175-009 First Language Acquisition

Formerly available as 175-200. Students who have completed 175-200 are not eligible to enrol in this subject.

This subject is an overview of some principal issues in first language acquisition, including children's language development (from pre-speech onwards), grammatical, semantic and pragmatic development, and the continued development of language through the school years. The variability and individual differences in relation to current theoretical models of language acquisition and cognitive and social development will also be examined. Focus is on the acquisition of English, but cross-cultural material will be included for comparison.

• should be able to think critically;

• should be able to effectively communicate ideas in writing;

• should be able to make a brief presentation.

A 1000-word assignment (due in week 6) 20%, a 1000 word class presentation (due a week later in writing) 30%, a 2000-word essay (due a week after the end of semester) 40% and participation 10%.

• Eve V Clark, First Language Acquisition. CUP, 2003.