LING219-13S2 (C) Semester Two 2013

Language Acquisition

15 points

Details:
Start Date: Monday, 8 July 2013
End Date: Sunday, 10 November 2013
Withdrawal Dates
Last Day to withdraw from this course:
  • Without financial penalty (full fee refund): Friday, 19 July 2013
  • Without academic penalty (including no fee refund): Friday, 4 October 2013

Description

This course deals with key aspects of how human language is acquired by children, from infancy to adolescence. Selected topics in bilingual and second language development are also covered.

Acquiring language is a uniquely human ability, but why do we do it so well when we are children and (generally) so poorly when we are adults? Why is becoming bilingual as a child as natural as learning one language; but adding a second language in adulthood so difficult? Why are some individuals better second language learners than others and are some children better first language learners than others? How does the language learning environment of home, community and classroom impact on our ability to acquire languages? This course is for teachers, learners of languages, therapists and linguists in the making and is aimed equally at those with little or no linguistics background and those who have taken linguistics courses before.

Learning Outcomes

By the end of the course you should have a fairly detailed understanding of the path of typical and atypical monolingual language development in children, as well as an understanding of how that path compares with children developing bilingually. You will also have some understanding of why that developmental path is as it is, and how it varies between different learners in different circumstances. Some knowledge of linguistics is useful but not essential as there are opportunities to bring a range of perspectives to bear on the material.

Prerequisites

LING101 or LING111 or ENGL123 or ENGL112 or relevant background in EDUC or EDED or PSYC with the approval of the Head of Department.

Restrictions

CMDS221, LING205

Course Coordinator

Susan Foster-Cohen

Assessment

Assessment Due Date Percentage  Description
Take-home test 1 02 Aug 2013 30% Distributed 26 July
Take-home test 1 06 Sep 2013 30% Distributed 16 August
In-class test 11 Oct 2013 40%

Textbooks / Resources

There is no required textbook for the course, and readings will be made available through the Learn (Moodle) component of this course.

Course links

Library portal
The course outline is available on LEARN (only for students enrolled in this course).
LEARN

Indicative Fees

Domestic fee $644.00

International fee $2,800.00

* All fees are inclusive of NZ GST or any equivalent overseas tax, and do not include any programme level discount or additional course-related expenses.

For further information see Language, Social and Political Sciences .

All LING219 Occurrences

  • LING219-13S2 (C) Semester Two 2013
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