The successful introductory course: Bridging the gap for the nonmajor

The introductory linguistics course is the primary antidote that academic L inguists can offer to commonly held. yet basically wrong-headed, views abou t language. It is essential, therefore, that this course be meaningful to t he nonmajor student. Through a series of five vignettes, each by a differen t author and representing a variety of institutional types. we explore opti ons other than 'baby' theoretical linguistics to the introductory linguisti cs course. A fundamental conclusion to these vignettes is that success in r eaching the nonmajor turns on taking account of the institutional context a nd the student population and tailoring courses to be sensitive to these va riables. This conclusion is driven home with an administrative view as to w hy every academic linguist and linguistics program should find the starch f or a successful introductory course compelling.*