Linguistics instruction at UNC-Chapel Hill
Overview
During my time at the University of North Carolina, I had the privilege of developing and teaching a seminar-style Linguistics course. This course explored differences — real and imagined — in men's and women's speech. We examined linguistic phenomena such as language change, pitch, prescriptive language, vocabulary, sound change, discourse, etc.
We discussed traditional theories (essentialism, dominance, etc.) behind the differences between men's and women's speech while critiquing the evidence for and scope of these differences. Finally, we discussed the stylistic choices an individual makes in the explicit performance of their speech.
Guiding questions
How does speech differ across language communities across the world?
What is the significance of these differences?
How do they reflect cultural values?
To what extent do differences in speech reflect and reinforce structures of power or dominance?
How do individuals learn language differences?
To what extent do these speech differences reflect one's upbringing?
How do individuals use language to reflect or subvert predetermined expectations?
How do we use language as a tool?
Student reviews
As this was a seminar-style course, this class was not privy to the University's traditional rating system. However, my co-teacher and I collected our data in Qualtrics to better understand our impact. Below are quotes from students feedback sessions:
“This class was incredibly important to her. She encouraged us to come in with an open mind, and she worked to provide a thoughtful list of reads that broadly covered the vast amount of research in this area. She put a lot of work into this class, and I am very impressed.”
“Kate was extremely personable and did very well at teaching us from the basics, even though she is extremely well versed in the studies of language and gender. I appreciated how open she was and how judgement-free the classroom was, especially when learning about sensitive topics.”
“I think Kate definitely made the class more relatable and therefore more engaging. She was very approachable and it was super interesting to learn about her own experiences and research in regards to the material
“Kate was an excellent instructor. She promoted discussion and deeper reflection on the readings. Her teaching style was innovative, but arguably far more beneficial than the traditional lecture format as it encouraged us to consider language and gender not only within the classroom, but also as part of a wider social context.”
“Kate was very forward and upfront with us. We knew what was expected of us and when, and she would remind us if needed. Her examples and prior experience with this class helped for understanding some of the material.“