Psycholinguistics

Aims

Aims

The module provides an overview of issues in the psychology of language, covering a selection of the following areas (not all areas will be covered each time the module is offered):

• Speech perception, comprehension, and production
• Speech errors
• Language of special populations, such as aphasic language and sign language
• Experimental methods in psycholinguistics
• Developmental psycholinguistics
• Psycholinguistic approaches to second language acquisition
• Language in the brain (a brief introduction)
• Applications of psycholinguistic research

At the end of the module the student should:

• Have a good understanding of key issues in psycholinguistics
• Be familiar with methods in psycholinguistic research
• Be familiar with major results in the areas of psycholinguistics covered
• Be able analyse psycholinguistic data
• Be able to critically evaluate some of the issues involved in psycholinguistics

This module will be capped at 30.

Prerequisites

Prerequisites

Students must have successfully completed:

• L110 Elementary phonetics and phonology (4111110)
• L130 Elementary syntax (4111130)

Also ONE of the following:

• L230 Introduction to syntactic theory (4190230)
  or
  
• L219 Introduction to phonetics and phonology (4190219)
  or
• L201 Language Acquisition (4190201)

Programme

Programme

Contact hours

Approximately 3 contact hours per week, divided between lectures and practical work or seminars.

Teaching programme

Topics will include:

• speech perception
• language production (including speech errors)
• language processing
• language in special populations

(experimentation in psycholinguistics is covered in some of these areas)

Teaching materials

Textbook: To be confirmed.
A pack of readings.

Assessment and feedback

Assessment and feedback

Formative assessment

• Short essay assigned in Week 4 and due in Week 5.
• Individual written feedback, as well as class discussion of the assignment, provided in Week 7

Summative assessment and feedback

• A 1500 - word Essay to be submitted at the end of Week 10.
  • Weight: 30%
  • Feedback: mark on University scale and written feedback on the essay returned no later than Week 6, Spring Term.
• An open examination in Week 1, Spring Term. Questions will be made available at noon on Monday and answers are due by noon on Friday. 
  
  • Weight: 70%
  • Feedback: Mark on university scale for whole course published in Term 2, Week 6. Students will be entitled to see their exam script with comments made on it, under supervision, on an appointed date after Week 6. Spring Term.

Skills

Transferable skills developed in this module

All modules provide an opportunity to work on general oral/written communication skills (in class and in assessments) and general self management (organising your studies), alongside the specific skills in language or linguistics that the module teaches.

In addition, this module will allow you to particularly develop skills in the application of data management skills.  This module allows you to develop skills in understanding and interpreting specific sets of data, in a theoretical context.

Follow this link to hear how past students use transferable skills from their degree in their current jobs.