New (Aug 24, 2009). The PDF of the syllabus is now updated.
General Education. Linguistics 100 satisfies the HAP (also known as H focus) graduation requirement. It also satisfies the DS (Social Science) core requirement.
HAP courses hope to foster multicultural respect and understanding through in-depth analysis. In Linguistics 100, the topic is the past, present, and future of language in Hawai'i and the Pacific: How the languages came to be here, how they are related, what challenges they face today and how these challenges can be understood in terms of the recent history of Hawai'i and the Pacific, and what the future might bring. Many of the native languages of the Pacific face an uncertain future, and in Linguistics 100 we look at what that means to the people most affected--the native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders whose ancestral languages these are--and how people are planning for the future of their languages.
Unit Mastery Course Format. Linguistics 100 uses the Unit Mastery self-directed study format. In some ways this format is similar to a distance-education or web-based format, but there are important differences. In particular, you need to be able and willing to visit the campus regularly during the semester, because you will take frequent, proctored quizes.
In a unit mastery course, students study the materials for each unit on their own, and then receive credit for mastering units by passing mastery quizes in the test center. If you don’t pass a test on the first try, you study again and retry the test up to twice more. The major hallmark of the format is this cycle of studying, testing, restudying and retesting, until you have mastered the material at your own pace (although, to get an A, you do need to master an average of one unit a week).
Grading periods. The semester is divided into three five-week grading periods, and your grade is determined by adding together the number of units you receive credit for in each period. You need to pass at least five units in each period in order to get an A in the course. Extra units can be counted towards future periods. But if you fall too far behind in one period you may not be able to make it up in the next, and your grade will suffer.
The grading periods are designed to allow you to work ahead if you want, but also to keep you from falling behind. It is not possible to put off doing coursework until late in the semester, but it is possible to finish early.