This course provides 10 live sessions in the second semester, using multi-point cyber video conferencing system. We have 9 universities in Asia participating in the collaborative cyber sessions. The course also includes extensive on-demand Internet lectures in which Power Point Slides and streaming videos are synchronized. Our mission is given in (pdf).

This course explores three broad questions about the roles of English in our contemporary society:

• Whether basic concepts in World Englishes or Asian Englishes are acceptable and appropriate in view of Standard English. Does our localized variety of English impede our communication with native speakers? Is a localized variety of English use stigmatized?
• We describe and scrutinize the 8 varieties in Asia in terms of mutual intelligibility, comprehensibility, and interpretability.
  Which do we support, English as an International Language (Smith:1976), or ‘Glocal English’(Pakir:1996)? Is it possible to standardize Englishes spoken in East Asia or more widely in Asia?
• We approach these questions by examining answers to them provided by fifteen lecturers: Dr Larry E. Smith, Dr Anne Pakir, Dr Tony Hung, Dr Azirah Hashim, Dr Kyung-ja Park, Dr Hikyoung Lee, Dr Danilo Dayag, Dr Tej K. Bhatia, Dr Sudaporn Luksaneeyanawin, Prof Yueping Wang, Dr Kyuntae Jung, Dr Low Ee Ling, Prof Yoji Tanabe, Prof Koichi Ano and Michiko Nakano et al.

The participating students are encouraged to study on-demand Internet (OIC) materials, prior to face-to-face instructions. Since the weekly face-to-face meetings offer answers to your questions written in BBS, you must study the OICs and state clearly on BBS what you have not understood well. The instructor and mentors can check on-line who has not studied the OIC materials. Further on each OIC, you have quizzes which can help you to understand lectures delivered in English. During the weekly face-to-face meetings, we will give some basics on Phonetics and Phonology, Pragmatics, Grammar and Discourse Analysis. We will have gust speakers to enrich your understanding of ‘English Language in Use’.

You are given four reading assignments:

• Kachru, B. (1992) ‘Teaching world Englishes’, in B. Kachru (ed.) The Other Tongue, English across Cultures, 2nd ed. University Illinois Press.
• McArthur, T. (1987) ‘The English Languages?’, English Today 12, pp21-4.
• Modiano, M. (1999a) ‘International English in the global village’, English Today, 15/2, pp22-34.
• Modiano, M. (1999a) ‘Standard English(es) and educational practices for the world’s lingua franca’, English Today, 15/4, pp 3-13.

For each of these required readings, you must submit Reaction Papers. In your first and second reaction papers, you indicate three points that you agree with the author and explain why. You also indicate three issues you cannot accept and explain why.

BBS for the reaction papers and Analytical Reports

1) First you indicate three issues you cannot agree with the author and explain why. Also, you write three issues you agree with the author and explain why. Post your paper on the BBS
2) You read through your friends’ BBS reports and choose two. You should respond to the two reaction reports your classmates posted.
3) Your mentor will respond to the report and your comment.
4) The author of the report should revise his or her reaction report.

Analytical Reports

In the third and fourth reaction papers, you must write analytical reports which include analysis of the assigned papers and evidence to support your claim.

Analysis:

Analytical reports respond to your question which refers to a genuine dilemma in the text; you focus on some ambiguity in the text and try to reach at some solution on your own first. Your answer to your question could be the main claim for your report. But you need some evidence to support your claim: either from the data you have, from the OIC materials or from other materials. Analysis of your evidence should be insightful and fresh. Your report should make it clear that your evidence supports your claim.

Source and Academic Honesty:

Whenever you cite other people’s opinions, statements or data, you must indicate the source and its author: e.g. Author’s name (Date of Publication, page). If the source comes from the OIC materials: Author’s name (2005 World Englishes and Miscommunication, Unit number). You plagiarize when you use the words of a source without quotation marks. When you use the exact words from a source, you put quotation marks. If you cite a long passage, you indent the quotation to highlight that it is a quotation and at the end of the quotation you need to indicate the source. If you summarize the passage, you must write clearly that it is a summary of the source. But, as a general rule, you only quote a passage only when the passage plays a important role in your report; this rule is applicable for short papers and reports with less than 20-30 pages.

Structure of your report:

Your Report should be divided into Introduction, Body and Conclusion. In Introduction, you state your claim and some background for it. In the Body, you must argue logically and progressively. It should be divided into coherent paragraphs. Your assertions must be supported with evidence and illustrated by real data. Conclusion can be simple but the limitation of your report should be stated clearly.

Deadlines

April, 27, 1st Reaction Paper ( A4 one page)
May, 25, 2nd Reaction Paper
June, 15, 1st Analytical Report
July, 6, 2nd Analytical Report
July, 30th First Draft of your Final Report to combine your two reaction papers and two analytical papers
August 15th Revized Final Report

Grading for the 1st semester

1st Reaction Paper and BBS participation 15%
2nd Reaction Paper and BBS participation 15%
1st Analytical Report and BBS participation 15%
1st Analytical Report and BBS participation 15%
Final Report 30 % Attendance (checked by OIC viewing) 10%

Additional readings (optional)

• Crystal, D. (1995) The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the English Language, Cambridge University Press.
• Jenkins, Jennifer. (2003) World Englishes: A resource book for students, Routledge.

You are also given some reading lists recommended by each OIC lecturers. You can enjoy some during your summer holiday.

Summer Activities

Optional trip to Edinburgh You must decide your major and sub-major during the summer: Your major means that you act as a coordinator in the respective video conferences in the second semester. Your sub-major means that you should ask good questions during the cyber conference in the second semester. You must decide group project in the second semester. We will have four group project presentations in December and January, 2006.

Grading at Waseda University

Cyber participation as a coordinator and respondent 40 % Forum Presentation 20% Final report 40%