LN3014: LANGUAGE ACQUISITION (2021-2022)

Last modified: 31 May 2022 13:05

Course Overview

Language acquisition is a human feat like no other: accomplished by children in their early years with no apparent effort, but sometimes incredibly difficult for adults. This course looks at how people come to know languages, using existing research in the field and real-life examples to examine stages of linguistic development and theoretical approaches to this hotly debated complex process.

Course Details

Study Type	Undergraduate	Level	3
Term	First Term	Credit Points	30 credits (15 ECTS credits)
Campus	Aberdeen	Sustained Study	No
Co-ordinators	Dr Elspeth Edelstein

What courses & programmes must have been taken before this course?

Any Undergraduate Programme
One of Programme Level 3 or Programme Level 4 or Programme Level 5
One of LN2003 Words and Meanings: Lexis and Semantics (Passed) or LN2005 Varieties of English (Passed) or LN2008 Language in Society (Passed) or LN2301 Sounds of English (Passed) or LN2505 Morphology and Syntax (Passed) or LN2508 Language in Society (Passed) or LN2509 Varieties of English (Passed) or LN2510 Varieties of English (Passed)

What other courses must be taken with this course?

None.

What courses cannot be taken with this course?

LN3008 First and Second Language Acquisition (Studied)
LN3502 First and Second Language Acquisition (Studied)

Are there a limited number of places available?

Course Description

This course provides an overview of the complex process of language acquisition, or how humans come to ‘know’ a language. We will discuss the evolution of theoretical approaches to this field that sprang up in the 20th century, looking at the debate among psychologists and linguists over how much language acquisition is like, or indeed connected to, other types of learning. Taking into account the wide range of existing research on this topic, we will consider the cognitive factors that potentially influence language acquisition, such as predisposition for language learning and brain changes with age, as well as environmental ones, such as amount and type of exposure to a language. Using real-life examples to illustrate the ways in which knowledge of a language develops as it is acquired, going from infants’ initial sounds to full-fledged grammatical sentences, we will delve into the thorny question of what linguistic knowledge, and indeed language itself, really is.

Contact Teaching Time

Information on contact teaching time is available from the course guide.

Teaching Breakdown

More Information about Week Numbers

Details, including assessments, may be subject to change until 30 August 2024 for 1st term courses and 20 December 2024 for 2nd term courses.

Summative Assessments

Four 500 word Journal Entries (40%)

3000 word essay (50%)

SAM mark (10%)

Resit: 3000 word essay (100%)

Formative Assessment

There are no assessments for this course.

Course Learning Outcomes

Knowledge Level	Thinking Skill	Outcome
Factual	Remember	ILO’s for this course are available in the course guide.