2016/17 Undergraduate Module Catalogue

PSYC3529 Language Acquisition and Development

15 creditsClass Size: 73

Module manager: Dr Anna Weighall
Email: a.r.weighall@leeds.ac.uk

Taught: Semester 2 (Jan to Jun) View Timetable

Year running 2016/17

Pre-requisite qualifications

Successful completion of Year 2 of:
BSc Psychology or MPsyc, BSc Advanced Psychology (and its International and Industrial variants)

This module is not approved as a discovery module

Module summary

This module aims to give students an insight into the acquisition and development of language from childhood and into adulthood and will be of particular relevance to students interested in careers where an understanding of language is necessary, such as speech & language/occupational therapy, areas of clinical and educational psychology and both primary and secondary school teaching. The module builds upon core knowledge acquired in Level 1 and Level 2 modules which cover Cognitive and Developmental Psychology as well as Language and Memory and takes a cognitive/experimental approach. Students will be encouraged to engage with primary research literature relating to each topic area.

Objectives

This module aims to provide in depth coverage of empirical, conceptual and theoretical issues relating to 'Language Acquisition and Development'. The module will be taught by experts in the subject.
Students will continue to develop their knowledge in this area of the discipline with particular emphasis on relevant research.

Learning outcomes
By engaging successfully with this module a student will be able to:

-Describe and critique the various methods and approaches typically used in the field of psycholinguistics and language acquisition.
-Identify and explain the cognitive mechanisms which underpin language acquisition and their relationship to cognitive development.
-Evaluate theories and models of language acquisition and development.
-Address current debates in the area
-Identify and critically evaluate relevant research literature.

Skills outcomes
-Students will have the opportunity to develop skills in the selection, evaluation and application of published research in the area of language acquisition.
-Information retrieval, synthesis and evaluation
-Evidence-based reasoning
-Group working and presentation skills

Syllabus

The module content will include a selection of the following topics. Exact content may vary slightly from year to year based upon staff interests/expertise and trends in the research literature:

-Introduction to language acquisition research and Psycholinguistics
-Methodological issues in assessing infant & child language
-The extent to which language is innate vs. learned
-Language and cognition/memory development
-Infant Language Sensitivity
-Vocabulary acquisition
-Learning to combine words and make sentences
-Language learning in context
-When acquisition goes wrong - developmental language impairments
-Second language acquisition & bilingualism
-Language through the life course: Language and ageing

Teaching methods

Delivery type	Number	Length hours	Student hours
Lecture	8	2.00	16.00
Seminar	1	2.00	2.00
Private study hours			132.00
Total Contact hours			18.00
Total hours (100hr per 10 credits)			150.00

Private study

Reading for each lecture 8 x 5 - 40 hrs
Preparation for seminar - 10 hrs
Essay preparation - 10 hrs
Independent literature searches and reading, contribution to discussion - 42 hrs

Opportunities for Formative Feedback

Students will give a short group presentation in the seminar in week 6 on an aspect of language development. Students who fail to satisfactorily complete the presentation will have their module mark reduced by 5 marks. Developing the presentation will encourage students to engage in independent reading, critical thinking and discussion of key issues. This will feed forward into preparation for the assessed coursework essay.

Methods of assessment

Coursework

Assessment type	Notes	% of formal assessment
Essay	2000 words	70.00
Oral Presentation	5 marks deducted for non presenting.	0.00
Total percentage (Assessment Coursework)		70.00

Students will be encouraged to select an area of debate relating to the syllabus and work in small groups to develop a 15 minute presentation reviewing relevant research evidence. They will present their findings to their peers in a seminar session. The presentation will not be assessed but a penalty of 5 marks will be given for no participation. Students resitting the verbal presentation will be asked to submit 5 independently generated powerpoint slides rather than physically giving the presentation. The end of semester summative assessment will be a 2000 word essay which will require students to review relevant theoretical perspectives and research evidence.

Exams

Exam type	Exam duration	% of formal assessment
Standard exam (closed essays, MCQs etc)	1 hr 00 mins	30.00
Total percentage (Assessment Exams)		30.00

Normally resits will be assessed by the same methodology as the first attempt, unless otherwise stated

Reading list

The reading list is available from the Library website

Last updated: 05/12/2016

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