LING3110

Language and Mind

10 Units 3000 Level Course

Available in 2014

Callaghan Campus Semester 2
WebLearn GradSchool Semester 2

Previously offered in 2012, 2010, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004

The course studies language processing and hemispheric specialisation; competing views of the language acquisition process (e.g. cognitivist, nativist, relativist and connectionist); the relationship between language development and the development of other cognitive capacities; and universals of language development.

Objectives Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to demonstrate:
1. An understanding of competing theories of language acquisition.
2. An understanding of the neurological bases of language processing.
3. An understanding of the nature of language acquisition universals.
4. Advanced presentational skills relevant to specialist studies in Linguistics.
5. Advanced research and general information literacy skills
Content 1. Main theories of first language acquisition: behaviorist approaches to language acquisition; Piaget's constructivism; Chomsky's Universal Grammar; connectionism; Whorfian relativism.
2. The neurological base of language: brain lateralisation; left hemispheric dominance; maturational constraints on language acquisition; language pathology; bilingualism
3. Evidence about the innateness of language: animal communication; developmental aspects of language; linguistic research into the acquisition of language universals
4. The lexicon and the brain: aspects of the acquisition of the lexicon; lexical storage and retrieval.
Replacing Course(s) N/A
Transition N/A
Industrial Experience 0
Assumed Knowledge LING1110 & LING1120 or equivalent
Modes of Delivery Internal Mode
Teaching Methods Lecture
Assessment Items
Essays / Written Assignments Essay (2500 words) - 40%
Quiz - Class Four multiple-choice quizzes - 15% each (appr. in weeks 5, 8, 11, 14) - 60%.
Contact Hours Lecture: for 2 hour(s) per Week for Full Term
Timetables 2014 Course Timetables for LING3110