- UCAS course code
- QT12
- UCAS institution code
- M20
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Course unit details:
Psycholinguistics
| Unit code | LELA20962 |
|---|---|
| Credit rating | 20 |
| Unit level | Level 2 |
| Teaching period(s) | Semester 2 |
| Offered by | Linguistics & English Language |
| Available as a free choice unit? | Yes |
Overview
This course provides an introduction to psycholinguistics, with special focus on the developmental trajectory of key competencies. We will discuss the central topics and major findings of psycholinguistics and learn about the experimental methods that researchers use to investigate the psychological processes underlying language comprehension and production.
Aims
The principal aims of the course unit are as follows:
- To familiarize students with both classical findings and recent developments in psycholinguistics.
- To gain a developmental perspective on key psycholinguistic domains.
- Expose students to fundamental experimental paradigms used in the field.
- Help students develop necessary skills to critically evaluate psycholinguistic studies.
Knowledge and understanding
By the end of this course students will be able to:
- Understand key concepts relating to language and cognition.
- Demonstrate knowledge of the major psychological processes involved in speech perception, word recognition, and sentence processing.
- Compare and contrast competing developmental accounts of psycholinguistic processes and competencies.
- Describe major research methods commonly used by psycholinguistic researchers.
Intellectual skills
By the end of this course students will be able to:
- Identify appropriate experimental methods for testing psycholinguistic hypotheses.
- Evaluate the quality and strength of arguments and claims made in psycholinguistic studies.
- Critique the developmental plausibility of key psycholinguistic theories.
Practical skills
By the end of this course students will be able to:
- Develop testable hypotheses about psycholinguistic phenomena
- Identify suitable research methods for hypothesis testing
- Design simple psycholinguistic experiments to address research questions
Transferable skills and personal qualities
By the end of this course students will be able to:
- Formulate and critically evaluate arguments
- Use empirical research methods to test hypotheses
Employability skills
- Other
- The course content encourages members of the class to form links between the world of academic research and the world outside the university thereby providing confidence to use academic research in the `real world¿. There will be an emphasis on the analysis, presentation and critique of quantitative methods which will be of use to students following a range of career paths. The course will have particular benefits for any student interested in pursuing a career which involves working with children and young adults.
Assessment methods
| Essay | 40% |
| Exam | 60% |
| Essay plan | NA (formative) |
| Sample exam answer plan | NA (formative) |
Feedback methods
| Feedback method | Formative or summative |
| Written feedback via Gradebook | All work |
| Oral feedback during office hours | All work |
Recommended reading
Brookes and Kempe (2012). Language Development. Blackwell
Traxler, M. (2011). Introduction to Psycholinguistics: Understanding Language Science. Whiley.
Study hours
| Scheduled activity hours | |
|---|---|
| Assessment written exam | 2 |
| Lectures | 22 |
| Seminars | 10 |
| Independent study hours | |
|---|---|
| Independent study | 166 |
Teaching staff
| Staff member | Role |
|---|---|
| Thea Cameron-Faulkner | Unit coordinator |