Below are courses that SLA majors and/or minors might – with their advisor’s consent – consider registering for in Spring 2025. Courses marked with an asterisk (*) are taught by core SLA faculty. Courses marked with an ampersand (&) can typically count towards the SLA minor. Courses are for 3 credits unless otherwise noted.
All students should consult with their advisor, i.e., the academic advisor/s for SLA majors and with Prof. Naomi Geyer (nfgeyer@wisc.edu) for minors, on course selections.
Please also consult Course Search & Enroll for additional information or courses not listed below. If you find a course that you think should be on this list, please let us know!
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Anthropology 545: Psychological Anthropology
Information from this class taken directly from Course Search and Enroll.
Instructor: Maria Lepowsky
Day(s) and Time: Wednesdays, 9:30 am – 12:00 pm
Modality: In person
Prerequisite: Junior standing
Description: Survey of psychologically oriented approaches in cultural anthropology: ethnopsychiatry, the ethnography of emotion, conceptions of the self, cognitive development, and culturally defined deviance and mental illness.
Asian Languages and Cultures 432: Introduction to Chinese Linguistics
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Instructor: Ying Yang
Day(s) and Time: Mondays and Wednesdays, 2:30 – 3:45 pm
Modality: In person
Prerequisite: Sophomore standing
Description: Provides an introductory overview of the Chinese language from a contemporary perspective. Covers various topics including phonetics, phonology, dialects, morphology, syntax, orthography, semantics, and pragmatics. Not open to students with credit for E ASIAN 432 prior to Fall 2019.
Asian Languages and Cultures 630: Languages of Asia Diversity & Unity
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Instructor: Ying Yang
Day(s) and Time: Tuesdays, 4:00 – 6:30 pm
Modality: In person
Prerequisite: Junior standing
Description: Advanced topics in Asian studies.
*& Asian Languages and Cultures 632: Second Language Pragmatics
Instructor: Weihua Zhu
Day(s) and Time: Tuesdays, 4:00 – 6:30 pm
Modality: In person
Prerequisite: Junior standing
Description: The aim of this course is to examine how learners create and engage in a second language, how we instruct and evaluate its use in various contexts, and whether learners understand the appropriate usage of a second language in specific situations. Each week, we will discuss readings to foster original research, and critical reflection on these readings is encouraged. The research conducted during this course is meant to serve as a foundation for theses, dissertations, or publishable papers. Knowledge about the Chinese language is not required.
*& Asian Languages and Cultures 775: Japanese Applied Linguistics - Teaching Intermediate/Advanced Level Languages: Issues and Practices
Instructor: Naomi Geyer
Day(s) and Time: Wednesdays, 3:30 – 6:00 pm
Modality: In person
Prerequisite: Graduate/professional standing
Description: We discuss issues involved in intermediate/advanced language teaching, covering such topics as social justice, technology, student engagement, translanguaging and translation, and learners’ multilingual identities. The course also offers practical training in creating thematic units for intermediate-advanced level language classes and an opportunity to engage in action research on your teaching practices. This course is open to graduate students in different language programs. The reading materials will be in English, and the issues discussed will involve teaching and learning various languages.
Each class period is divided into two sub-sessions:
1) Article-based discussion: Current issues in the field of language teaching and learning. Read the assigned articles and write a paragraph-length reaction one day before the class.
2) Teaching-oriented practice:
a. Teaching Lab: In a group of 2-3 students (preferably from the same language program), choose a short text (written or audio-visual) of various genres and create a teaching plan and an assessment measure based on the class instruction.
b. Action Research: In a group of 2-3 students (preferably from the same language program), follow the action research circle based on the class instruction.
For the final project, you can choose from (1) engaging in small-scale research on a pedagogical topic (including action research), (2) creating a theme-based instruction unit (3-5 weeks)
&Curriculum and Instruction 674: Advanced Methods in Teaching English as a Second Language (3-6 credits)
Information for this class taken directly from Course Search and Enroll.
Instructors: 3 sections, varied
Day(s) and Time: Wednesdays, 4:40 – 7:30 pm
Modality: In person
Prerequisite: Graduate/professional standing
Description: Designed to help identify/develop and implement methodological approaches and techniques for supporting the language and literacy development of English learners that coordinate with current theories on language and learning.
Curriculum and Instruction 675: General Seminar (1-3 credits)
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Instructor: Several sections, varied
Day(s) and Time: Wednesdays, 12:00 – 3:30 pm
Modality: In person
Prerequisite: Graduate/professional standing
Description: Designed to help identify/develop and implement methodological approaches and techniques for supporting the language and literacy development of English learners that coordinate with current theories on language and learning.
*Curriculum and Instruction 676: Bilingualism and Biliteracy in Schools
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Instructor: Diego Román
Day(s) and Time: Tuesdays, 4:30 – 7:00 pm
Modality: In person
Prerequisite: Declared in Elementary Education BSE, Capstone Certificate in Spanish-English Bilingual-Bicultural Education or graduate/professional standing
Description: Study of pedagogies, frameworks, and methodologies appropriate for bilingual-bicultural education; review of contemporary scholarship about rigorous, responsive, and effective practices with K-12 bilingual learners; review of Spanish and English language standards and bilingual standards-based teaching and learning; taught in Spanish.
Curriculum and Instruction 702: Sociocultural Theory
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Instructor: TBA
Day(s) and Time: Thursdays, 4:45 – 7:15 pm
Modality: In person
Prerequisite: Graduate/professional standing
Description: Sociocultural theories posit that the fundamental mechanism for teaching and learning is social interaction. Examine the varying positions within this general body of theoretical literature, compare and contrast how each position construes the fundamentally social nature of thinking and learning, and consider the methods entailed by each given theory.
*Curriculum and Instruction 719: Introduction to Qualitative Research
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Instructor: Emily Machado
Day(s) and Time: Thursdays, 11 am – 1:45 pm
Modality: In person
Prerequisite: Graduate/professional standing
Description: Provides an overview of qualitative inquiry, examining assumptions, standards, and methods for generating and communicating interpretations. Methodological and theoretical works illustrate case study, ethnography, narrative, and action research. Does not include a field method component.
Curriculum and Instruction 744: Perspectives in Multicultural Education
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Instructors: Carl Grant
Day(s) and Time: Tuesdays, 4:30 – 7:00 pm
Modality: In person
Prerequisite: Graduate/professional standing
Description: A critical examination of the conceptual and theoretical traditions that contribute to the educational reform and ideology known as multicultural education. Includes readings from ethnic studies, black studies, feminist theory, antiracist pedagogy, bilingual education, and critical race theory.
Curriculum and Istruction 788: Qualitative Research Methods in Education: Field Methods I
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Instructors: Elena Aydarova
Day(s) and Time: Wednesdays, 2:25 – 5:25 pm
Modality: In person
Prerequisites: CURRIC/ED POL/RP & SE/COUN PSY/ELPA/ED PSYCH 719
Description: Introductory field methods experience in qualitative research. Learn to define good research questions, determine which methods of data collection and analysis are useful for addressing those questions, engage in these methods, reflect on their utility in education research.
Educational Psychology 761: Statistical Methods Applied to Education II
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Instructor: Check Course Search and Enroll
Day(s) and Time: Multiple sections, offered, all with labs. Please check Course Search and Enroll.
Modality: In person
Prerequisite: ED PSYCH 760
Description: Analysis of variance and covariance, multiple linear regression; chi-square and various nonparametric techniques.
Educational Psychology 822: Introduction to Quantitative Inquiry in Education
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Instructor: Krystal Williams
Day(s) and Time: Thursdays, 4:40 – 7:10 pm
Modality: In person
Prerequisite: Graduate/professional standing
Description: Utilize the concepts and methods of quantitative social science research to conduct research on education issues. Topics include hypothesis testing, statistical inference, point estimates, graphic and numerical data displays, correlation and regression.
English 314: Structure of English
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Instructor: Anja Wanner
Day(s) and Time: Tuesdays and Thursdays, 9:30 am – 10:45 am
Modality: In person
Prerequisite: Sophomore standing
Description: Linguistic methods of analysis and description of English syntax and morphology.
English 318: Second Language Acquisition
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Instructor: Juliet Huynh
Day(s) and Time: Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, 9:55 – 10:45 am
Modality: In person
Prerequisite: Sophomore standing
Description: Systematic study of how people learn ESL and other second languages. An interdisciplinary survey emphasizing research in linguistics, psychology, education, and sociology into the phenomenon of second language acquisition.
English 319: Language, Race, and Identity
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Instructor: Tom Purnell
Day(s) and Time: Dec 30, 2024 – Jan 19, 2025
Modality: In person
Prerequisite: Sophomore standing
Description:
English 319 does not count toward 50% graduate coursework requirement. It counts toward Biological Science or Social Science; counts toward Liberal Arts and Science credit in L&S; counts toward Ethnic Studies requirement; Intermediate.
Relation of culture and genetics to formal properties of human language; consideration of American English dialects and language disorders. Topics include: biological basis of language disorders; racial affiliation and social identity; maintenance of social boundaries; politics of education, speech therapy.
*English 320: Linguistic Theory and Child Language
Instructor: Jacee Cho
Day(s) and Time: Tuesdays and Thursdays, 11:00 am – 12:15 pm
Modality: In person
Prerequisite: Sophomore standing
Description: Counts as LAS credit (L&S). Does not count toward 50% graduate coursework requirement.
This course continues the introduction to Second Language Acquisition (Eng 318) by focusing on crosslinguistic influence or language transfer in second, third (or more) language acquisition from (psycho)linguistic perspectives. We will discuss major contemporary theories and research methodologies We will survey formal linguistic (generative) and cognitive linguistic research on the interaction between the existing (L1) and new linguistic systems (L2, L3, Ln) which is often referred to as language transfer or crosslingustic influence.
&English 414: Global Spread of English
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Instructor: Tom Purnell
Day(s) and Time: Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, 12:05 – 12:55 pm
Modality: In person
Prerequisite: Sophomore standing
Description:
Examination of the linguistic, social, and political impact of the spread of English around the world. Analysis of geographical, social, and stylistic variation in English in diverse world contexts.
English 415: Introduction to TESOL Methods
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Instructor: Joseph Nosek
Day(s) and Time: Tuesdays and Thursdays, 1:00 – 2:15 pm
Modality: In person
Prerequisite: Sophomore standing
Description: Counts as LAS credit (L&S). Does not count toward 50% graduate coursework requirement.
Teaching of English to speakers of other languages. Exploration of the contexts in which English is taught, and methods and materials used to teach it.
English 420: Quantitative Methods for Linguists 1
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Instructor: Eric Raimy
Day(s) and Time: Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. 1:20 – 2:10 pm
Modality: In person
Prerequisite: Sophomore standing
Description:
Study of a topic in English language and linguistics.
English 515: Techniques and Materials for TESOL
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Instructor: Karen Best
Day(s) and Time: Tuesdays and Thursdays, 9:30 – 10:45 am
Modality: In person
Prerequisite: English 415
Description: Counts as LAS credit (L&S). Does not count toward 50% graduate coursework requirement.
Supervised practice in the use of current techniques and materials in the teaching of English to speakers of other languages, including peer and community teaching with videotaped sessions.
English 516: English Grammar in Use
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Instructor: Anja Wanner
Day(s) and Time: Tuesdays and Thursdays, 1:00 – 2:15 pm
Modality: In person
Prerequisite: ENGL 314 or graduate/professional standing
Description:
Functions of English grammar, covering use in a variety of contexts and text types. Involves analysis of spoken and written English across genres and settings.
English 702: Perspectives on Literacy
Instructor: Eileen Lagman
Day(s) and Time: Wednesdays, 10:00 – 12:30 pm
Modality: In person
Prerequisite: Please check with the instructor
Description:
This course will examine core texts in literacy studies research in the field of Composition and Rhetoric–as well as engage with texts from additional fields such as literary studies, history, education, information studies, and anthropology–in order to explore literacy studies as both an interdisciplinary field and a distinct area of research foundational to the teaching and research of writing. Throughout the seminar, we’ll examine literacy as it appears in cultural practice and meaning-making, literacy as it acts as a technology of modernity, literacy as it participates in myths shaping narratives of education, social justice, and development, and literacy as a process and manufactured text in capitalist production. In doing so, this seminar will ask: what do we mean when we talk about literacy? How is literacy’s meaning and value taken up and shaped by specific cultural pursuits? And how are methods and frameworks from literacy studies productive for research in writing, rhetoric, and related fields?
English 709: Advanced English Phonology
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Instructor: Eric Raimy
Day(s) and Time: Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, 11:00 – 11:50 am
Modality: In person
Prerequisite: Eng 315
Description:
Problems of English segmental and suprasegmental phonology, including morphophonemic alterations and stress assignment.
*&English 715: Advanced Second Language Acquisition
Instructor: Jacee Cho
Day(s) and Time: Tuesdays and Thursdays, 2:30 – 3:45 pm
Modality: In person
Prerequisite: Eng 318 Second Language Acquisition or equivalent
Description:
This course continues the introduction to Second Language Acquisition (Eng 318) by focusing on crosslinguistic influence or language transfer in second, third (or more) language acquisition from (psycho)linguistic perspectives. We will discuss major contemporary theories and research methodologies We will survey formal linguistic (generative) and cognitive linguistic research on the interaction between the existing (L1) and new linguistic systems (L2, L3, Ln) which is often referred to as language transfer or crosslinguistic influence.
*&German 727: Social Motivation
Instructor: Julia Goetze
Day(s) and Time: Mondays, 4:00 – 7:00 pm
Modality: In person
Prerequisite: Graduate/Professional standing. Instructor permission to enroll required.
Description:
There is a growing consensus in general education that teacher-student relationships (TSRs) “play a critical and central role in motivating and engaging students to learn” (Wentzel, 2016, p. 211). This body of research posits that the affective quality of TSRs is a central and crucial motivator for student (academic) achievement. But what motivates students and teachers to form social relationships in the classroom? Is there general agreement between all classroom participants on what constitutes positive TSRs? And how exactly are teachers’ and students’ social motivation(s) to establish positive TSRs linked to classroom achievement?
This seminar takes these questions as a starting point and adopts the following course structure. First, students receive a broad overview of different domains of motivation research in SLA and adjacent fields, which transcend SLA’s narrow focus on achievement and include power and relationship motives. Second, students zero in on social motivation and examine existing theoretical frameworks in general education, educational, psychology, and SLA, including attachment theory, social support theory, and self-determination theory. Third, student engage in critical discussions around the most pertinent challenges and gaps in the domain of social motivation research in SLA today, which include the applicability of existing frameworks to language classrooms, the lack of feasible research designs to simultaneously investigate teacher and student participants, and the lack of existing research on language teachers’ motivations. Fourth, students will use course readings and discussions as a base to collaboratively design and implement an empirical research project with the aim to draft a complete manuscript that can be submitted for publication.
Journalism and Mass Communication 620: International Communication (4 credits)
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Instructor: Lindsay Palmer
Day(s) and Time: Tuesdays and Thursdays, 1:00 – 2:15 pm
Modality: In person
Prerequisite: Junior standing
Description:
Historical, political, economic and cultural trends in global mass communication systems.
Linguistics 510: Phonological Theories
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Instructor: Eric Raimy
Day(s) and Time: Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, 11:00 – 11:50 am
Modality: In person
Prerequisite: Linguistics 310
Description: Theories of phonology, and advanced phonological description.
Linguistics 530: Syntactic Theories
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Instructor: Yafei Li
Day(s) and Time: Tuesdays and Thursdays, 1:00 pm – 2:15 pm
Modality: In person
Prerequisite: Linguistics 330
Description: Theories of syntax, and syntactic description. The relation of syntax to semantics, and other aspects of linguistic theory.
Linguistics 571: Structure of a Language
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Instructor: Rebecca Shields
Day(s) and Time: Tuesdays and Thursdays, 2:30 pm – 3:45 pm
Modality: In person
Prerequisite: Linguistics 310 and 330
Description:
In-depth study of all components of the grammar of a language.
Philosophy 516: Language and Meaning
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Instructor: John Mackay
Day(s) and Time: Tuesdays and Thursdays, 9:30 – 10:45 am
Modality: In person
Prerequisite: Junior standing or 3 Credits in Philosophy
Description: Counts as LAS credit (L&S). Does not count toward 50% graduate coursework requirement.
The nature and function of language, theories of meaning, semantic and syntactic paradoxes, proper names, private languages, rules, and linguistic relativity.
Slavic 802: The Structure of Russian
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Instructor: David Danaher
Day(s) and Time: Tuesdays and Thursdays, 1:20 – 2:10 pm
Modality: In person
Prerequisite: Graduate/Professional standing
Description:
Provides a theoretical and practical introduction to the linguistic structure of Contemporary Standard Russian.
Sociology 360: Statistics for Sociologists I (4 credits)
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Instructor: Anna Milewski
Day(s) and Time: Multiple class times. Please check Course Search and Enroll.
Modality: In person
Prerequisites: Satisfied Quantitative Reasoning (QR) A requirement (Course search and enroll)
Description: 4 credits. Counts as LAS credit (L&S). Does not count toward 50% graduate coursework requirement.
Presentation of sociological data; descriptive statistics; probability theory and statistical inference; estimation and tests of hypotheses; regression and correlation and the analysis of contingency tables.
Sociology 362: Statistics for Sociologists III (4 credits)
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Instructor: Felix Elwert
Day(s) and Time: Tuesdays and Thursdays, 2:30 – 3:45 pm. There are several labs listed. Please check Course Search and Enroll.
Modality: In person
Prerequisites: SOC/C&E SOC 361, STAT 302, ECON 400, 410, STAT/MATH 309, or graduate/professional standing
Description: Generalized linear models with selected applications to social science data. Topics: Review of multiple regression; properties of estimators; general linear restrictions; instrumental variables; two-stage least squares; panel data; fixed and random effects; logit, probit, and related models
Sociology 755: Methods of Qualitative Research
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Instructor: Allison Daminger
Day(s) and Time: Wednesdays 2:30 – 5:30 pm, Jan 21 – Mar 23 (AII)
Modality: In person
Prerequisites: Graduate/professional standing
Description:
Introduces qualitative, or ethnographic, research methods, emphasizing those suitable for educational and other organizational settings. Considers strengths and limitations of qualitative approaches in relation to varied research problems. Explores methodological procedures from entry into the field through writing.
&Spanish (Spanish and Portuguese) 630: Topics in Hispanic Linguistics
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Instructor: Fernando Tejedo-Herrero
Day(s) and time: Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, 9:55 – 10:45 am
Modality: In person
Prerequisites: Graduate/professional standing
Description: Advanced course focusing on particular theories, approaches, and/or methodologies concerned with Spanish linguistics.