Language Myths Presentations

ENGL 2000 (American English)

Spring Semester 2006

Presentations for Language Myths and Other Language Articles

NOTE: Most of these articles can be found in Language Myths. Because of the size of the class, a few will be assigned from other sources that I will provide for you. Specific assignments are listed the below the guidelines.

Guidelines

I will assess your presentation on the following elements:

I. Time: Your presentation should last 4-6 minutes. I will time each presentation and will deduct points if you exceed your allotted time. You should practice your presentation in advance, so that you have some idea of the time it will take to present your material. It is also a good idea to bring a watch with you to keep track of your time.

II. Organization: Your presentation should be clearly organized with specific points and examples that you want to present.

III. Content: Your presentation should include the most relevant information. While much can be said about your specific article, focus on the most crucial points and/or examples that will increase our understanding of its main ideas.

IV. Clarity: Your audience should be able to clearly hear and understand your presentation. When it is your turn to present, come to the front of the room. Speak clearly so that others can hear you. Practice your presentation in advance so that you feel comfortable presenting it in public. Since this is a formal academic presentation, you should strive to use Standard American English.

V. Body Language: You should strive to make eye contact with your audience. Address your audience; don't simply read from your notes. Be aware of your body and avoid nervous movements that might distract from your presentation.

NOTE: Along with your presentation, you should plan to turn in a ONE page, typewritten outline of your presentation. This should be an outline of the major ideas, points, and/or examples that will comprise your presentation. Give one copy to me before your presentation. Use the other as a guide for your presentation.

Presentation Assignments

Date	Presenter	Presentation Topic
M 2/6	Kristi Burris	Myth 17, “They Really Speak Bad English Down South and in New York City,” B 139-49.
W 2/8	Jason Soucy	Myth 20, “Everyone Has an Accent Except Me,” B 169-75.
F 2/10	Millicent Davis	Myth 10, “Some Languages Have no Grammar,” B 77-84.
W 2/17	Arielle Korsgaard	Myth 13, “Black Children are Verbally Deprived,” B 103-112.
F 2/17	Robert Crowe	Myth 9, “In the Appalachians They Speak like Shakespeare,” B 66-76.
M 2/20	Adrian Beasley	Myth 2, “Some Languages are Just Not Good Enough,” B 9-14.
F 2/24	Shari Early	Myth 8, “Children Can’t Speak or Write Properly Anymore,” B 58-65.
M 3/6	Chris Pollard	Myth 1, “The Meaning of Words Should Not be Allowed to Change,” B 1-8.
M 3/6	Cassie Berggren	Myth 21, “America is Ruining the English Language,” B 176-82.
W 3/8	Norma Bowman	Myth 5, “English Spelling is Kattastroffik,” B 32-40.
W 3/8	Regina Adams	Myth 18, “Some Languages are Spoken More Quickly than Others,” B 150-58.
F 3/10	Robin Kittles	Myth 4, “French is a Logical Language,” B 23-31.
M 3/13	Ross Friedman	Myth 14, “Double Negatives are Illogical,” B 113-22
M 3/27	Trenton Whitfield	Myth 7, “Some Languages are Harder than Others,” B 50-57.
M 4/3	Chantis Crawford	Myth 15, “TV Makes People Sound the Same,” B 123-31
F 4/10	Ashley Gore	Myth 6, "Women Talk too Much," B 41-49
M 4/10	Zachary Brown	Myth 12, “Bad Grammar is Slovenly,” B 94-102.
W 4/12	Chase Jackson	Myth 3, “The Media are Ruining English,” B 15-22.
W 4/12	Tabitha Gibbs	"Media Power: Talk the Talk?" http://www.pbs.org/speak/ahead/mediapower/media/
F 4/14	Audrey Lane	Myth 11, Italian is Beautiful, German is Ugly,” B 85-93.
F 4/14	Heather Washburn	"The Global Spread of American Slang" http://www.pbs.org/speak/ahead/globalamerican/slang/
M 4/17	Josh Boatwright	"English Only: The Legendary English-Only Vote of 1795" http://www.pbs.org/speak/seatosea/officialamerican/englishonly/
W 4/19	Nicole Lopez	Myth 16, “You Shouldn’t Say ‘It is Me’ because ‘Me’ is Accusative,” B 132-38.
M 4/24	David Thrasher	"World Wide Web of Words: Language in Cyberspace" http://www.pbs.org/speak/ahead/globalamerican/cyber/
W 4/26	Emily Rivera	"Do you Speak Presidential? Language as a Political Tool" http://www.pbs.org/speak/seatosea/standardamerican/presidential/