Language and Cognition
Informacje ogólne
Kod przedmiotu: | 2500-EN-F-226 |
Kod Erasmus / ISCED: |
14.4
|
Nazwa przedmiotu: | Language and Cognition |
Jednostka: | Wydział Psychologii |
Grupy: |
Academic basket electives for 1 and 2 year |
Punkty ECTS i inne: |
(brak)
|
Język prowadzenia: | angielski |
Rodzaj przedmiotu: | fakultatywne |
Skrócony opis: |
(tylko po angielsku) The course draws on experimental psychology, linguistics and neuroscience to help students appreciate the cognitive mechanisms underlying language. The material centers on topics related to language processing as well as learning. In order to better contextualize language in the mind, students learn about how language interacts with other aspects of cognition, including attention, memory and awareness. They also learn about language breakdown after stroke and in other impairments. By the end of the course students should be able to apply their knowledge to their further academic research, should they wish to pursue it, as well as language learning and teaching, and rehabilitation. |
Pełny opis: |
(tylko po angielsku) The course draws on experimental psychology, linguistics and neuroscience to help students appreciate the cognitive mechanisms underlying language. How is word meaning represented in the mind? How do we formulate grammatical sentences? Why is acquiring language in adulthood harder than in childhood? Does our gender, genes or talent have any influence on how we acquire and use language? What do language impairments tell us about the mind? And finally, how are all these processes affected when there are two or more languages in one mind? The material centers on language processing as well as learning, both in children and adults. In order to better contextualize language in the mind, students also learn about how language interacts with other aspects of cognition, including attention, memory and awareness. They also learn about language breakdown after stroke and other impairments. During the course students see how the methods used to address these questions have developed over time and learn about the opportunities offered by recent advances in neuroimaging. They build the foundations needed to formulate their own opinions on the enduring debates, including nature versus nurture, rationalism versus empiricism, generativism versus emergentism, as well as understanding state of the art research in the field. By the end of the course students should be able to apply their knowledge to their further academic research, should they wish to pursue it, as well as language learning and teaching, and rehabilitation. |
Literatura: |
(tylko po angielsku) Key textbooks for most of the course are: Harley, T. A. (2010). Talking the talk: language, psychology and science. Psychology Press. [Available as an ebook] Traxler, M.J. (2012). Introduction to Psycholinguistics. Wiley-Blackwell. [Available in the library] Recommended, easy reading to grasp the main ideas quickly: Fromkin, V., Rodman, R. & Hyams, N. (2010). Introduction to Language. [Available as an Ebook]. The 11th edition is to be released very soon. It’s a perennial bestseller blending humour with broad coverage of the material which is made easily accessible. Other: Aitchison, J. (2011). The Articulate Mammal. An Introduction to Psycholinguistics. Routledge. Pinker, S. (1994/2007). Language Instinct. How Mind Creates Language. New York, NY: Harper Perennial Modern Classics. The instructor reserves the right to make minimal changes to the following proposed topics and reading: 1. Language as a mirror of the mind? Key concepts and debates in the science of language. Smith, Neil; Allott, Nicholas (2016). Chomsky: Ideas and Ideals (3rd edition). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. [Chapter 1: The mirror of the mind & first section of Chapter 3: Language and Psychology] 2. Animal communication, evolution of human language and innateness. Harley, T. (2010). Talking the Talk. Language, Psychology and Science [Chapter 2: Animals] Aitchison, J. (1998). The Articulate Mammal. Routledge. [Chapter 2 and 3] Discussion of the Emmy Award-winning documentary: “Genie: The Secret of a Wild Child” [available online]. 3. Language comprehension. How do we recognise individual words and process sentences? Discussion on how to write argumentative essays. Analysis of examples. Harley, T. (2010). Talking the Talk. Language, Psychology and Science [Chapter 6 & 7 (relevant fragments)] Bebko, J, Schroeder H. & Weiss A. (2013). The McGurk effect in children with autism and Asperger syndrome. Autism Research. 4. Speech production. Data analysis practice (from among others speech errors). Harley, T. (2010). Talking the talk: language, psychology and science. Psychology Press [Chapter 8: Speaking]. 5. Rules in the mind: reading and morphology. Dyslexia. Further data analysis practice. Harley, T. (2010). Talking the Talk. Language, Psychology and Science [Chapter 6] McClelland, J.L. & Patterson, K. (2002). Rules or Connections in Past-Tense Inflections: What does the Evidence Rule Out? In Trends in Cognitive Science Pinker, S. & Ullman, M.T. (2002) The past and future of the past tense. In Trends in Cognitive Science, vol.6 no.11 6. Neurobiological basis of language. Evidence from language disorders (Broca’s and Wernicke’s aphasia). Traxler, M. (2012). Introduction to Psycholinguistics. WileyBlackwell. [Chapter 13 and 14] 7. How do bilinguals ‘juggle’ two languages in one mind? Traxler, M. (2012). Introduction to Psycholinguistics. WileyBlackwell. [Chapter 11] 8. Word meaning: how are meanings and concepts represented in the brain? Traxler , M. J. (2012). Introduction to Psycholinguistics: Understanding Language Science. Wiley-Blackwell [ pp. 79-87]. Meteyard, L., Cuadrado, S. R., Bahrami, B., & Vigliocco, G. (2012). Coming of age: A review of embodiment and the neuroscience of semantics. Cortex, 48, pp. 788 – 804. 9. Language and memory (the declarative procedural distinction, evidence from impairments, discussion on gender differences). Ullman, M. T. (2001). The neural basis of lexicon and grammar in first and second language: the declarative/procedural model. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition, 4, 105-122 10. Implicit learning and language. Role of attention and awareness in learning (this will likely be 2 sessions, with some experimental design practice). Williams, J. N. (2009). Implicit learning and second language acquisition. In W. C. Ritchie & T. K. Bhatia (Eds.), The New Handbook of Second Language Acquisition (pp. 319-353): Emerald. Paciorek, A. & Williams J. (2015). Semantic Implicit Learning. In Rebuschat, P. (ed.) Implicit and Explicit Language Learning. John Benjamins. 11. Individual differences and language aptitude. Reading to be confirmed. 12. Language and thought. Linguistic relativity. Reading to be confirmed. 13. *Time permitting: Aging – how does language processing change with age? Shafto, M.A., & Tyler, L.K. (2014), “Language in the aging brain: The network dynamics of cognitive decline and preservation.” Science 346(6209), 583-587. Harley, T. (2010). Talking the Talk. Language, Psychology and Science [Chapter 8 – relevant sections]. |
Efekty uczenia się: |
(tylko po angielsku) On successful completion of the course, students should be able to: Recognize and recall major terms and concepts related to the psychology of language Describe, explain and contrast major theories and their predictions Demonstrate an understanding of different methodologies and the kinds of inference that can be drawn from the data that they generate Apply theories or findings to real world situations, including language learning, teaching and rehabilitation Analyze and synthesize concepts and theories across topics, readings, and discussions both orally and in writing Write a well-structured argumentative essay in which contrasting theoretical positions are presented and discussed in the light of judiciously chosen research findings The course should also develop the following transferable skills: Developing evidence-based arguments Reading technical texts quickly and selecting and evaluating relevant information Summarising an argument and constructing an argument Performing literature searches Writing a well-structured academic paper |
Metody i kryteria oceniania: |
(tylko po angielsku) 50% is based on one take-home essay. Essay topics will be given out at the beginning of the course. The submission deadline is enforced in the following way: submitting the essay past the deadline without sick notice from a doctor or a major unforeseen event results in deduction of a grade. Delay of more than three days results in failure of this component. 50% is the final exam (2h exam: one short question and one essay). There will be homework set for most of the classes. Students are required to pass each of the two components. Attendance rules Attendance is a necessary condition to pass the course. Students are allowed two unexcused absences. In case of more absences, a sick leave or a major life event will be considered a valid excuse. In the case of additional absences, additional coursework will be required. Altogether no more than four absences will be permitted. |
Właścicielem praw autorskich jest Uniwersytet Warszawski.