Program requirements

Prerequisites (if any):

Catalog Description:

Examines theoretical and empirical aspects of first language acquisition and its development in speech and writing from birth through adolescence, including phonology, syntax, vocabulary, and pragmatics. It views acquisition across languages and (sub)cultures from linguistic, psychological, and social perspectives.

Extended Description:

This course introduces students to issues surrounding how children acquire the complexities of speaking and understanding their first language, emphasizing English but recognizing languages around the world. It examines the systematic qualities of both the form and use of a language,
especially in relation to cognitive and perceptual development from infancy through the school years. It gives particular attention to empirical evidence that scholars have called on to explain the universal emergence of linguistic abilities in young children, focusing on a particular structure such as questions. With respect to literacy, it addresses questions of how children may bring their capacity for language acquisition and for linguistic awareness into play as they learn to read and write. It throws into relief the diversity of linguistic abilities that teachers face in classrooms, including differential knowledge of the language, dialect variation, bilingualism, and language disorders.

Program goals:

** major goal

Pedagogical Content Knowledge

** language and literacy development: the nature, breadth, and depth of and the overt markers of that development

** individual and cultural differences: knowledge of economic, academic, social, and cultural diversity; use of this knowledge to inform instructional decisions

** methods and materials: the range of techniques and materials appropriate for literacy instruction

** literacy in society: societal changes in literacy usage, and implications for teaching and learning both inside and outside the classroom

task difficulty: relation to student learning, independence, and development

assessment of literacy: the value and properties of assessment methods and instruments

prevention and solution of literacy difficulties: management of the classroom context to prevent difficulties in the acquisition of literacy as well as to solve learning difficulties when they occur

organization of instruction: organization, regulation, and reform of literacy instruction

NYSED standards and core curriculum: knowledge of English Language Arts, Social Studies, Mathematics, Science and Technology

self-extended learning: how to engage critically with professional text and research to extend learning, including success with their own professional reading and writing

Readings

(Note: these are suggested texts—actual readings in this course will be listed in the current course outline)

Topic 1
Early development

The language instinct
Sound discrimination among infants
Babbling as a precursor of speech
Patterns in phonological development

Topic 2
Syntax and semantics
First words and cognitive development
The beginnings of syntax
Universal vs. individual patterns
Dimensions of the emergent lexicon
The place of imitation
Questions as syntactic forms

Topic 3
Semantics and pragmatics
The linguistic potential for meaning
Expressive functions of language
Learning rules of speaking
Entering the discourse community
Questions as purposeful social acts

Topic 4
Variation across cultures, subcultures, and individuals
Social dialect variation in English
Bilingualism
Variation in the use of questions
Individual differences in language form and use
Language disorders

Topic 5
Acquisition in the school years
Learning written language in relation to spoken language
Narrative development
Teaching to overcome language disorders
Language delay in relation to literacy development

 

1) Midterm essay

Students are presented with data illustrating a young child's use of English in a particular context of adult speech and action. They are asked to write an essay on the patterns and sources of linguistic development generally found as children acquire English and to exemplify their remarks with the data.

2) Field study

Students design and report on their study of one or more children in order to explore a given question on how children acquire language. The question guiding the study can be general or specific, familiar or new, on an aspect of linguistic form, meaning, or use, concerning preschool or school-age children. It should grow from or be supported by readings related to this course. For instance, it may describe the linguistic form or behavior of children or of adults talking to children; report on an experiment in a preliminary way; replicate an experiment in the literature; evaluate an instrument widely used to assess children's linguistic performance in school or clinical settings. There are other possibilities.

3) Final examination

Take-home exam made up of essay questions on readings and classroom discussions.

Required and recommended readings are drawn from such as core sources as:

Berko Gleason, J. (2005) The development of language (6th ed.). Boston: Allyn & Bacon.

Golinkoff, R. M. & Hirsh-Pasek, K. (1999). How babies talk: The magic and mystery of life in the first three years of life. New York: Putnam.

Owens, R. E. (2005) Language development (6th ed.). Boston: Allyn & Bacon.

Well, G. (1986). The meaning makers: Children learning language and using language to learn. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.