MA Linguistics / Course details

The study of child language development is a fascinating area of research with implications for both  linguistic theory and applied contexts. In this course we will focus on four specific aspects of child language development in depth: the acquisition of syntax, the role of the environment and interaction in language development, language development and education, and atypical language development. We will discuss and evaluate competing theories of language development and critically evaluate current research within the four areas outlined above. The course will contain a practical component in which you will have the opportunity to use child language research tools to conduct your own research on corpus data. The analysis will involve quantitative data and statistical analysis.

Please note that this is an advanced class and students must have studied child language at undergraduate level before enrolling on the course (contact course convenor if in doubt)

The principal aims of the course unit are as follows:

• To investigate four key aspect of child language development in depth:

§  acquisition of syntax

§  the role of the environment in language development

§  language development and education

§  atypical language development

• To critically evaluate key studies within the four areas.
• To conduct an original research project and present the findings in a professional research report aimed at early years practitioners/educators.
• To evaluate a range of methodologies and statistical tests.

• · Week 1: Introduction
• · Week 2: Patterns of Syntactic development
• · Week 3: Generativist theories of syntactic development
• · Week 4: Constructivist theories of syntactic development
• · Week 5: The role of child directed speech in language development
• · Week 6: Widening the scope of the input
• · Week 7: Language development and the classroom
• · Week 8: The development of reading and writing
• · Week 9: Specific Language Impairment
• · Week 10: Williams syndrome
• · Week 11: Conclusions

 Weekly two-hour lecture

Weekly face-to-face hour-long seminar/practical

Fortnightly face-to-face reading seminar 

By the end of this course students will be able to: ·

• Compare and contrast generativist and constructivist accounts of the acquisition of syntax. ·
• Discuss and compare the effects of shared book reading, child-directed speech, and socio-economic class on language development. ·
• Display an understanding of the interaction between language development and formal education. ·
• Describe two forms of atypical language development and evaluate the theoretical import associated with the disorders

By the end of this course students will be able to:

• Critically evaluate current research in child language development.
• Display an understanding of the ethical issues associated with the discipline.
• Display development of their ability to handle quantitative data.
• Apply current theories of language development to new data.

By the end of this course students will be able to:

• Produce a concise and targeted piece of written work
• Confidently discuss current child language research
• Read and evaluate primary sources of child language research
• Use research tools to analyse child language corpus data
• Produce a written report based on primary research for a non- academic audience  (i.e. early years practitioners).

By the end of this course students will be able to:

• Evaluate current theories of language development and present the findings in a manner accessible to a non academic audience
• Develop their time management  and group work skills
• Apply theoretical research to real world problems and contexts.

Ambridge, B. & Lieven, E. (2011) Child Language Acquisition¿Contrasting Theoretical Approaches. Cambridge University Press.

Bus, A. G., H., v. I. M., & Pellegrini, A., D. (1995). Joint book reading makes for success in learning to read: A meta-analysis on intergenerational transmission of literacy. Review of Educational Research, 65(1), 1-21.

Hulme, C. & Snowling, M. (2009). Developmental disorders of language learning and cognition. Whiley-Blackwell

Huttenlocher, J., Vasilyeva, M., Cymerman, E., & Levine, S. (2002). Language input and child syntax. Cognitive Psychology, 45, 337-374.

Tomasello, M. (2000) Constructing a language. A usage-based theory of Language Development. Harvard University Press

Scheduled Activity Hours:

1 dedicated consultation hour per week ·

1 weekly two hour lecture

1 weekly one hour long seminar/tutorial

1 fortnightly reading seminar