2017/18 Undergraduate Module Catalogue

LING3350 Language Processing

20 creditsClass Size: 36

Module manager: Dr Catherine Davies
Email: c.n.davies@leeds.ac.uk

Taught: Semester 1 (Sep to Jan) View Timetable

Year running 2017/18

Pre-requisite qualifications

MODL1060 Language Structure and Sound AND LING1100 Language Meaning and Use

OR

LING2131 Psycholinguistics


NB. English Language students may need to do some preparatory reading to equip themselves with the core linguistic concepts built on in this module.

This module is approved as a discovery module

Module summary

Bridging experimental psychology and linguistics, this module looks at the psycholinguistic and cognitive processes involved in human communication. We will examine the ways in which sounds, words and sentences are recognised, comprehended and produced. Theoretical models offer mechanistic accounts of how linguistic knowledge is used in the real-time processing of language. We will assess the current scientific debates in this area.We will also look at what happens when communication goes wrong. What can aphasias, developmental language disorders, speech errors, and tip of the tongue states tell us about typical linguistic processing and production, and about how the language faculty may be organised in the mind?Students will be given the opportunity to design their own psycholinguistic study as part of an assessed research proposal.

Objectives

The module aims to:

(1) Familiarise students with the field of psycholinguistics and its investigations into the cognitive processing of language, ie the mechanisms and types of information that speakers and listeners use to process natural languages.
(2) Introduce students to the key experimental methodologies used in psycholinguistics, and how quantitative methods are used in linguistic research more widely.
(3) Allow students to compare the major theoretical accounts underpinning research in language processing.
(4) Develop students' analytical skills through practical analyses of experimental data and source readings.
(5) Develop students' independent research skills through an assessed research proposal for an empirical psycholinguistic study.

Learning outcomes
On completion of this module, students should:

- be familiar with a broad range of concepts and terminology from the field
- be able to critically analyse aspects of experimental design and methodology used in psycholinguistic research, to analyse its data, and to select such data to illustrate a point under discussion
- read and show critical awareness of psycholinguistic literature in scientific journals
- possess skills enabling them to carry out research in psycholinguistics.

Syllabus

Language Processing spans both experimental and theoretical research. It focuses on psycholinguistics in the narrower sense, examining topics such as word recognition, lexical representation, syntactic processing, and word meaning. The module also examines language production processes such as speech errors, and how interlocutors align their speech with one another’s in dialogue.

In exploring these issues, several important questions are addressed, including:
- How do we perceive and recognise speech?
- How do we comprehend ambiguous utterances?
- How do speakers decide which expressions to use to refer to entities in the world?
- How do we process figurative language?
- What can language disorders reveal about typical language processing?

Teaching methods

Delivery type	Number	Length hours	Student hours
Lecture	10	1.00	10.00
Seminar	10	1.00	10.00
Private study hours			180.00
Total Contact hours			20.00
Total hours (100hr per 10 credits)			200.00

Private study

- 4 hours reading per lecture (40 hours)
- 3 hours preparation on set readings for seminars (30 hours)
- 3 hours preparation for non-assessed exercises (30 hours)
- 40 hours preparation for assessed research proposal
- 40 hours preparation for examination.

Opportunities for Formative Feedback

- Progress will be monitored through seminar exercises and discussion.
- Written feedback on the coursework assessment will be returned before the examination.

Methods of assessment

Coursework

Assessment type	Notes	% of formal assessment
Research Proposal	2,000 words	50.00
Total percentage (Assessment Coursework)		50.00

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

Exams

Exam type	Exam duration	% of formal assessment
Standard exam (closed essays, MCQs etc)	2 hr 00 mins	50.00
Total percentage (Assessment Exams)		50.00

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

Reading list

There is no reading list for this module

Last updated: 02/03/2018 17:22:53

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