This course deals with three fundamental and interrelated questions about language: Acquisition or how first and second languages are acquired; Comprehension or how words, sentences, and discourses are understood; and Production or how words, sentences and discourses are produced. In examining these questions, both the psychological mechanisms and the linguistic and nonlinguistic representations underlying both normal and disordered acquisition, comprehension, and production will be considered. The required texts for this course are Gleason, J.B. & Ratner, N.B. (Eds.) (1998). Psycholinguistics, 2nd Edition. Harcourt College Publishers. and Harley, Trevor A. (1995). The psychology of Language: From data to theory, 2nd Edition. Erlbaum (UK) Taylor & Francis. There will also be primary source readings for most topics. Although it is highly unlikely that I will do so, I reserve the right to substitute, add or delete readings and topics based on course needs. If changes are made, they will be done so that there is ample time for access to readings and class preparation.
Evaluation: There will be two written exercises, each of which will comprise 1/3 of your grade. The first written exercise will be an essay examination covering roughly the first half of the course. The second written exercise, which is due on the last day of class, is an extended essay in which you are expected to explicate and evaluate two opposing positions of a central issue in the field. In doing so, you will be required to draw on and integrate the findings from at least three domains within psycholinguistics. You will have all semester to work on this exercise. The remaining third of your grade will be based on class participation. Participation for each class meeting will be evaluated on a 5-point scale. You can earn up to 5 points for each of the 13 class periods during which there will be opportunities for participation. However, because it may not always be possible to contribute to every discussion, only your 10 highest participation scores will be used in computing your grade. Participation will be evaluated on the quality and not the quantity of your discussion. Examples of quality participation include, but are not limited to, thoughtful questions about readings/lectures/discussion, counterexamples to points brought up in readings, lectures, or class discussion, well-articulated/argued alternative perspectives to those presented in readings/lecture/discussions, and experiment ideas that might address some theoretical point. If class discussion flags or it is clear that students are coming to class unprepared, an alternative evaluation scheme will be invoked, i.e., there will be an assigned essay question on the weekly readings. Weekly essays will be evaluated on the same 5-point scale as class participation. In addition to sampling your mastery of the course material, these written and oral exercises are designed to help you develop your skills in analyzing and constructing sound arguments and evaluating the soundness of theories; to foster your ability to both integrate information across domains, and to help you to learn to think on your feet. Assessment of participation and all written exercises will be based on Bloom’s taxonomy . In short, evidence of analysis, evaluation and synthesis, will be weighed more heavily than evidence of knowledge, comprehension, and application.
Course grades will be determined as follows:
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| A |
95-100% |
B- |
75-79.9% |
D+ |
55-59.9% |
| A- |
90-94.9% |
C+ |
70-74.9% |
D |
50-54.9% |
| B+ |
85-89.9% |
C |
65-69.9% |
F |
Below 50% |
| B |
80-84.9% |
C- |
60-64.9% |
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For exams (and if need be essays), there will be a specified day and time at which they are due. Late work will be decremented a grade for each day they are late (e.g., one day late: A ==> A-).
Credits: If you are taking this course for 3 credits, your grade will be based on your performance on the midterm essay, the extended essay and on your participation. If you are taking this course for 2 credits, your grade will be based on the extended essay and on your participation. If you are taking this course for 1 credit, your grade will be based on your participation.
Special needs: If you have a disability (physical, learning, or psychological) which may make it difficult to carry out the course work as outlined, and/or requires accommodations such as recruiting note takers, readers, or extended time on exams and assignments, please contact the Office of Disability Services, 25 Capen Hall, 645-260 and let me know about you during the first two weeks of class. ODS will provide you with information and review appropriate arrangements for reasonable accommodation.
Academic Honesty and Student Comportment: Students are expected to conform to the University's stated policies on academic honesty, plagiarism, and behavior.
Readings: Readings for this course fall into two categories. In the first category are assigned weekly readings. These consist of chapters from your texts and from other books, and primary source articles. In the second category are readings that go into each week’s topic in greater depth. You will need to read the in-depth readings for at least three topics in order to complete the second written exercise. (see the instructions for the second exam before selecting these topics).
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