Historical linguistics in schools: A problem-based learning approach
(with Ben Goddard, Francesca Iezzi, Will Reynolds, Graeme Trousdale) Presented at the International Conference on Historical Linguistics workshop on ‘Historical linguistics in schools: An ever-pressing need?’
standard route: national curricula • An alternative route: The United Kingdom Linguistics Olympiad (http://www.uklo.org) Examples from the standard route come from the curricula in England and Wales. The situation in Scotland and Northern Ireland is broadly comparable. 3
subject areas a. English Language b. Modern foreign language (example: German) c. Classical language (example: Latin) We examine specifications from different public examination awarding bodies (AQA for English Language, Pearson Edexcel for German, and OCR for Latin) but all must follow general guidelines laid down by Ofqual 4
• Read fluently, and with good understanding, a wide range of texts from the 19th, 20th and 21st centuries, including literature and literary non-fiction as well as other writing such as reviews and journalism. • Acquire and apply a wide vocabulary, alongside a knowledge and understanding of grammatical terminology, and linguistic conventions for reading, writing and spoken language 5
writer’s choice of vocabulary, form, grammatical and structural features: explaining and illustrating how vocabulary and grammar contribute to effectiveness and impact. But nothing on showing understanding of how 19c. English has structural differences from contemporary English. 6
The aim of this area of study is to allow students to explore language diversity and change over time. Students will study the key concepts of audience, purpose, genre and mode and will explore language in its wider social, geographical and temporal contexts. They will explore processes of language change. This part of the subject content also requires students to study social attitudes to, and debates about, language diversity and change. 7
study a range of examples of language in use and research data to inform their study of diversity and change: • texts using different sociolects (to include social and occupational groups, gender and ethnicity) • texts using different dialects (to include regional, national and international varieties of English) • texts that use language to represent the different groups above • texts from different periods, from 1600 to the present day • written, spoken and electronic texts about a range of subjects, for various audiences and purposes in a variety of genres • items from collections of language data (eg dictionaries, online resources, language corpora) • research findings (eg tables, graphs, statistics). 8
paper: Evaluate the idea that we should create a national organisation to control the use and development of English. • June 2019 paper: Evaluate the idea that language variation has decreased over time. • June 2018 paper: Evaluate the idea that the English language has been decaying over time and continues to do so. 9
and 2) There is no explicit mention of study of earlier varieties of German, or of ways of comparing English and German to reveal historical connections. The only pre-modern German focus is at A-Level in the literary study section, where there is an opportunity to study early 20c fiction (e.g. Tonio Kröger by Thomas Mann). 10
most clearly defined connections to historical linguistics of all three subjects E.g. aims and learning outcomes: the qualification will ‘enable learners to develop and deploy their knowledge of vocabulary, morphology and syntax in order to read, understand and interpret Latin’, and will ‘encourage learners to deploy their knowledge and understanding of Latin to deepen their understanding of English and other languages’ and ‘develop research and analytical skills which will empower them to become independent learners and enquirers, equipping them for further study in arts, humanities and sciences’ 11
‘study texts and stories in Latin to build knowledge and understanding of Latin vocabulary, accidence and syntax’ - is the only compulsory component and worth 50% of the marks for the qualification. 12
the Latin words below, give one English word which has been derived from the Latin word and give the meaning of the English word (Latin words: vocem, audiverat) • Identify an example of the present tense in line 3 of the extract • amicis meis omnia narrare volo: identify the case of amicis • itaque domum redire constituit: identify the form of redire and explain why it is used here. 13
existence for just over 10 years • Participation is around about 5,000 students • Teaches problem solving skills using linguistic data • Teaches about linguistics via problem solving • Requires no prior knowledge about how language works to solve the puzzles 15
science olympiads available to UK schoolchildren. The most popular of these is the British Mathematics Olympiad. Both of these competitions involve: • at the highest level, material which goes beyond standard school curricula • at lower levels, material which can be created precisely to address topics in the curricula • the opportunity to enhance problem solving skills 17
BMO • builds on Edinburgh Maths Circles Aims at • encouraging children to think like mathematicians/linguists • enhancing children’s problem solving skills • emphasising the importance of problem solving in teaching and learning • showing links between mathematics and linguistics 18
use in primary and secondary classrooms • attendance at CPD meetings and conferences for teachers • attendance at science fairs and public events for parents and children • organising online/on-campus activities The project has a particular focus on parental engagement and widening participation 19
of/familiarity with BMO • kudos But we have been surprised by some of the further connections we have discovered; and we have been able to involve both maths and linguistics UG and PG students in the project. 20
Other topics include • Ways of telling the time in different languages (mathematics connection: fractions, geometry) • Languages whose number systems are not base 10 • Mathematical problems in unfamiliar languages (mathematics connection: square numbers, equations) 21
of data involved. It has a wealth of material for both historical linguists and mathematicians • for historical linguistics: writing systems, cognates, compositionality • for mathematics: number bases 22
on the mathematics side, and compared it with contemporary Cree • for historical linguistics: writing systems, phonological units, typological differences • for mathematics: reflection, rotation 23
study issues relating to historical linguistics • The limited opportunities include • general questions e.g. on attitudes to language change and the doctrine of correctness • some specific questions on morphology, syntax and lexis in classics • But the interest in UKLO presents other opportunities for engaging interest in linguistics generally and historical linguistics in particular • STOP PRESS: IOL 2022 Q5 on Proto Chamic, Phan Rang Cham and Tsat! • Making connections with mathematics is a helpful way to raise the profile of the study of (historical) linguistics in schools. 25
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