Course Detail

LIN 355 Time Modern English Grammar

LIN 350/IE 542 Sec 1, University of Mississippi
[See UM Catalog for Description]

3 credit hours

Instructor Information:

Michael C. Raines, Ph.D.

Instructor name:
Michael C. Raines, Ph.D.
Instructional Assistant Professor of TESL & IEP

Instructor Information:
Michael Raines currently teaches in the TESOL Program in The Department of Modern Languages and also in the Intensive English Program. Originally from Tupelo, MS, Michael has been teaching ESL for a long time. He first studied and taught in Mexico City for a number of years, and after that experience, returned to the United States to finish his Ph.D. in TESOL at Ole Miss. After finishing his degree, he taught at the University of Alabama for several years, where he was director of two programs: ESL and Foreign Language Education and also managed a federal grant. He has taught additional intensive TESL classes overseas. After his tenure at the University of Alabama, Michael returned to Ole Miss to teach Spanish and ESL for several years. In the Fall 2010 semester, he began teaching in the TESOL and IEP programs and has also taught a number of courses on-line for Modern Languages.

Contact Information:

Communication between the instructor and student can take the form of any and all of the following: 

  • You may call anytime between 8am-5pm M-F (662-915-1194). If you leave a voicemail, please include the course and section you are in and your full name.
  • Please feel free to e-mail anytime. I will try my best to return e-mails within 24 hours.
  • Grading may take up to 5 working days. Please do not email me grade-related questions before 5 days have elapsed.
  • Online Office Hours: by appointment via skype, telephone or campus visit

For lesson or test administration issues, please contact the iStudy department:

The University of Mississippi
Division of Outreach and Continuing Education
iStudy
P. O. Box 1848
University, MS 38677

Phone: (662) 915-7313, toll-free (877) 915-7313
Fax: (662) 915-8826
E-mail: istudy@olemiss.edu

Course Description

This 8-lesson Independent Study course is a thematic study of grammar; its forms and functions. Each lesson includes a reading assignment and corresponding exercises, to be followed by an eventual mid-course exam and an eventual final course exam. Graduate students are required to write two graduate reviews, the first one after Lesson #4 and the second one after Lesson #8 before the final course exam. All students are required to find 8 Quirks of the Week, one to be submitted at the end of each lesson.

Textbook Information:

Textbook information will be provided upon enrollment in your iStudy course.

Course Objectives:

In this class you will have the opportunity to:

  1. survey the basic structures of American English;
  2. examine the major issues and contributions of English linguistics to the study of language;
  3. peruse and discuss a variety of teaching techniques;
  4. develop a richer understanding of American English;
  5. express verbally and in writing opinions on language and critique other such opinions;
  6. investigate topics of individual interest in English linguistics.

Course Outline:

This course consists of 8 instructional lessons.

You MUST complete the syllabus quiz as soon as you have access to your Blackboard course. This is mandatory to verify your attendance. *  NOTE: you must pass the Syllabus and Orientation Quiz for the course materials to appear on the Lessons page
LESSON Reading Assignments Due for Grades Pacing guide to complete the course in a semester
Syllabus *You MUST complete the syllabus quiz as soon as you have access to your Blackboard course. This is mandatory to verify your attendance.* NOTE: you must pass the Syllabus and Orientation Quiz for the course materials to appear on the Lessons page. Syllabus Quiz  Week 1-2
1 Introduction: Utterances, Sentences, Clauses, and Phrases Lesson exercises Week 1-2
2 Chapter 2: Verbs, Tenses, Forms, and Functions Lesson exercises Week 3-4
3 Chapter 3: Basic Structures, Questions, Do-Insertions, Negation, Auxiiliaries, Responses, Emphasis, Contraction Lesson exercises Week 5-6
4 Chapter 4: Modals, Prepositional and Particles Verbs, Transitivity and Voice, and Conditionality Lesson exercises Week 7-8
  Graduate Review 1: supplemental activity for graduate students only Graduate Review 1 Week 7-8
Mid Course Exam Unproctored exam that covers Chapters 1-4. Graduate students will see an additional exam section they must complete. To be completed before proceeding End of Week 8
MIDPOINT OF COURSE If you are a semester student, you must reach the midpoint of your course by the date specified in your information.
If you are a Flex UM student, you CANNOT WITHDRAW from this course after the exam has been submitted.		 All lesson assignments or exams needed to reach the midpoint of the course The exact date semester students are required to reach the midpoint is specified in your information.
5 Chapter 5: Some Components of the Noun Phrase: Forms and Functions Lesson exercises Week 9-10
6 Chapter 6: Adjectives and Relative Clauses Lesson exercises Week 11-12
7 Chapter 7: Adverbs, It and There Referentials and Nonreferentials, and Fronting Lesson exercises Week 13-14
8 Chapter 8: Compound Sentences: Coordination, Subordinations Lesson exercises Week 15-16
  Graduate Review 2: supplemental activity for graduate students only Graduate Review 2 Week 15-16
Final Course Exam Unproctored exam that covers Chapters 1- 8, specifically Chapters 5 - 8. Graduate students will see an additional exam section they must complete. To be completed
to finalize credit		 End of Week 16

Grading:

Grading Scale:
90 - 100% = A
80 - 89% = B
70 - 79% = C
60 - 69% = D
Below 59% = F

The grading format is as follows:

  • Lesson Assignments 40% (for graduate students, this includes two Graduate Reviews worth 10% of the total grade)
  • Midterm exam 25%
  • Final exam 25%
  • 8 Quirks of the Week 10%

FAILURE TO TAKE THE FINAL EXAM WILL RESULT IN FAILURE OF THE COURSE.

You must submit the lessons required to take the course exam(s). Lessons required but not submitted will receive a grade of zero. For the final exam, all coursework must be submitted and graded.