U214 B TMA

U214 B TMA
Semester 2, 2016-2017
Cut-off date: Week 11 (29 April to 4 May 2017)
Length: 1500-2000 words

Question

In the context of globalisation and the spread of English, evaluate the influence of English on people's lives and on societies, considering both positive and negative aspects. You should draw on the discussion in Unit 1 of Book 3 The Politics and Policies of English. Use evidence from the book (e.g. Chapters. 2, 4) to support your arguments.

Areas of Discussion

Areas of discussing the TMA’s topic are related to evaluation of ideas, making comparisons, and developing arguments drawing on U214B Course Book 3, The Politics and Policies of English , and particularly Unit 1.

Important Guidelines

Discussing the TMA’s subject matter has to draw on evaluation of ideas, making comparisons, and developing arguments based on the following:
1. How English features in the politics of communities around the world (4 pts)
2. English as a positive resource (4pts)
3. The hegemony of English (4 pts)
4. Your evaluation of the benefits and costs of English in the twenty-first century, including effects of the 'ownership' of English (4 pts)
5. Appropriate language, referencing and citation (4 pts)

N.B. Students need to read in – depth Unit 1 and Unit 2 and think about the TMA questions as they read. Students need to take notes relating to the TMA question. When writing, students need to pay attention to structure, layout and correct language and use appropriate referencing and citation. Please note that, in addition to the textbook materials, students are strongly recommended to consult two or more of the following references:

Recommended Bibliography

• Allington, D., and Mayor, B. (eds) (2012). Communicating in English: Talk, Text and Technology. Milton Keynes. Routledge
• Blommaert, J. and Verschueren, J. 1998. Debating Diversity. London. Routledge.
• Joukouian, A. 2016. Teaching English as a Foreign Language Today. CALR Linguistic Journal, Vol.7, no.5.
• Mufwene, S. 2002. Colonization, globalization and the plight of ‘weak’ languages. Journal of Linguistics 38. 375-395
• Philipson, R. 1992. Linguistic Imperialism. London. Oxford University Press.

Using the e-library

You can include information from the course book but it is highly recommended to use external sources from the e-library.
 You are requested to visit the e-library on campus and use it to carry out your TMAs properly.
 You are also requested to show your tutor that you used the e-library to complete your TMA. But avoid submitting a copy/paste paper, it is a plagiarized work, which is strictly banned and firmly penalized by AOU.

Guidelines on Plagiarism
If you submit an assignment that contains work other than yours without acknowledging the sources, you are committing plagiarism. This might occur when:

• Using a sentence or phrase that you have come across
• Copying word-for-word directly from a text
• Paraphrasing the words from the text very closely
• Using text downloaded from the Internet
• Borrowing statistics or assembled fact from another person or source
• Copying or downloading figures, photographs, pictures or diagrams without acknowledging your sources
• Copying from the notes or essays of a fellow student

(Slightly adapted from OU document on quoting versus plagiarism)

It is important to remember that plagiarism is strictly barred and would be subject to punitive action by the Arab Open University.


Marking Descriptor – points will be awarded based on the following description

GRADE CONTENT AND ORGANIZATION – up to 16 points out of the total 20 REFERENCING AND CITATION - up to 4 points out of the total 20
A
• Discussion reflects confidence and wide-ranging knowledge of core material, theoretical background and ability to address question in a structural, direct and effective way.
• Originality of thought or ideas from outside the course contributes to the excellent discussion with examples that are relevant.
• Essay has an introduction, defining the planned discussion; body paragraphs target the main points raised in the TMA guideline; conclusion summarizes the discussion to answer the TMA question.
• Essay includes a wide range of specialized terminology and is error free. Dear Student: please read carefully
1. You need to cite references to:
 Support your arguments and give your work a factual basis
 Protect yourself against charges of plagiarism
 Demonstrate to tutors that you have carried out the necessary research

2. Cite your source when you:
o Paraphrase
o Summarise
o Quote
o Refer to the ideas or theories of other people’s work in your assignments.



Citing
When you refer to another author's work in your assignment you must cite your source by providing the last name of the author and the year of publication in the text.

Referencing
At the end of your work, under the heading References, write a full description of each source you have cited, listing them in alphabetical order sorted by the author's last name.

Basic referencing formats:
For books; both published and online
Author, A. (year). Title of work. City: Publisher.
Author, A. (year). Title of work. Retrieved from http://www.xxxxxxxxxxx
For Chapter in book
Author, A. (year). Chapter Title. Title of work. City: Publisher. Page numbers.
For Journal articles
Author, A., Author, B.., & Author, C. (year). Article title. Journal title, volume number (issue number). Page numbers.

Example
in-text citations
A study by Dalby (2001) places Chinese as the most widely used language in the world.

Referencing (for the above example in the reference list)
Dalby, D. (2001). “The lingausphere: Kaleidoscope of the world languages”. In English Today, 17(1). 22-26.
B to B+
 Discussion reflects confident and secure knowledge of course materials coupled with an analytical approach and relevant discussion covering most of the key issues.
 Distinguished from A answers by being less insightful or by showing less comprehensive knowledge of the course.
 Essay has an introduction, defining the planned discussion; body paragraphs target the main points raised in the TMA guideline; conclusion summarizes the discussion to answer the TMA question.
 Essay demonstrates extensive grammar control and specialized terminology
C to C+
 Discussion provides competent answers reflecting adequate knowledge of the relevant course material and concepts, with reasonable structure and adequate coherence related to the question set.
 Introduction and/ or conclusion is short but still satisfactory; less grammar control than above; good range of specialized terminology
D

 Discussion provides answers which omit some concepts /evidence.
 Discussion lacks coherence /structure, and/or makes minor errors while still demonstrating basic understanding.
 Answers show awareness of some relevant material and attempt to relate it to the question.
 Slightly confused introduction and/or conclusion, but body still fair; no evidence of editing; some error types that impede communication; some specialized terminology.
F
 Answers attempt to draw upon relevant material but do not reflect sufficient knowledge of the course and/or neglect the focus required by the question, and/or are incomplete in some important aspects whilst being acceptable in others.
 No introduction and /or no conclusion; body paragraphs badly organized or irrelevant.
 Poor grammar control (extremely limited range of grammar & register); limited or not specialized range of terminology.