reading in the ESL Classroom (W @ 4pm) - BARTOLOME, Lilia

Just as a reminder, the tentative schedule of classes (that goes to 2019) can be found in the Classroom Group.  Here is a quick link to that tentative schedule.

TIMELINE:

October 10 – October 15: Your advisors will be contacting you via email. Please check both your UMass Boston student email and any emails you've given to us as part of your application process. Your advisor will contact you to setup an appointment to meet with you.  You can meet by phone, by email, by skype, or if you are local you can meet in person! :-)  Be prepared to discuss your goals, and what courses you might be interested in signing up for. In consultation with your advisor you will pick 2 or 3 courses for next semester. Your advisors will tell us (AK & Evy) which courses you decided to sign up for and we will sign you up.

Please note that you advisor is not listed on WISER. We keep an internal departmental database to keep advisors and advisees :-)

Student Checklist Item:If you haven't heard from your advisor by October 21 (Friday), please email applied.linguistics@umb.edu and let us know :-)

November 15 – December 10: During this period of time we will be going through and registering all students for courses. This is true for both online and on-campus students. If you log into WISER and you are not registered for a course yet, don't panic!  By December 20th you will be :-) We will be monitoring this forum to make sure everything's going well and answering questions as they come up. If, for some reason, you aren't registered December 10 – December 20 will be a catch-up and correction week for registrations.

Student Checklist Item: On December 16 (Friday), please check your WISER account to make sure that you are registered for courses, and that you are registered for the courses you and you advisor agreed upon. If you are not registered for courses, please go into the appropriate Registration Q&A forum. 

December 15 - 25: Book Lists will be posted, for Spring Semester courses, in the Classroom group. Please be patient until then and refrain from emailing us about book lists :-)

January 2 - January 30: Non-Degree Registration period (for spring semester). If you are a non-degree student, once all currently enrolled students are registered, we will begin processing non-degree registrations.  It's important to note that prior to January 2nd we will not know how many available spots there are in courses :-)

Student Checklist Item: If you are a non-degree student who wishes to register for a Spring 2017 course, please check in on January 2nd to see what courses are available. Once you submit registration paperwork, you should be registered within a few days (depending on how busy the registrar's office is :-)  )

FAQ

1. Who is my advisor?
   Your advisor's name is mentioned in the welcome letter you received when you matriculated to the program.  If you don't remember your advisor that's OK :-)  Please email applied.linguistics@umb.edu to inquire about your advisor's contact information if you have not heard from your advisor by October 21.
2. WISER does not show my advisor, what's up with that?
   The WISER system is setup for undergraduate advisors.  Unfortunately we do not have access to change this, so graduate students will show a blank advisor.  Rest assured that you have an advisor , they just don't show up in WISER :-)
3. Can I change advisors?
   Of course! If you would like to change advisor, please read this blog post for information, and then email applied.linguistics@umb.edu.
4. Can I register without meeting my advisor?
   You will not be able to register without meeting your advisor.
5. I have a hold, can you register me?
   We can only override the "Advising" hold if you've met with your advisor.  We cannot override other holds, so we cannot register you if you have holds.

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As always, if you find this blog post helpful, please click the "like" button so that others know to look for it :-)

Hello APLING online students and alumni!

I am wondering if there is anyone out there with 3 or more semesters of online learning under their belt who wouldn't mind answering some questions for a perspective student.  They are american expats living and working on a small island nation.  Their main concerns are about obtaining print-material (textbooks) and the reliability of their internet.  Are there students and alumni who had similar concerns?  Are you interested in providing your views directly to this prospective student?

If yes, please email me at applied.linguistics@umb.edu to let me know, and I can get you two in contact.  :-)

Thank you in advance :-) !

AK

Watch this space for details  and updates!

~AK

Advising Period is almost upon us!  In this infopost you will find out a bit more about the Summer and Fall 2016 advising timeline and when certain things will happen.  As new information is available, this blog post will be updated, so keep it in mind, and check back, when you have questions!  If your questions are not answered by this blog post, please see the following discussion forums where you can post a question, and we will do our best to answer :-)  You can find the discussion forum here: http://umasslinguistics.com/group/classroom/forum/topics/summer-fall-2016-advising-q-a

PREPARATORY WORK:

Before meeting your with advisor, please log into WISER (http://wiser.umb.edu) and make sure you don't have any holds on your account!  The only hold that we (applied linguistics) can remove is the "Advising Hold." If you have other holds on your account you need to get those resolved ASAP with the appropriate departments. An immunization hold, or hold of any other sort, means that we are not going to be able to register you!  Please make sure to take care of all holds on your account as soon as possible.

Immunization Hold:

If you are an online student, and you opt to apply for the immunization exemption, then you have to fill out the form every semester and mail it to University Health Services so that the immunization hold can be removed.  If you are an on-campus student you will need to make sure that all immunizations are in order.  Please see the University Health Services website for more information: http://www.umb.edu/healthservices/information_for_new_students. 

Note for new students (On-campus & Online):

Even though new students will not be registered right away (since your paperwork for admissions may not have been fully processed yet) no need to worry. There will be spots available in introductory courses for you! We will be registering you for APLING 601, APLING 603, and/or APLING 605 (two of our three introductory courses). If you would like to register for a 3rd course, please contact applied.linguistics@umb.edu for more information. Please see your welcome letter, sent by email, for more information.

COURSES:

The tentative list of courses has been posted in the Classroom Group for quite some time :-).  Instructions, as well as days and times of courses (for on-campus courses) will be posted here as they become available. 

SUMMER Online courses

Electives courses

• APLING 670: Testing in the ESL Classroom - MARTINEZ, Luis (12 week summer course)
• APLING 615: Methods & Materials in Bilingual Education - DRANE, Nick (~5 week intensive, May-June)

FALL ONLINE courses

Core courses

• APLING 601: Linguistics - MIKROS, George
• APLING 603: Cross-Cultural Perspectives - CHUN, Christian
• APLING 605: Theories and Principles of Language Teaching -  SHIN, Jaran
• APLING 621: Psycholinguistics - ETIENNE, Corinne
• APLING 623: Sociolinguistics  - BECKMAN-BRITTO, Kristina
• APLING 698: Field Experience - KISS, Kate

Concentration Courses

• APLING 611: Methods and Material in Foreign Language Pedagogy - BUESCHER, Kimberly
• APLING 614: Foundations of Bilingual and Multicultural Education - BARTOLOME, Lilia

Elective Courses

• APLING 629: Structure of the English Language - MEYER, Chuck
• APLING 669: Writing Theories - MITSOKOPOULOU, Bessie

FALL CAMPUS Courses

Core Courses

• APLING 601: Linguistics (M @ 7pm) - MEYER, Chuck
• APLING 603: Cross-Cultural Perspectives (W @ 7pm) - CHUN, Christian
• APLING 605: Theories and Principles of Language Teaching (T @ 7pm) - SHIN, Jaran
• APLING 621: Psycholinguistics - (T @ 4pm) - ETIENNE, Corinne
• APLING 623: Sociolinguistics (M @ 4pm) - MACEDO, Donaldo
• APLING 698: Practicum (licensure) (BY ARRG)  - TBA

Concentration Courses

• APLING 611: Methods and Material in Foreign Language Pedagogy (Th @ 7pm) - BUESCHER, Kimberly
• APLING 614: Foundations of Bilingual and Multicultural Education (Th@ 4pm) - BARTOLOME, Lilia

Elective Courses

• APLING 697: Critical Discourse Analysis (W @ 4pm) - GOUNARI, Panagiota

TEXTBOOKS:

Please do not ask for textbooks just yet :-)  As soon as we have a list of textbooks for each course, we will post a notice on the Announcements box (top center of umasslinguistics.com). We expect textbooks to be posted by May 15th.

TIMELINE:

March 10 – March 30: 

Your advisors will be contacting you via email. Please check both your UMass Boston student email and any emails you've given to us as part of your application process. Your advisor will contact you to set up an appointment to meet with you. You can meet by phone, by email, by skype, or if you are local you can meet in person! :-)  Be prepared to discuss your goals, and what courses you might be interested in signing up for. In consultation with your advisor you will pick 2 or 3 courses for next semester. Your advisors will tell us (AK or Evy) which courses you decided to sign up for and we will sign you up.

Please note that you advisor is not listed on WISER. We keep an internal departmental database to keep advisors and advisees :-)

Student Checklist Item:If you haven't heard from your advisor by March 15 (Saturday), please email applied.linguistics@umb.edu and let us know :-)

If you have not received advising by March 30, please contact Applied.Linguistics@umb.edu.

April 15 – April 30: During this period of time we will be going through and registering all students for courses. This is true for both online and on-campus students. If you log into WISER and you are not registered for a course yet, don't panic!  By May 1st you will be :-) We will be monitoring this forum to make sure everything's going well and answering questions as they come up. If, for some reason, you aren't registered May 1 – May 10 will be a catch-up and correction week for registrations.

Student Checklist Item: On May 10, please check your WISER account to make sure that you are registered for courses, and that you are registered for the courses you and you advisor agreed upon. If you are not registered for courses, please go into the appropriate Registration Q&A forum. 

May 5 - May 20 Non-Degree Registration period (for summer semester). If you are a non-degree student, once all currently enrolled students are registered, we will begin processing non-degree registrations.  It's important to note that prior to May 5 we will not know how many available spots there are in courses :-)

Student Checklist Item: If you are a non-degree student who wishes to register for a Summer 2016 course, please check in on May 5th to see what courses are available. Once you submit registration paperwork, you should be registered within a few days (depending on how busy the registrar's office is :-)  )

May 20: Book Lists will be posted, for Fall Semester courses, in the Classroom group. Please be patient until then and refrain from emailing us or asking questions about book lists :-) 

August 10 - September 1 Non-Degree Registration period (for fall semester). If you are a non-degree student, once all currently enrolled students are registered, we will begin processing non-degree registrations.  It's important to note that prior to August 20th we will not know how many available spots there are in courses :-)

Student Checklist Item: If you are a non-degree student who wishes to register for a fall 2016 course, please check in on August 10 to see what courses are available. Once you submit registration paperwork, you should be registered within a few days (depending on how busy the registrar's office is)

FAQ

1. Who is my advisor?
   Your advisor is not listed on WISER (this is only an undergraduate advising feature :(  ). If you don't hear from your advisor by March 15th please email applied.linguistics@umb.edu and we'll get you in touch with them :). Your advisor's name is listed in the welcome letter from the time of your admissions (if you haven't changed your advisor).
2. WISER does not show my advisor, what's up with that?
   The WISER system is setup for undergraduate advisors.  Unfortunately we do not have access to change this, so graduate students will show a blank advisor.  Rest assured that you have an advisor , they just don't show up in WISER :-)
3. Can I change advisors?
   Of course! If you would like to change advisor, please email applied.linguistics@umb.edu. Please include your UMS number in the request, and the reason you would like to change advisors.
4. Can I register without meeting my advisor?
   You will not be able to register without meeting your advisor
5. I have a hold, can you register me?
   We can only override the "Advising" hold if you've met with your advisor.  We cannot override other holds, so we cannot register you if you have holds.
6. I met with my advisor, and I was told I was "all set" but I don't see courses in WISER. What's the deal?
   When you meet with your advisor you are placed in a queue to be registered by either AK or Evy.  We usually register students in the queue on Thursdays and Fridays.  We will not begin registering students until April 15th. If it's before 4/15 it's normal that you may not be registered yet.  If it's after 4/15 and you are not registered there might be a hold on your account preventing us from registering you - please check to see if there is a hold and have it removed :).  Finally, if you have no holds, and it's past 4/15, and you're still not registered, please contact applied.linguistics@umb.edu and we can sort it out :)

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As always, if you find this infopost helpful, please hit the "like" button :)