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TLPL288C-0101
10 December 2018
TLPL Reflection
I definitely underestimated this class. I still remember the days where I scrolled on
Testudo for hours trying to decide what general education course to take, but none of them
seemed to interest me. I was looking for an easy A class that I would enjoy and that would knock
off multiple requirements at once. Eventually, I asked my sister for help. My sister graduated
from the University of Maryland last winter and is now pursuing her graduate studies on campus.
As soon as she came across “Special Problems in Teaching: The Power of the Tongue”, she
urged me to take the course. I didn’t understand her obsession with it because I had no interest in
the field of education, and even the name of the course didn’t sound like a typical course name. I
also wasn’t sure about taking a blended course for my first semester in college. But alas, I
decided to give it a shot. After all, it did knock off three of my general education requirements.
After attending the first two face-to-face sessions, I was seriously considering dropping
the course. I was afraid that the weekly online written assignments for this class, along with the
studies for all my other courses, would be too much for me to handle. Not to mention Dr. E
scaring me with all the upcoming projects and assignments. I did not want to start off college
with a low GPA. I consulted my sister, and she told me to be patient and that I wont regret taking
The majority of topics discussed in this course rotated around the central theme: dialects.
We’ve analyzed the term “dialect” and studied its different aspects and implications. We
examined how dialect is associated with politics, racism, and socioeconomics. For example, one
online session was centered around the political debate on whether the United States should
adopt Puerto Rico as a fifty-first state. We also spent a couple of sessions studying the works of
John Baugh and his findings on linguistic profiling. Furthermore, we examined socioeconomics
and its correlations with cultural, social, and economic capital. Every subject we’ve focused our
To respond to the class question of “what does it mean to have a dialect?”, I believe that
having a dialect is equivalent to having an identity. Every person has a unique story behind the
way they speak. Their dialect is a result of influences of their surroundings, and their interactions
with people and the environment. We defined the term “dialect” as a particular form of a
language that is peculiar to a specific region or social group, and refers to vocabulary, grammar
and spelling that people use within a regional group. We agreed that dialect is affected by social
factors, geographical location, and race, which has a tremendous effect on cultural identity and
makes every individual unique among others. An individual’s dialect is similar to their
fingerprint in a sense that no two fingers have the exact same print.
The course opened our eyes to the differences and similarities in written and verbal
dialect and language. An example of differences in verbal dialect is the use of different words
such as “y’all” and “you guys”. I have observed how my friends in Virginia tend to say “you
guys” while my friends in Maryland tend to say “y’all” when interacting with a group of people.
I’ve learned to accept these differences and even to code switch while conversating with friends
Americans spell color as “color” while Canadians and the British spell it as “colour”. Dr. E
shared a personal incident with us where she was typing up an article but ended up getting
feedback on how she spelt the word “color”. She emphasized that there is no single “correct”
dialect; even grammar differs from one dialect to another. It is our duty as human beings to be
open to the differences across cultural groups. By setting aside our differences and refraining
from discrimination, we can work to build a better society. TLPL288C works to create a well-
ePortfolio back to the theme of the course. For my first couple of artifacts, I discussed my
identity, my origins, and possible factors that ultimately influenced my very own dialect, ranging
from parental influences to geographical influences. I discussed how I code switch from dialect
to dialect when I visit my friends across states, and from language to language as I engage in
discourse with people who speak the Arabic language. I also included artifacts that correlated
dialects to different terms such as accents, sociolinguistics, capital, and profiling. I even had an
Arabic song as one of my artifacts, as I was very intrigued by the lyrics and wished to examine it
further. My last couple of artifacts were centered around language and its four domains: reading,
writing, listening, and speaking. Finally, I decided to use a YouTube video titled “Arabic Accent
101” as my final artifact just to end off my ePortfolio in an interesting, yet humorous fashion.
All in all, I truly enjoyed taking this course, and I am so glad about making the decision
of not dropping it. The class made me aware of issues non-native English speakers face when
coming to America and opened my mind to different methods of helping them assimilate to
society. Not to mention that TLPL288C currently holds my highest grade across all my other
courses. I would definitely recommend this course to friends regardless if they’re interested in
the teaching profession or not. I myself am not interested in the profession of education, yet I
consider this course one the most influential and mind-opening experience by far.