Phonology course design for the contemporary student

Abstract

This paper shares novel pedagogical approaches to the traditional models that typify instruction in university-level phonology courses. Acknowledging the challenges faced by young adult students and the variance in their experience, I survey the range of resources across Linguistics programs. These circumstances suggest both a need and an opportunity to explore what instructors of phonology may do differently, and thus I also present some specific examples of how a phonology curriculum may be adapted to suit contemporary needs of students. This includes a comparison of an idealized traditional phonology curriculum with a more typical contemporary instantiation; paths to consider for means of improving the engagement and performance of students in phonology courses, and a closer look at some of these content-oriented strategies of engagement