PL3LP: Language Processing

Module Provider:

Clinical Language Sciences

Number of credits:

10 [5 ECTS credits]

Level:

H (Honours)

Terms in which taught:

Spring

Module Convenor:

Professor JD Saddy

Pre-requisites:

All BSc Speech and Language Therapy Part 1 modules co-req

Co-requisites:

Modules excluded:

Module version for:

2007/8

Aims:
This module aims to provide students with an understanding of how children and adults with typical and atypical language development process language in real-time, and with an appreciation of language processing theories.

Assessable learning outcomes:
By the end of the module it is expected that the students will be able to:
• appreciate core issues in language processing research;
• critically discuss and evaluate processing theories;
• understand the main open questions, and limits in the field;
• discuss the importance of language processing for the understanding of language impairment.

Additional outcomes:
This module will also encourage the development of autonomous learning through critical reading of research articles in academic journals, their numeracy by examination of the statistical treatments used in empirical measures of language processing papers, and their note-taking skills.

Outline content:
This module is organised around core issues of language processing research, such as lexical access, the mental lexicon, ambiguity resolution, the use of syntactic, lexical and prosodic information in sentence processing, complexity, and memory. These issues will be discussed on the basis of research papers on language processing by children and adults with typical and atypical language development, and in the light of current processing theories.

Brief description of teaching and learning methods:
Weekly two-hour lecture sessions.

Contact hours:

Assessment:
Coursework:
None.
Relative percentage of coursework: N/A
Penalties for late submission:
N/A
Examinations:
One two-hour paper.
Requirements for a pass:
A mark of 40% overall.
Reassessment arrangements:
Re-assessment will be a two-hour written examination in September.