Advanced Language in the Mind and Brain 2500-EN-CS-L-04
The course draws on Experimental Psychology, Linguistics, and Cognitive Neuroscience to help students appreciate the cognitive mechanisms underlying language. How is word meaning represented in the mind? Why is acquiring language in adulthood harder than in childhood? Why do we make speech errors? What is the pattern of language breakdown in dementia or after a stroke? What are the effects of having two languages in one mind? These are examples of debates that will be discussed.
During the course, students learn how the methods used to address these questions have developed over time and what state-of-the-art methods are in the field. They also learn about the opportunities offered by recent advances in neuroimaging. They learn to form their own opinions on selected debates within the field and to express themselves in a coherent academic way (e.g., in an essay). The course includes separate sessions devoted to academic writing techniques. Through this, they develop their skills of evidence-based discussion, debate, and writing. All of this will be useful not only when writing a dissertation but also later, in any career of choice.
Learning activities:
The lecture will be interspersed with activities and group discussions. All of the students will be invited to contribute to the group discussion, which will be based on the assigned readings. Activities and group discussions include taking a stance in scientific debates and developing your own research questions.
Learning outcomes
By the end of the course, students should be able to:
● formulate and justify their opinions on several enduring debates in psycholinguistics (K_W01, K_W02)
● conduct an in-depth literature overview (K_W01, K_W02, K_U08)
● analyse empirical findings (K_U03, K_U04)
● write up synthesis of experimental findings (K_U02, K_U06)
● present an in-depth discussion of experimental findings (K_U01, K_U03)
● produce a written manuscript (K_U06)
● work well in a group assuming different roles at different stages of a joint
● project (class activity) (K_K03)
Assessment criteria
a) Assessment methods proposal and class participation
b) Components of the final grade and their weights short proposal 15%; proposal presentation 30%; final proposal 40%; class participation, exercises, and activities 15%
c) Grading scale
(e.g., over 50%: 3
over 60%: 3+
over 70%: 4,
over 80%: 4+
over 90%: 5)
d) Requirements for retaking the assessment no retakes possible
e) Exams in the exam session
i) Requirements for taking the exam not applicable
ii) Possibility (and requirements) for retaking the exam in case of a positive grade not applicable
iii) Early Exam Session (“Zerówka”) not applicable
Attendance rules:
No more than 2 classes can be missed with an acceptable excuse; missing more classes or having absences without excuses is equivalent to failure of the course.
Additional information
Additional information (registration calendar, class conductors, localization and schedules of classes), might be available in the USOSweb system: