Prof. Dr. Christiane M.

Bongartz WS 22/23
Ls-bongartz@uni-koeln.de
Department of English, University of Cologne
office hours: Thursdays at 2:30pm in 1.007 Phil

VL: English in Context - A Linguistic Journey

Wednesday 5:45 - 7:15
Course Description

In this lecture class we will be looking at English(es) in a variety of multilingual settings, ranging
from Morocco to Morschenich: the framework for our explorations will be mobility, via
migration, travel, or even social media. Our focus of discussion devoted to a paradox: if
multilingualism is a default condition of the human mind, why do societies seem to struggle
with it? What factors determine the status that English enjoys in various contexts? In which
circumstances is English more or less appreciated?

To find possible and potentially diverse answers to these and other questions, we will be
assuming different perspectives, sometimes a psycholinguistic one (inside a speakers mind),
sometimes a sociolinguistic one (individual and group identities), sometimes one of
anthropology and ideology.

From our work in class we will derive a set of questions that we can ask of the guest speakers
who will be visiting us before the winter recess. Together, we will develop an understanding
of some popular epistemes in the 21st century: ‘the social turn in applied linguistics’, 'the
multilingual turn,’ and 'monolingualism.'

Selected readings:
Block, D. (2014). Social class in applied linguistics. London: Routledge.
Gramling, D. (2016). The invention of monolingualism. New York: Bloomsbury.
Mohanty, A.K. (2019) The Multilingual Reality: Living with Languages. Bristol: Multilingual
Matters.
Pavlenko, A. (In press) Multilingualism and history. Cambridge: CUP.
Vulchanova , M., Baggio, G., Cangelosi, A., & Smith, L. (2017). Editorial: Language
Development in the Digital Age. Frontiers in human neuroscience, 11, 447.
Prof. Dr. Christiane M. Bongartz WS 22/23
Ls-bongartz@uni-koeln.de
Department of English, University of Cologne
office hours: Thursdays at 2:30pm in 1.007 Phil

WORKLOAD
To obtain class credit,
submit a personal statement about how you value the English language and why - (upload on ILIAS:
Surname_Name_personal statement)

sign-up for and provide a summary of one of our sessions (due 1week after the class was held; e.g. class of
October 26 is DUE on November 2). - (sign up in class and upload on ILIAS: Surname_Name_Week 3-16)

Class dates Class activities Readings & work due

Week 1 course intro Mohanty: ch. 1-4

October 12 https://zmi-koeln.de/quiz-mehrsprachigkeit/

http://www.languageeducationpolicy.org/thef
ieldoflanguage/multilingualism.html
Week 2 Presentation of Writing Center
October 19 “Kompetenzzentrum Schreiben”

Please visit CCLS lecture:

Annick de Houwer
October 17, 2022
2pm - 3:30pm, HS 80
alternative via Zoom-link

Week 3 The journey begins Mohanty: ch. 1-4

October 26 Morocco 1 - English in multilingual settings personal statement
due; upload on ILIAS
Week 4 Morocco 2 - English and work Mohanty: ch. 5-8
November 2

Week 5 intermission: Block: ch. 1, 4

November 9 what’s value when it comes to language/s?

Week 6 Losing value? Evidence from a multilingual

November 16 retirement home: the case of German/Greek
Giacomo Klein, AUTh
Prof. Dr. Christiane M. Bongartz WS 22/23
Ls-bongartz@uni-koeln.de
Department of English, University of Cologne
office hours: Thursdays at 2:30pm in 1.007 Phil
Week 7 The journey continues… CM: Bilingual
November 23 Republic of Cyprus (EU) education: we need to
be able to talk to each
other

CM: Daring expats to

speak Greek

Week 8 Turkish Republic of Cyprus (*nr)

November 30 When borders change
Prof. Dr. Béatrice Hendrich, U of C

Week 9 South Africa TC: Bilingual education

December 7 When colonizers change can work in South
Tom Woudstra, U of C African schools: here’s
how
Week 10 Europe/Cologne Vulchanova et al.
December 14 When YouTube is the teacher: who is a native
speaker?
Valeria’s class visit
Week 11 India - a personal experience story
December 21 Professor Ajit Mohanti, PhD
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nRpWpN7
EI2M
Week 12 recess - no classes
December 28
- January 4

Week 14 Morschenich Hofsähs: Der Ort der

January 11 Same same but different bleibt - Dorf
Morschenich sucht eine
Zukunft
Week 15 Nation of the Ojibwa
January 18 When language is violence
PD Dr. Cora Bender, U of C

Week 16 My mind
January 25 Does English exist?

Week 17 course conclusion

February 1 Exams
Prof. Dr. Christiane M. Bongartz WS 22/23
Ls-bongartz@uni-koeln.de
Department of English, University of Cologne
office hours: Thursdays at 2:30pm in 1.007 Phil

Content delivery and class requirements:

ALL content will be available in ILIAS. Please refer to their on-line manual for any issues on
how to use the platform https://www.ilias.uni-koeln.de/ilias/goto_uk_cat_3001130.html.
Please schedule your office hour appointments on https://scheduler.uni-koeln.de/
PLEASE refer to my webpages often http://anglistik1.phil-fak.uni-koeln.de/abteilungen-
lehrende/sprachwissenschaft/ls-fuer-english-studies-and-multilingualism-prof-bongartz;
information on exams and important updates will be reported here.
University policies on academic integrity, diversity, and multiculturalism are in effect.