Spanish 4210/Spanish 6210 - Sociolinguistics

Purpose: to help other instructors teaching the same course

Common Course ID:  SPAN 4210/6210
CSU Instructor Open Textbook Adoption Portrait

Abstract: This collection of open educational resources (OER) is being utilized in a Sociolinguistics course for undergraduate and graduate students (combined class) by Dr. Teresa Fernández-Ulloa at California State University, Bakersfield. The OER collection includes curated videos, open-access journal articles, online materials, and instructor-created summaries and short explanations. These resources provide a brief overview of key topics in sociolinguistics, including phonetic, lexical, and syntactic variation, as well as instructor-generated notes, quizzes, and discussion prompts, plus a midterm and a final project. The main motivation to adopt open materials was to promote equitable access and integrate authentic, current examples of language use without the cost of a traditional textbook. Students access the materials through the course Learning Management System (Canvas), using embedded links to online content.

Spanish 4210/Spanish 6210. Sociolinguistics
Brief Description of course highlights:  The descriptive study of the effect of any and all aspects of society, including cultural norms, expectations, and context, on the way language is used and the effects of language use on society. Themes like bilingualism, languages in contact, and linguistic attitudes will be explored.  https://catalog.csub.edu/course-descriptions/span   

Student population: This is a combined course (with space for 20 undergraduate and 10 graduate students) in the Spanish Program. Students are usually Spanish heritage language students. Prerequisite for undergraduate students: Spanish 3000. Advance Language Skills.  Prerequisite for graduate students: Graduate standing.  

Learning or student outcomes:   By the end of the course, students will be able to:

1. Identify and explain the fundamental concepts, methods, and theoretical approaches of sociolinguistics, distinguishing them from other branches of linguistics such as dialectology, pragmatics, or historical linguistics.
2. Recognize and describe patterns of linguistic variation (phonological, morphological, syntactic, lexical, and pragmatic) in Spanish in relation to key social variables such as age, gender, social class, and educational background, as demonstrated through quizzes and short written reflections.
3. Discuss and evaluate sociolinguistic phenomena—such as politeness, forms of address, language attitudes, and ideologies of prestige or discrimination—in oral or written discussions, using appropriate sociolinguistic terminology.
4. Reflect critically on the relationship between language, identity, and power, drawing on examples from Spanish-speaking communities across the Americas and Spain.
5. Analyze and interpret authentic language data to identify sociolinguistic patterns of variation and change, applying quantitative or qualitative methods.
6. Design and implement a small-scale sociolinguistic research project that investigates a specific phenomenon (e.g., language attitudes, bilingual practices, code-switching, or linguistic ideologies), demonstrating the ability to connect theory, data collection, and interpretation.
7. Integrate perspectives from related fields such as the sociology of language, interactional sociolinguistics, and cognitive sociolinguistics to interpret language as a social and cultural practice.
8. Recognize the role of linguistic ideologies and social stratification in shaping standard and non-standard varieties of Spanish, and discuss their implications for inclusivity, language policy, and identity.

Spanish Language Skills Outcomes (within the Sociolinguistics Course)  By the end of the course, students will be able to:

1. Communicate effectively in Spanish, both orally and in writing, using appropriate sociolinguistic terminology and register for academic discussion.
2. Understand and interpret academic readings, lectures, and audiovisual materials in Spanish related to linguistic variation, identity, and social interaction.
3. Express ideas clearly and coherently in Spanish when answering quizzes, discussion prompts, and reflective questions.
4. Write short analytical essays or discussion posts in Spanish that connect theoretical concepts to real examples of Spanish use across different communities.
5. Demonstrate intercultural and sociolinguistic awareness by recognizing variation and adapting language use according to context, audience, and purpose.
6. Apply advanced comprehension skills to extract main ideas, arguments, and data from Spanish-language research articles and other scholarly materials.

Sample assignment from the course:   Sample assignments for Spanish 6210.docx

Instructor Name - Teresa Fernández-Ulloa
I am a Spanish language and linguistics professor at the California State University, Bakersfield.
Please provide a link to your university page. https://www.csub.edu/

Please describe the courses/course numbers that you teach.
Spanish 3000. Advanced Language Skills
Spanish 3200. Spanish Linguistics
Spanish 4230 & 6230. Dialectology
Spanish 5420. Methods of Teaching Spanish
Spanish 6300. Revolutionary Ideas in Latin America

Describe your teaching philosophy and any research interests related to your discipline or teaching.  My teaching philosophy is grounded in promoting critical, inclusive, and reflective language learning that connects linguistic theory with real social contexts. With a Ph.D. in Sociolinguistics, my research focuses on discourse analysis and the teaching of Spanish as both a first and second language. I am particularly interested in integrating gender perspectives, inclusivity, and emerging technologies—including artificial intelligence—into language education to foster intercultural awareness, social justice, and meaningful communication.

Textbook or OER/Low cost Title: Linguistics Readings

Brief Description:  I will be using zero cost materials. Every module includes simple explanations of the concepts I have created, which are covered in the module. Then, there is a quiz to review them, and a discussion. There are links to videos, websites and extra readings (open journals or websites).
All modules include content created by the instructor, along with links to readings, websites, and videos. Al the video are open videos, some CC BY licensed videos.

Spanish 4210 and 6210 - Modules 1-9 links.docx
MODULE 1. WHAT IS LINGUISTICS VIDEOS
MODULE 2. WHAT IS SOCIOLINGUISTICS
MODULE 3. INTERNAL VARIATION
MODULE 4. EXTERNAL VARIATION
MODULE 5. LINGUISTIC STRATIFICATION
MODULE 6. LINGUISTIC VARIATION AND CHANGE
MODULE 7. CUANTITATIVE AND CUALITATIVE RESEARCH
MODULE 8. POLITENESS
MODULE 9. ATTITUDES

Student access:  Students have all the materials in the Canvas course.

Provide the cost savings from that of a traditional textbook. The book that we used to have in this course was this one ($42): https://www.amazon.com/Principios-socioling%C3%BC%C3%ADstica-sociolog%C3%ADa-del-lenguaje/dp/8434482770

License*: The materials are Open Access (journal articles in journals in Spain and Hispanic America, a blog, university and public institutions such as academies of the languages websites…). YouTube videos are CC BY licensed.

OER/Low Cost Adoption Processhttps://acceso.ku.edu

Provide an explanation or what motivated you to use this textbook or OER/Low Cost option. Save students money and customize materials. Create shorter lessons that cover more topics, leaving time for discussion and the creation of the final project.

How did you find and select the open textbook for this course?  I created short, basic explanations with quizzes. Then I used university and Spanish speaking institutions websites (the Royal Academy of the Language, for example), plus Spanish-language journals (open access), and other websites to support the discussions, and to give information to complete quizzes, and other assignments (questions, outlines…).

Sharing Best Practices:   For faculty who are just getting started with OER or low-cost materials, I would suggest starting small—for example, by replacing one or two chapters or topics with open-access resources rather than redesigning the entire course at once. It is also very helpful to curate content from reliable open journals and institutional websites (such as universities, linguistic associations, or language academies), as these offer academically sound materials with stable links.

Another best practice is to create short, instructor-written summaries or explanations that connect the open materials and guide students’ learning. OER works best when it is adapted to your specific teaching context, not simply copied. Using the Learning Management System (Canvas) to organize all materials in one place also saves students time and reduces confusion. While you can design assignments such as discussions, questions, or summaries related to journal articles and detailed online explanations, it is also effective to include short review quizzes based on instructor-created materials to ensure students have mastered the basic content.

I wish I had known earlier how easy it is to combine OER with your own materials and how much students appreciate having everything freely available online. It not only increases access but also fosters engagement and discussion, as students feel the materials are directly tailored for them.

Finally, in my experience, this approach of combining different materials tends to work best for upper-level students, who are more comfortable navigating multiple sources. Lower-level students may feel overwhelmed by too many materials in Canvas, so it is often better to select a single, cohesive resource—such as https://acceso.ku.edu for advanced Spanish learning or https://uta.pressbooks.pub/espanolpractico for a Linguistics class.

Describe any key challenges you experienced, how they were resolved  and lessons learned.  One main challenge was that some OER or low-cost resources were incomplete or uneven in quality, especially when searching for Spanish-language academic content in sociolinguistics. I had to review many sources to ensure both academic reliability and accessibility. In addition, journal articles are sometimes too long or too complex for undergraduate students, so it is useful to read them carefully and select specific sections for certain activities.

Another issue was the lack of ancillary materials (such as activities, answer keys, or slides), which meant I had to create my own quizzes and discussion prompts for each module. AI tools can help with this process, but it is essential to double-check everything, since they sometimes “hallucinate” — providing false references or even incorrect answers.

Coordinating links to multiple open-access journals and institutional websites also required regular maintenance, as URLs or video licenses can change. I learned that some students initially prefer printed materials, so it is helpful to provide downloadable PDFs or reading guides for offline access.

The main lesson learned is that the effort truly pays off: once the course is organized, it becomes highly sustainable. Using OER not only reduces costs but also allows continuous improvement—I can update examples, include new studies, and integrate current issues in language and society each semester.