Linguistic Autobiography Guidelines to Support Rubric

Linguistic Autobiography/Linguistic Family History

This assignment will give you the opportunity to reflect on the many factors that have influenced your language(s) and how your language has influenced you. You will be thinking and writing about the role of language in your life and the relationship of language to your identity, language acquisition theories, and language policies in the US. Or, if you are writing your linguistic family history, you will be reflecting on how a variety of languages and/or dialects have been used, retained or lost over the decades in your family. Note: Students may choose to focus on their own language learning history, or they may focus on their family's linguistic history, but either choice should include at least some description of their own experiences with learning another language in school or at university.

Use the dimensions of the rubric:

(1) Thoroughly describes extended family’s linguistic history or own linguistic autobiography.

 →  Briefly tell your “linguistic” story. 

(2) Successfully connects linguistic family history or own linguistic autobiography with first and second language acquisition theories, sociolinguistics, etc.

→ Consider using the text and other handouts on L1 and L2 acquisition and language variations (sociolinguistics). 

(3) Adequately describes the historical perspective and the implications of language- related policy issues to family history or own linguistic autobiography.

→ Explore http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/plc/clpp/ on language policy issues. For example, is there an English-only policy in the United States? Did your family members receive any ESL instruction, or were they just immersed in English when they arrived in America?

(4) Adequately describes how cultural groups and one’s cultural identity may affect language learning and school achievement.

Some possible questions to get you started:

What languages and/or dialects do you speak?

How does your language reflect your upbringing?

What has influenced your language? 

What kind of differences do you notice between the way you speak and write? 

When, if ever, do you alter your speech and why?

Do you have childhood memories that revolve around language?

How is language used in your family?

In what ways do you see your language as part of your identity? 

What sort of language was spoken in your neighborhood?

What other languages have you studied?

What other languages have you used for communication?

What dialect did your parents speak?

What are your family's attitudes about language?

Do any members of your family come from a foreign-language background?