US-1 is an introduction to American English as the dominant variant of contemporary World English. It reviews basic differences between 'standard' American and British English (SAE/SBE), and presents a sociolinguistic overview of historical and contemporary influences on American English. Topics include Black English (aka AAVE or Ebonics), Yiddish (American Jewish) and Spanish influences, the historical and contemporary roles of loan words and other lexical markers, jargon and euphemisms, forbidden and profane language, and the mixture of all these in U.S. sociocultural stereotyping.

The course presumption is that students will have a formal foundation of British English, as would represent most Finnish students, as well as international students from EU countries. Accordingly US-1 begins with an overview of principal differences between British and American English, proceeding thereafter to a review of internal variations within American English. However, this structure has not been an impediment even for native speakers of American English, who have occasionally joined the course as visiting international students.

Material is presented via class presentations in which examples are contextualized in a narrative format, often referring to examples of how terms/concepts have been employed in the press, mass media or literature. A large quantity of supporting material is available in the course website, with additional materials occasionally circulated via the USA1-L e-mail list. In addition to these, students are encouraged to contribute examples of their own encounters with American English, especially those on which there are questions for clarification.

Intended Use of the Class Web Materials

For each class meeting, there will be a basic web outline of points to be covered during the class presentation. Students are encouraged to read these before coming to the class, as well as using them for post-class review. Note that the outlines are continually updated as new material emerges and old material may become outdated, and may change post-class from the pre-class version in accordance with what transpired in class. Thus it is not recommended that the class outlines be printed in advance.

Each outline links to a variety of supporting material, usually to more than will be covered in class. This extra material should not be considered 'required reading,' but as additional information on the particular topic. Students may use details from this extra material (as relevant) when answering exam questions, but exam questions themselves will not address points that are only in the supporting material and have not been covered in the regular classes.

The web materials are intended solely as support for the class presentations; they are not intended to substitute for class presentations. The outlines identify terms and concepts for which class presentations will provide contextual explanations. As such, the outlines will be useful references to the class presentations, but are not designed to be used on their own.

Independent Student Work is Assumed for University Courses

As with most university-level courses, independent student work is assumed outside the class meetings. Students are encouraged to read the course web materials and also to relate the course content to their personal experiences with American English when reading outside material, watching television programs, viewing films, listening to popular music, etc. The sharing of questions about terms encountered in such experiences, either in class, via USA1-L, or directly to the teacher is welcomed.

Comments From Past Students On the Independent Work

Human nature being what it is, especially as students often take US-1 as one of their first university courses, the following comments submitted by past students on their Course Evaluation Forms may be useful. (Some of the forms had been submitted after classes had concluded, but prior to the exam.)

• I realized over halfway through the course the amount of reading and independent study that I should have done during the course. I wasn't quite able to catch up the way I would have liked, but hopefully my effort was enough to land me a decent mark.

• I started the preparation too late, as I did not first realise there was so much reference material in the web. When I got more into the subject and got more interested, I realised there was no longer enough time for everything. But that was my own foolishness . . . After the break I spent time reading the materials online after classes and that really helped in getting an overall picture.

• I should have done more work from the beginning, but instead I did most of the work during the last week before the exam. Lectures were good, but of course, that isn't enough — independent work is necessary. I must say that I truly understood some things only a few days before the exam.

• As a first-year-student I had wished that the amount of independent work expected would have been clarified in the beginning of the course. I'm a bit ashamed of the pathetic little work I did for the course — to be honest, I only attended the classes. This, of course, had its effect on the work I needed to to do before the exam. Now I am wiser, and if I was to begin the course again now, I would do a lot more work also during the course.