Southern Utah University

Course Syllabus

Southern Utah University
Southern Utah University
Fall Semester 2025

Principles of Linguistics (Hybrid)

TESL 1030-30Y

Course: TESL 1030-30Y
Credits: 3
Term: Fall Semester 2025
Department: TED
CRN: 33561

Course Description

Course TESL 1030 is an introduction to different topics in the field of Linguistics, including historical linguistics, speech production, grammar, the social role of language, and writing systems.

Required Texts

All required readings and videos will be provided on Canvas, including access to our Open Educational Resource (OER) textbook, Essentials of Linguistics, 2nd Edition.

Learning Outcomes

Students will be able to…

  • a) Describe features of language using widely accepted linguistic terminology
  • b) Analyze and explain language use and variation in contemporary society
  • c) Interpret language data with a variety of analytic lenses from the field of linguistics

Course Requirements

“Grades are not determined by how smart a student is; they are a reflection of the behavior and actions taken by a student in a given class.” -Dr. Saundra Yancy McGuire

Grade Percentage
GradePercentage
A94-100%
A-90-93.9%
B+87-89.9%
B84-86.9%
B-80-83.9%
C+77-79.9%
C74-76.9%
C-70-73.9%
D+67-69.9%
D64-66.9%
D-60-63.9%
F0-59%

Assignments and projects for this course are worth 1 point, quizzes are worth 1 point per question, and discussions are worth 2 points. An incomplete or missing assignment will result in a zero.

Incomplete Work

If an assignment is submitted by its due date and is marked incomplete (0/1), you are invited to re-do it using my feedback. Once you revise the assignment to address provided feedback and make any other changes you see fit to improve your work, you can re-submit the assignment within 1 week of receiving instructor feedback.

Course Outline

14 weeks / course modules:
  1. Welcome to TESL 1030
  2. Language Variation & Change
  3. Morphology
  4. Project 1: Etymology
  5. Syntax
  6. Phonetics
  7. Phonology
  8. Sociolinguistics
  9. Project 2: Language Sounds in Society
  10. Semantics 
  11. Pragmatics
  12. Language Acquisition
  13. Graphemics
  14. Project 3: Conlang

Instructor's policies on late assignments and/or makeup work

Late Work Policy

All assignments have specified due dates. As a courtesy to your peers and instructor, you are expected to submit your work according to deadlines. Missing assignments or choosing not to respond to feedback on projects or assignments marked incomplete will prevent you from being successful in this class. If an emergency or extenuating circumstance comes up, please communicate this ASAP to your instructor to be supported in your learning.

Instructor Response Time

Between 9am – 5pm on Mondays to Thursdays, you can expect to hear back from me within 5 hours of sending me a Canvas message or email. If you email me outside of this time frame (i.e. in the evening, over a weekend, or holiday), you should hear from me within 3 days. If you do not get a response from me, please send me a follow up message or email.

Attendance Policy

Attending class is a vital part of this course and will influence your overall course performance. 

Instructional Method

This class is offered as a hybrid course that meets once a week in person as well as an online asynchronous course. 

ADA Statement

Students with medical, psychological, learning, or other disabilities desiring academic adjustments, accommodations, or auxiliary aids will need to contact the Disability Resource Center, located in Room 206F of the Sharwan Smith Center or by phone at (435) 865-8042. The Disability Resource Center determines eligibility for and authorizes the provision of services.

If your instructor requires attendance, you may need to seek an ADA accommodation to request an exception to this attendance policy. Please contact the Disability Resource Center to determine what, if any, ADA accommodations are reasonable and appropriate.

Academic Credit

According to the federal definition of a Carnegie credit hour: A credit hour of work is the equivalent of approximately 60 minutes of class time or independent study work. A minimum of 45 hours of work by each student is required for each unit of credit. Credit is earned only when course requirements are met. One (1) credit hour is equivalent to 15 contact hours of lecture, discussion, testing, evaluation, or seminar, as well as 30 hours of student homework. An equivalent amount of work is expected for laboratory work, internships, practica, studio, and other academic work leading to the awarding of credit hours. Credit granted for individual courses, labs, or studio classes ranges from 0.5 to 15 credit hours per semester.

Academic Freedom

SUU is operated for the common good of the greater community it serves. The common good depends upon the free search for truth and its free exposition. Academic Freedom is the right of faculty to study, discuss, investigate, teach, and publish. Academic Freedom is essential to these purposes and applies to both teaching and research.

Academic Freedom in the realm of teaching is fundamental for the protection of the rights of the faculty member and of you, the student, with respect to the free pursuit of learning and discovery. Faculty members possess the right to full freedom in the classroom in discussing their subjects. They may present any controversial material relevant to their courses and their intended learning outcomes, but they shall take care not to introduce into their teaching controversial materials which have no relation to the subject being taught or the intended learning outcomes for the course.

As such, students enrolled in any course at SUU may encounter topics, perspectives, and ideas that are unfamiliar or controversial, with the educational intent of providing a meaningful learning environment that fosters your growth and development. These parameters related to Academic Freedom are included in SUU Policy 6.6.

Academic Misconduct

Scholastic honesty is expected of all students. Dishonesty will not be tolerated and will be prosecuted to the fullest extent (see SUU Policy 6.33). You are expected to have read and understood the current SUU student conduct code (SUU Policy 11.2) regarding student responsibilities and rights, the intellectual property policy (SUU Policy 5.52), information about procedures, and what constitutes acceptable behavior.

Please Note: The use of websites or services that sell essays is a violation of these policies; likewise, the use of websites or services that provide answers to assignments, quizzes, or tests is also a violation of these policies. Regarding the use of Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI), you should check with your individual course instructor.

Emergency Management Statement

In case of an emergency, the University's Emergency Notification System (ENS) will be activated. Students are encouraged to maintain updated contact information using the link on the homepage of the mySUU portal. In addition, students are encouraged to familiarize themselves with the Emergency Response Protocols posted in each classroom. Detailed information about the University's emergency management plan can be found at https://www.suu.edu/emergency.

HEOA Compliance Statement

For a full set of Higher Education Opportunity Act (HEOA) compliance statements, please visit https://www.suu.edu/heoa. The sharing of copyrighted material through peer-to-peer (P2P) file sharing, except as provided under U.S. copyright law, is prohibited by law; additional information can be found at https://my.suu.edu/help/article/1096/heoa-compliance-plan.

You are also expected to comply with policies regarding intellectual property (SUU Policy 5.52) and copyright (SUU Policy 5.54).

Mandatory Reporting

University policy (SUU Policy 5.60) requires instructors to report disclosures received from students that indicate they have been subjected to sexual misconduct/harassment. The University defines sexual harassment consistent with Federal Regulations (34 C.F.R. Part 106, Subpart D) to include quid pro quo, hostile environment harassment, sexual assault, dating violence, domestic violence, and stalking. When students communicate this information to an instructor in-person, by email, or within writing assignments, the instructor will report that to the Title IX Coordinator to ensure students receive support from the Title IX Office. A reporting form is available at https://cm.maxient.com/reportingform.php?SouthernUtahUniv

Non-Discrimination Statement

SUU is committed to fostering an inclusive community of lifelong learners and believes our university's encompassing of different views, beliefs, and identities makes us stronger, more innovative, and better prepared for the global society.

SUU does not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, citizenship, sex (including sex discrimination and sexual harassment), sexual orientation, gender identity, age, ancestry, disability status, pregnancy, pregnancy-related conditions, genetic information, military status, veteran status, or other bases protected by applicable law in employment, treatment, admission, access to educational programs and activities, or other University benefits or services.

SUU strives to cultivate a campus environment that encourages freedom of expression from diverse viewpoints. We encourage all to dialogue within a spirit of respect, civility, and decency.

For additional information on non-discrimination, please see SUU Policy 5.27 and/or visit https://www.suu.edu/nondiscrimination.

Pregnancy

Students who are or become pregnant during this course may receive reasonable modifications to facilitate continued access and participation in the course. Pregnancy and related conditions are broadly defined to include pregnancy, childbirth, termination of pregnancy, lactation, related medical conditions, and recovery. To obtain reasonable modifications, please make a request to title9@suu.edu. To learn more visit: https://www.suu.edu/titleix/pregnancy.html.

Disclaimer Statement

Information contained in this syllabus, other than the grading, late assignments, makeup work, and attendance policies, may be subject to change with advance notice, as deemed appropriate by the instructor.