This iteration of the popular English and linguistics course, History of the English Language (HEL), emphasizes English in its multiplicity and global-ness. Further, the course and its assignments have been designed to largely center around digital mediums through such means as collaborative note taking and research via online pedagogical resources like the Oxford English Dictionary (OED) and the Dictionary for American Regional English (DARE).
This course syllabus and other materials were designed for the HEL pedagogy course ENGL 506: The English Language at Pennsylvania State University for Dr. Scott Smith. The course was designed to provide an understanding of the history of the English language as that course is often assigned to early career English faculty in English departments across the US. The study of this history was supported by scholarship about the history itself as well as commentary on how the history is represented in conjunction with a survey of HEL textbooks. Further, the course centered discussions on practical and effective pedagogical practices for the instruction of a course that intersects multiple disciplines like history, linguistics, and English. The final project for the course tasked students with designing a syllabus from scratch with attention to learning objectives, reading materials, assignments, and a course schedule.
Ash Mayes 