ENG5623 - Child Language Acquisition

Objectives:

Assessment tasks are designed to enable students to demonstrate the Learning and Employability outcomes for the relevant level of study. Level Learning Outcomes are embedded in the assessment task(s) at that level. This enables a more integrated view of overall student performance at each level.

Content:

This module introduces students to the study of how children acquire language. It explores the recognised stages in a child’s acquisition of language in terms of phonology, syntax and language production. It also introduces students to the history of research in this field and the debates that surround different theories and approaches. It equips students with a basic understanding of psycholinguistic theories and the methods used in current research, as well as the ability to conduct analyses of child language data. Finally, students will gain an awareness of how their linguistic knowledge and skillset can benefit them in the workplace through completing a professional placement and reflecting on the employability skills they have gained through this.

Learning and Teaching Information:

Seminars
Hours: 40
Intended Group Size: 15

Employability workshops
Hours: 10
Intended Group Size: 15

Placement
Hours: 150
Intended Group Size: 1

Guided independent study
Hours: 100

Further details relating to assessment
Formal assessment will be preceded by some formative exercises (e.g. practice analysis, referencing exercise, brief report on a research task) and an ‘assessment unpacking’ session.

The first assignment is due at the end of Semester 1. It is a 2,500-word essay explaining and discussing key concepts and theoretical approaches to researching child language acquisition.

The second assignment is due mid-Semester 2. It is a 7-minute presentation on chosen published research within child language acquisition, describing and critically evaluating its background, methods, findings and implications.

The third assignment is due at the end of Semester 2. It is a 2,000-word equivalent research project in which students draw on published/available child language data and previous research to discuss a chosen question pertaining to child language acquisition.

Students will normally complete a placement during the designated five-week period at the end of Semester 2.

The 1,500-word reflective report will be completed at the end of the placement period and will require students to describe their work on placement and explicitly evaluate how this work evidences the employability outcomes of the programme. Students must pass the placement element. In addition, students must adhere to the University’s Professional Conduct Code.

Assessment:

001 Essay; 2,500 words; end of sem 1 40%
002 Presentation; 7 minutes; mid-sem 2 20%
003 Research project; 2,000 word equivalent; end of semester 2 25%
004 Placement; pass/fail; 150 hours; end of semester 2 %
005 Reflective report; 1,500 words; end of semester 2 15%

Fact File

Module Coordinator - Linda Walz
Level - 5
Credit Value - 30
Pre-Requisites - NONE
Semester(s) Offered - 5YL

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