The LSA is delighted to announce the formation of a new ad-hoc committee dedicated to the development of a national high school Advanced Placement (AP) curriculum and exam for linguistics.  The committee, helmed by Richard Larson (Stony Brook University), includes LSA members working with high schools and is divided into subcommittees on Curriculum Development, Teacher Training, High School Outreach, and Fundraising.  Read more about the committee, its charge and responsibilities, and its members here.

How can I help?

The Linguistic Society of America has convened an ad hoc committee to explore the possibilities of developing a proposal to the College Board (CB) for the creation of an A(dvanced) P(lacement) Course and Exam in Linguistics, to be offered in the nation’s High Schools. This will be a long term project requiring many years and tremendous effort. Nonetheless that effort, if successful, has the potential to transform our field. Among other things, Linguistics could go from being a “discovery major” to a field HS students have heard about, and perhaps even sampled, before arriving on campus.

As this document makes clear, AP proposals require many elements that are challenging in the current context, including a well-developed college intro level curriculum, documentation from 250 US High Schools saying they are willing to offer it, documentation from US universities saying they would be willing to award college credit for it. AP Linguistics will plainly need HS teachers trained to deliver it, it will need an accompanying exam, and it will require funding to support its initial offering.

Recognizing that such demands will require the efforts of professional linguists and High School teachers in programs and schools from across the country, the ad hoc committee (APLC) has been charged to oversee and coordinate the work. APLC foresees four major subareas of effort:

• Curriculum Development
• Outreach to High Schools and Universities
• Teacher Training
• Fund Raising

The AP Linguistics Committee invites linguists, linguistics programs and High School teachers and educators from around the US to become involved with this exciting effort in any of these areas.  Success will require your thoughts and your ideas. Please contact AP Linguistics Committee Chair Richard Larson about how you can be involved.