Incorporating sustainability into the (clinical) phonetics classroom

1. Incorporating sustainability into the (clinical) phonetics classroom Jessica A Barlow AASHE 2011, Pittsburg

2. What is phonetics? • Core area of linguistic study focusing on human speech sounds • Emphasis on the physical properties of speech production, e.g.: • articulatory • acoustic • auditory/perceptual

3. Applied phonetics • Acting • Espionage • Foreign language teaching • Speech-language pathology • clinical phonetics • critical ‘knowledge and skills’ area for understanding, evaluating, diagnosing, and treating individuals with speech disorders

4. Clinical phonetics • Speech disorders affect approximately 10% of US population • ~80% require intervention • Within the schools, children with speech disorders make up ~99% of school SLP caseloads • many co-occur with other impairments (NIDCD, 1994)

5. American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) • Accrediting body for certification of speech-language pathologists (SLPs) • All accredited programs must satisfy specific standards related to Knowledge and Skills Acquisition (KASA Standards) • Many of these standards are included in the upper-division undergraduate curriculum

6. Losing sight of the bigger picture • Undergraduate education is about educating the whole person, the future citizens of the planet • Because of obligations to accreditation standards, many speech-language-hearing programs neglect this critically important component of their undergraduate curricula

7. The change • Connecting to place, people, and community • Asking a new set of questions • What happened? • Why? How? • What does this mean?

8. Some ways to create a sustainability-related (phonetics) course • Hidden curriculum • New readings • New assignments • New (or revamped) units or modules • New student projects (adapted from Barlett & Chase, p.c.)

9. Learning unit: Learning the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) Extension: Learning something extra about sustainability practices on campus

10. Connecting with place using hidden curriculum: IPA Scavenger Hunt • zɪpkɑrloʊkeɪʃən • ɛliidiplætɪnəmæztɛkstudəntjunjən • ɛsdiɛsjufɑrmɚzmɑrkət • baɪkleɪnz • trænzɪtsteɪʃən • ɛsdiɛsjurisaɪklɪŋsɛntɚ

11. Revamped modules:Language, dialect, and social identity • Learning unit: understanding dialect variation • A connection to place: Regional dialects • A common way of talking to refer to a shared place • A connection to people: Socio-cultural dialects • A common way of talking to refer to shared experiences

12. Connecting with people using a new assignment: Language, dialect, and social identity • Linguistic biography of a classmate and linguistic autobiography • Aim: get students thinking about language use • Extension: help students recognize the different experiences and viewpoints about language among their classmates

13. Language, dialect, and social identity:Do You Speak American? (PBS series) Part 1: “Up North” Part 2: “Down South” Part 3: “Out West” http://www.pbs.org/speak/

14. My motto You sound funny to someone, somewhere.

15. Connecting with the community: SDSU’s Common Experience • 2011-12 theme: “Science, Ethics, and Moral Courage” • Common reading: The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, by Rebecca Skloot • Book features excellent examples of African American English Vernacular (Ebonics) http://CommonExperience.sdsu.edu

16. Connecting with place using a new assignment: Comparison of Spanish and English • Learning unit: Transcribing and comparing pronunciations in English and (Mex.) Spanish • Ex: San Diego [sændijeɪgoʊ] vs. [san djeɣo]Tijuana [tʰiəwɑnə] vs. [tixwana]tecolote [tʰɛkəloʊɾi] vs. [tekolote]

17. Connecting with place using a new assignment: Comparison of Spanish and English • Extensions: Spanish and English in the US • Where did these names come from? • Why are there so many Spanish names? • How long has Spanish been spoken in the US? • Is the English language threatened?

18. New unit: Language death and linguistic diversity • Films, podcasts, videos, discussions, and readings on dead and dying languages and the associated consequences • Learning unit: Sounds of the world’s languages (e.g., clicks and other exotic sounds) • Extension: The importance of linguistic diversity and the consequences of language death • Where did they go? Why? What happens when a language dies?

19. Language death and linguistic diversity: The Linguists (film) http://www.pbs.org/thelinguists/

20. Connecting with place using a new student project: Language death and linguistic diversity • Research a dying language in the US • Learning unit: Sounds of the world’s languages • Extension:Learn about a specific example of an endangered language and its speakers (location, number of speakers, revitalization efforts) http://www.unesco.org

21. The results? • Currently in the second year since course change • Observations of student learning: • Subjective: More meaningful connections with the material, emotionally and intellectually • Objective: Performance is as good as or better on the core areas of phonetics

22. Challenges • Defining (and measuring) specific outcomes that relate to sustainability • Wanting to do too much at once

23. Thank you! Questions? Contact: jessica.barlow@sdsu.edu

24. Relevant KASA Standards • Standard III-B: The applicant must demonstrate knowledge of basic human communication and swallowing processes, including their biological, neurological, acoustic, psychological, developmental, and linguistic and cultural bases. • Standard III-C: The applicant must demonstrate knowledge of the nature of speech, language, hearing, and communication disorders and differences and swallowing disorders, including the etiologies, characteristics, anatomical/physiological, acoustic, psychological, developmental, and linguistic and cultural correlates. Specific knowledge must be demonstrated in the following areas: articulation, … 2005 Standards and Implementation Procedures for the Certificate of Clinical Competence in Speech-Language Pathology, Revised 2009

25. Nine core areas of SLP scope of practice • articulation • fluency • voice and resonance, including respiration and phonation • receptive and expressive language (phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics, and pragmatics) in speaking, listening, reading, writing, and manual modalities • hearing, including the impact on speech and language • swallowing (oral, pharyngeal, esophageal, and related functions, including oral function for feeding; orofacialmyofunction) • cognitive aspects of communication (attention, memory, sequencing, problem-solving, executive functioning) • social aspects of communication (including challenging behavior, ineffective social skills, lack of communication opportunities) • communication modalities (including oral, manual, augmentative, and alternative communication techniques and assistive technologies) 2005 Standards and Implementation Procedures for the Certificate of Clinical Competence in Speech-Language Pathology, Revised 2009

26. Side note:Why the IPA is better than spelling • English ‘e’ is ‘i’ in most other languages, while ‘a’ is ‘e’ • Compare: to, too, two, through, threw, clue, shoe • Compare: food, foot • Compare: etherand either, or thigh and thy