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53972-01 - Seminar: First language acquisition of English (3 CP)
| Semester | spring semester 2025 |
| Course frequency | Irregular |
| Lecturers | Heike Behrens (heike.behrens@unibas.ch, Assessor) |
| Content | In this seminar we will look at a number of domains in first language acquisition: lexical development and morphosyntactic development. We will look at these phenomena from the infants' perspective: What does it take to first learn a word and then elaborate on its meaning? How does one identify the function of word order or grammatical morphemes? In order to show that language develops gradually, different methods were developed that help us to learn about the child's mind. We will analyze corpus data in order to trace developmental processes. In addition, we will look at the role of the environment (input from caregivers, social surrounding, media) |
| Learning objectives | Students learn about the major developmental milestones in learning English as a first language, and how to think about developmental processes. We will have datasessions to make you familiar with the typical features of the developing language system. |
| Bibliography | A selection of chapters from: - Berko Gleason, J., & Bernstein Ratner, N. (Eds.) (2024). The Development of Language (10th ed.). Plural Publishing. - Brooks, P. J., & Kempe, V. (2012). "Language development". Chichester: BPS Blackwell. - Clark, Eve V. (2024). "First language acquisition". 4th edition. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. - Ibbotson, Paul (2022). "Language Acquisition: The basics." London: Taylor & Francis. - Rowland, C. (2014). "Understanding child language acquisition". London, New York: Routledge. - Saxton, M. (2017). "Child language: Acquisition and development" (2 ed.). London: SAGE Publications. - Tolchinsky, L., & Berman, R. A. (2023). Growing into Language: Developmental Trajectories and Neural Underpinnings. Oxford University Press. |
| Admission requirements | This seminar is for students of the MA English, MA Sprache und Kommunikation, and BA English students who have completed ALL three introductory modules (including the proseminar papers). |
| Course application | Please register for this course in services.unibas.ch. In order to ensure a good learning environment, we aim at no more than 20 students per linguistics seminar. We ask you to sign up for classes via the ADAM registration surveys, which will open on 1 January 2025, 10am (CET), and close on 23 February 2025, 2pm (CET): https://adam.unibas.ch/goto_adam_crs_1623802.html. **Please only register for a maximum of TWO seminars and only for more than one if you really intend to take both courses.** Should you have not made it into one of the courses and you are only able to register on the list in a position higher than 20, we guarantee that we will take you in the course with the least student numbers. |
| Language of instruction | English |
| Use of digital media | No specific media used |
| Interval | Weekday | Time | Room |
|---|---|---|---|
| wöchentlich | Wednesday | 10.15-12.00 | Nadelberg 6, Raum 11 |
Dates
| Date | Time | Room |
|---|---|---|
| Wednesday 19.02.2025 | 10.15-12.00 | Nadelberg 6, Raum 11 |
| Wednesday 26.02.2025 | 10.15-12.00 | Nadelberg 6, Raum 11 |
| Wednesday 05.03.2025 | 10.15-12.00 | Nadelberg 6, Raum 11 |
| Wednesday 12.03.2025 | 10.15-12.00 | Fasnachstferien |
| Wednesday 19.03.2025 | 10.15-12.00 | Nadelberg 6, Raum 11 |
| Wednesday 26.03.2025 | 10.15-12.00 | Nadelberg 6, Raum 11 |
| Wednesday 02.04.2025 | 10.15-12.00 | Nadelberg 6, Raum 11 |
| Wednesday 09.04.2025 | 10.15-12.00 | Nadelberg 6, Raum 11 |
| Wednesday 16.04.2025 | 10.15-12.00 | Nadelberg 6, Raum 11 |
| Wednesday 23.04.2025 | 10.15-12.00 | Nadelberg 6, Raum 11 |
| Wednesday 30.04.2025 | 10.15-12.00 | Nadelberg 6, Raum 11 |
| Wednesday 07.05.2025 | 10.15-12.00 | Nadelberg 6, Raum 11 |
| Wednesday 14.05.2025 | 10.15-12.00 | Nadelberg 6, Raum 11 |
| Wednesday 21.05.2025 | 10.15-12.00 | Nadelberg 6, Raum 11 |
| Wednesday 28.05.2025 | 10.15-12.00 | Nadelberg 6, Raum 11 |
| Modules |
Modul: Advanced English Linguistics (Bachelor's degree subject: English) Modul: English Linguistics (Master's degree subject: English) Modul: Forschungspraxis und Vertiefung (Master's degree program: Language and Communication) Modul: Sprache als Prozess (Master's degree program: Language and Communication) |
| Assessment format | continuous assessment |
| Assessment details | aktive Teilnahme (max 2 Absenzen) + Gruppenarbeit und -präsentation |
| Assessment registration/deregistration | Reg.: course registration; dereg.: not required |
| Repeat examination | no repeat examination |
| Scale | Pass / Fail |
| Repeated registration | as often as necessary |
| Responsible faculty | Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, studadmin-philhist@unibas.ch |
| Offered by | Fachbereich Englische Sprach- und Literaturwissenschaft |