Module LING3401: LANGUAGE AND COGNITION

Department: Linguistics and English Language

LING3401: LANGUAGE AND COGNITION

Pre-requisites

Corequisites

Excluded Combinations

Aims

• To introduce third-year linguistics undergraduates to the psychology of language.
• It focuses on the relationship between language and cognition.
• First, it examines the neurological basis for language, thus introducing students to an understanding of the brain, its functioning and structure.
• Second the module offers a detailed exploration into language processing.
• And finally, it debates the directionality of the relationship between language and thought.
• This module generally provides a bridge between students' existing understanding of language as a system on the one hand and the neurocognition of this phenomenon on the other and enables students to reflect upon the crucial question of the relationship between language and thought from a psychologically-informed perspective.
• Students are ultimately expected to approach the study of language from an interdisciplinary perspective, and to display critical appreciation of linguistic theories based on psychological models of language.

Content

• This module looks at the psychology of language, with a focus on the relationship between language and cognition.
• The first part of the syllabus introduces the study of the brain and of the neuropsychology of language.
• The second part examines models of language processing.
• And finally, from this neurocognitive perspective, the module questions the nature of the relationship between language and thought, and debates the controversy of the direction of this relationship, based on ideas developed by Chomsky, Fodor, Whorf, and others.

Learning Outcomes

• By the end of the module, students will have gained: knowledge and understanding of the brain, its function and structure.
• knowledge and understanding of the way in which humans process language.
• the ability to discuss critically theories concerning the relationship between language and thinking.
• an interdisciplinary understanding of language.
• experience in reading and discussing critically primary resources of a scientific and of a theoretical nature.
• experience in presenting and assessing the work and ideas of important scholars in the field of linguistics.

Modes of Teaching, Learning and Assessment and how these contribute to the learning outcomes of the module

• In order to meet these outcomes, students will meet 2 consecutive hours per week.
• The first hour will consist of a lecture providing students with introductory information relating to the topics of the brain, language processing, and the relationship between language and thought.
• Whilst the second hour will provide a discussion of the related lecture topic, based on student presentations of brain damage case studies, cognitive experiments, scholars' debates, and other relevant studies.
• Lectures thus introduce crucial topics, which students can then discuss in depth and more fully understand in a seminar forum.
• This teaching method gives an active role to students and should therefore enable them to engage fully with a new discipline in order to maximise the success of their learning outcomes.
• Given the varied range of information in this course, the assessment methods will take on different formats: a) examination and presentation of case studies (formative class presentations), b) in-depth topic-specific essay for students to demonstrate their understanding and ability to assess the relevant information (summative essay), c) display the accurate knowledge and understanding of the factual aspects of the discipline (summative unseen two-hour examination).

Teaching Methods and Learning Hours

Summative Assessment

Formative Assessment

Presentations in class.