ASSIGNMENT SUBMISSION AND ASSESSMENT ________________________________________________________________________ HBET1403 SOCIOLINGUISTICS IN LANGUAGE TEACHING MAY 2013 ________________________________________________________________________ INSTRUCTIONS TO STUDENTS 1.

This assignment contains only ONE (1) question that is set in the language of the printed module for the course. 2. Answer in English. 3. Download the language version of the assignment template concerned from the MyVLE for preparation and submission of your assignment. Your assignment should be typed using 12 point Times New Roman font and 1.5 line spacing. 4. Your assignment should be between 2500 to 3000 words excluding references. The number of words should be shown at the end of your assignment. Do not copy the assignment question and instructions to your answer. 5. You must submit your assignment TO YOUR FACE-TO-FACE TUTOR. You are advised to keep a copy of your submitted assignment for personal reference. 6. You can submit your assignment ONCE only in a SINGLE file. 7. Your assignment must be submitted between 9th July 2013 until 14th July 2013 or Tutorial 4. Submission after 14th July 2013 or Tutorial 4 will NOT be accepted. 8. Your assignment should be prepared individually. You should not copy another persons assignment. You should also not plagiarise another persons work as your own.

EVALUATION This assignment accounts for 40% of the marks for the course mentioned and shall be assessed based on Answer Scheme. You would be informed of the assignment mark before the Final Semester Examination commences. PLAGIARISM : MARKS DEDUCTION Warning : The submitted assignment will automatically undergo a similarity check. If plagiarism is detected, marks would be deducted as follows: Assignments with 10 - 30 % overlap with others: 20% deduction from the total marks scored. Assignments with 31 - 50 % overlap with others: 40% deduction from the total marks scored. Assignments with more than 50% overlap with others: Zero mark would be given.

ASSIGNMENT QUESTION

INTRODUCTION: LANGUAGE MAINTENANCE AND LANGUAGE LOSS This assignment requires you to read a journal article, reflect on its ideas and complete all the tasks in Parts I and II. The required reading (in PDF) can be downloaded from your course myVLE: Lai, Yu-tung Carol. (2009). Language maintenance and language loss in first language, US-China Foreign Language, 7(7), 10-16. PART I a) Lai (2009) points out that many children of immigrant Chinese have increasingly lost touch with their first language, Chinese, after attending schools in the United States and using predominantly English in their daily interaction. What is the effect of learning English on the first language of Malaysian children? Discuss with suitable examples drawn from the multilingual and multicultural ESL context in Malaysia and relevant ideas taken from at least TWO related theories from studies on language and society. (550 words) 10 marks b) In her paper, Lai (2009) suggests that the loss of first language among the children of Chinese immigrants is largely due to (i) the need to communicate with the members of the dominant group and to be accepted by them, (ii) the pressure from the society that stems from various socio-political reasons, and (iii) negative feedback from other members of the first language community.

To what extent can these factors account for the changes in the first language(s) in your local community? Support your discussion with suitable examples drawn from the multilingual and multicultural ESL context in Malaysia and relevant ideas taken from at least TWO related theories of/studies on language and society. (600 - 700 words) - 15 marks

PART II a) You are required to interview THREE in-service teachers who teach English language at the local primary or secondary schools to find out: (i) their views on the importance of preserving first language, and strategies. You can conduct a group interview or you can interview the teachers separately. You need to submit the audio/video clips of the interview AND a copy of the verbatim transcription of the interview. b) Based on your interview, suggest how local ESL teachers can help maintain learners first language(s) in their teaching repertoire. Support your discussion with relevant ideas taken from at least TWO related theories of or studies on language maintenance and language loss. (550 words) 15 marks (including the verbatim transcription of the interview) **You MUST attach a copy of ALL journal articles cited in this assignment.** [Total: 40 marks] ____________________________________________________________________________ END OF PAGE (ii) what they do/plan to do to preserve their learners first language(s) in their teaching