Course Info: CS-0183

This course examined language learning from a cognitive perspective and considered the relative contributions of genetics and environment to the process of language acquisition. In the course, we examined how children learn words, how they learn to put words together to form sentences, and how they learn to use language appropriately in social situations. We looked at children learning two or more languages simultaneously and at children who, in very rare cases, have been altogether deprived of language. We looked at language learning under conditions of significant environmental deprivation such as when children are born blind or deaf and also looked at language learning in children with cognitive impairments such as those born with William's Syndrome. We discussed clinical conditions in which there is significant involvement of the language system such as autism and childhood aphasia. The course emphasized reading and discussion of primary literature. Students were expected to complete several short-answer assignments based on journal articles that were designed to evaluate students’ ability to quickly summarize and evaluate empirical research. They were also required to write a 5-8 page research proposal consisting of a literature review justifying or motivating their proposed research, a testable hypothesis, clear quantitative predictions that derive from that hypothesis, and a detailed description of an empirical study designed to test those predictions. Students were expected to demonstrate a clear grasp of the fundamentals of experimental design and of how quantitative methods can be used to answer behavioral questions.