? Credit Points : 10  ? SCQF Level : 11  ? Acronym : PPL-P-VWRPSY

The course will concentrate on key issues in the study of visual word recognition. Some of the questions adressed are:
- How are written words represented in the brain?
- What are the mechanisms by which we can convert a written word into its pronunciation?
- How do we acquire and organize our knowledge about words?
- How do we access the meaning of words?
- What can we learn from the study of patients who suffered brain damage?
- Do different systems underlie first and second language use?

The first meeting will be devoted to a general overview of the major theories of visual word recognition. We then identify several issues that will be explored through critical evaluation of recent articles: phonological processes in reading, lexical processing, accessing the meaning of words, vocabulary acquisition and attrition, insights from cognitive impairments, language use in bilinguals, the question of the universality of the principles of lexical organization in light of evidence from radically different orthographies (Hebrew, Chinese).

Lecture venue: S37, 7 George Square
Tutorial venue: Sem Rm 2, Chrystal MacMillan Building

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Home subject area

Psychology, (School of Philosophy, Psychology and Language Sciences, Schedule I)

? Normal year taken : Postgraduate

? Delivery Period : Block 1 only

? Contact Teaching Time : 3 hour(s) per week for 5 weeks

First Class Information

Date Start End Room Area Additional Information 26/09/2008 09:00 11:00 Room S37, 7 George Square Central

All of the following classes

Type Day Start End Area Lecture Friday 09:00 10:50 Central

An advanced understanding of research in visual word recognition.

One 3,000 word essay and satisfactory course presentation

The Course Secretary should be the first point of contact for all enquiries.

Course Secretary

Miss Toni Noble
Tel : (0131 6)51 3188
Email : Toni.noble@ed.ac.uk

Course Organiser

Dr Richard Shillcock
Tel : (0131 6)50 4425
Email : R.Shillcock@ed.ac.uk

School Website : http://www.ppls.ed.ac.uk/

College Website : http://www.hss.ed.ac.uk/