COURSE REQUIREMENTS

Attendance and class preparation: Please make sure you come to every class. Missing class is only acceptable for one of the academically legitimate excuses. It’s impossible to do well on homework problems or write a good project report without attending classes regularly. And by “impossible” I really mean “impossible”.

Also, make sure you read the textbook as well as all materials on reserve or on the course website that are assigned in class every week BEFORE coming to class. It will help you (and help me too) a lot if you come to class prepared.

There will be FIVE HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENTS to test your understanding of the material covered in class and to help you work on linguistic problems on your own, applying the same reasoning and analytical tools that we’ll be discussing in class. Each homework counts for 8% of your overall grade. So, take them seriously! While I do not mind you discussing assignment questions with your colleagues, bear in mind that the work you turn in has to be yours, and yours alone. Copying someone else’s work will be treated as cheating, will receive no credit, and will be subject to the consequences of violating academic integrity, as described in the College’s Academic Honesty Statement given at the bottom of this page.

 In addition, each student will be required to work on a LANGUAGE ADOPTION PROJECT (LAP) for an unfamiliar or endangered language, and turn in a 10-page report on this particular language. Details on this project will be posted here in due time. The LAP is due on December 4^th by 1pm. A brief project proposal is also required by November 2^nd. A list of suggested languages and resources for the project will be posted on the class website soon. Please note that no two LAP projects can be on the same language. Should two students select the same language, choice will be granted on a “first-come, first-serve” basis. In addition, each student will be required to do a five-minute presentation on their LAP language in the final week fo classes. The LAP is worth 15% of your overall grade (10% for the written report plus 5% for the presentation).

Finally, students are required to take TWO TAKE-HOME EXAMS: a midterm and a final. The midterm exam will be assigned on October 21 and is due on October 28. The final exam, which will be comprehensive, will be assigned on December 7 and is due on December 10.

 Here's how each course requirement contributes to your overall percentage in the course:

Class attendance and participation (including doing the readings)	5%
5 Assignments	40%
LAP + in-class presentation	15%
Take-home Midterm Exam	20%
Take-home Final Exam	20%

Here's how your letter grade will be assigned:

A	95% plus
A-	90% plus to 95%
B+	87% plus to 90%
B	83% plus to 87%
B-	80% plus to 83%
C+	75% plus to 80%
C	70% plus to 75%
C-	65% plus to 70%
D	50% plus to 65%
F	Less than 50%

Honor code

I will follow the Middlebury College’s Academic Honesty Statement as described here:

http://www.middlebury.edu/academics/acadinfo/honorcode/statement.htm

Please make sure to write the Honor Code Pledge "I have neither given nor received unauthorized aid on this assignment," on both exams as well as the research paper (use “We” in this latter case, since you’ll be working in pairs). There’s no need to write the pledge on the assignments since I do not mind your discussing homework problems together. Make sure, however, to turn in your own work. Copying someone else’s work on assignments will still count as cheating, will receive no credit, not to mention the consequences of violating academic integrity.