Postgraduate Course: First Language Acquisition (LASC11013)
Course Outline
| School | School of Philosophy, Psychology and Language Sciences |
College | College of Humanities and Social Science |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 11 (Postgraduate) |
Availability | Available to all students |
| SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
| Summary | The aim of this course is to introduce students to the principal findings, concepts and models in the field of first language acquisition. The central question addressed is: How is it that all healthy children acquire language in a relatively short space of time and seemingly without extensive external assistance?
Concentrating primarily on phonetics, phonology, morphology and syntax, the course surveys and examines theories that have been proposed to explain the observed developmental phenomena in these domains.
Formative feedback available;
- Assessment 1 (critical review): a) Students will be given a sample review that follows the format requirements and content expectations along with the assignment instructions. b) Useful perspectives on critical evaluation of the relevant articles will be addressed in paper discussions during tutorials.
- Assessment 2 (data analysis): During the lab session, students will be a) given short exercises to practice commands that can be used for the data analysis, and b) walked through a sample analysis. |
| Course description |
Not entered
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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
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Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | None |
Information for Visiting Students
| Pre-requisites | None |
Course Delivery Information
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| Academic year 2015/16, Available to all students (SV1)
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Quota: None |
| Course Start |
Semester 1 |
Timetable |
Timetable |
| Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
200
(
Lecture Hours 11,
Feedback/Feedforward Hours 2,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
183 )
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| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
0 %,
Coursework
100 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
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| Additional Information (Assessment) |
Critical reviews (50%) and data analysis project (50%)
Assignment 1: Critical Review
Deadline: Thursday 30th October 2014, 12 noon
Word limit: 3000
Return deadline: 21st November 2014
Assignment 2: Data Analysis
Deadline: Thursday 11th December 2014, 12 noon
Word limit: 2500
Return deadline: 16th January 2015 |
| Feedback |
Not entered |
| No Exam Information |
Learning Outcomes
After successful completion of this course the student will have gained understanding of the basic issues in first language acquisition including:
- What relative roles linguistic input and biological factors play in language acquisition?
- What models have been proposed to explain the acquisition of speech abilities, phonology, inflectional morphology and syntax?
- How children initiate the acquisition of syntax and semantics without a priori knowledge of the target language?
- How does bilingual first language acquisition proceed?
Students will also have gained experience in analysing learner data using the concepts and models taught in the course.
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Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Not entered |
| Keywords | Not entered |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Mitsuhiko Ota
Tel: (0131 6)50 3949
Email: |
Course secretary | Miss Toni Noble
Tel: (0131 6)51 3188
Email: |
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