Department of English, Foreign Languages and Speech Communications
College of Liberal Arts
A major in English or a modern foreign language is the “Swiss army knife” of majors. Excellent communication skills are but one bonus that comes from studying language and literature.
Writing to Learn
Links to WAC sites
University of Richmond WAC site provides an overview of the concept of writing to learn as well as a dozen examples of WTL activities (http://writing2.richmond.edu/wac/wtl.html).
The Center for Teaching Excellence at Duquesne University has provided a pdf file that discusses incorporating WTL activities into the classroom setting and assessing WTL activities. Also, the site provides some examples of easy to implement WTL activities (http://www.duq.edu/Documents/cte/writing-to-learn.pdf)
The Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Leadership and Learning Center has created a series of online documents (that they term seminars) for faculty interested in implementing WTL in the classroom.These are middle and high school sample activities that can easily be scaled up to the college classroom: http://www.leadandlearn.com/resource-center/writing-to-learn-resources
The University of Wisconsin at LaCrosse has created a WTL site that discusses how specific kinds of WTL activities help students understand and retain content. This is a terrific site that helps the instructor visualize how the activities will work in the classroom and how to make grading easier! (http://www.uwlax.edu/catl/writing/assignments/writingtolearn.htm).
Saginaw Valley State hosts a very straightforward site that lists activities, their most appropriate uses, and the best way to respond to student writing-to-learn activities (http://www6.svsu.edu/~dboehm/writingtolearn.html).
Colorado State University’s WAC site has a wealth of information on both WTL and teaching writing in a variety of disciplines. The following information is part of the much larger writing across the curriculum site.
Chapter 5 from Writing to Learn—This chapter explains the advantages of writing and provides examples of writing to learn activities employed in a variety of disciplines.
This page explains how to sequence tasks related to writing to learn.
This page provides a full example of semester-long sequencing.
The University of Massachusetts provides an explanation of the usefulness of writing to learn and of a few simple ways to incorporate it into the classroom.
ABOUT THE PROGRAM
More about us
The department of English, Foreign Languages, & Speech Communication at Jackson State
University is a unified, multidisciplinary marketplace of ideas committed to creating a more
equitable global society that supports diverse cultural experiences, fosters professionalism, and
honest academic integrity and responsibility. It is our goal to foster independent, innovative, and
ethical leaders who take initiative to make decisions and solve problems in their communities.
LEARN BY DOING
The area of English at Jackson State University has established the following major objectives:
• To help students develop the ability to read, think, and write clearly and critically.
• To help students understand and appreciate good writing and literature.
• To help students become aware of the truth, beauty, and wisdom of our culture to the
extent that they are able to make value judgments about the society in which they live.
• To prepare students for teaching English and for other careers that require critical
thinking, cultural awareness, and clear writing.
• To provide the necessary courses for all students to fulfill state and university
requirements.
• To encourage students to engage in creative and scholarly writing.
“Challenging Minds, Changing Lives.”
APPLY YOUR KNOWLEDGE
• Students will be able to draw on relevant cultural and historical information to analyze
and interpret a literary text.
• Students will be able to demonstrate familiarity with literary traditions pre- and post1800, including identifying authors, genres, literary movements, and styles.
• Students will be able to analyze underrepresented experiences and cultural diversity,
including issues of race, gender, class, sexuality, and ethnicity through the study of
ethnic minority or non-Western texts.
• Students will be able to research and write focused, convincing analytical essays in clear,
grammatical prose.
• Students will be able to read, write, and speak effectively in at least one foreign
language.
CAREER OPPORTUNITIES
English, Foreign Languages, and Speech majors have a plethora of career options:
|
Social Media Manager |
Technical Writer | Teacher or Private tutor | Interpreter |
| Translator | Speech Language Pathologist SLP- PR | Speech Language Pathologist Assistant | Registered Behavior Technician (RBT) |
READY TO JOIN?
For more information, please contact us at (601) 979- 2249. We look forward to meeting with you and seeing how our program can help you achieve your goals.
Dr. Ebony Lumumba, Chair
DEPARTMENT OF English, Foreign Languages and Speech Communications
