PL1LNG1: Introduction to Linguistics

Module code: PL1LNG1

Module provider: Clinical Language Sciences; Sch of Psych and CLS

Credits: 20

Level: Level 1 (Certificate)

When you'll be taught: Semester 2

Module convenor: Mr Daniel Fryer, email: d.o.fryer@reading.ac.uk

Pre-requisite module(s):

Co-requisite module(s):

Pre-requisite or Co-requisite module(s):

Module(s) excluded:

Placement information: NA

Academic year: 2024/5

Available to visiting students: No

Talis reading list: Yes

Last updated: 23 May 2024

Overview

Module aims and purpose

This module aims to introduce basic theoretical concepts in the scientific study of language and its acquisition by monolingual and bilingual populations. Content includes morphology and syntax, semantics, pragmatics and socio-linguistics.

Module learning outcomes

By the end of the module, it is expected that students will be able to:

1. Describe the main morphological, syntactic, semantic and pragmatic properties of English sentences as well as how these are acquired by children (monolingual and bilingual)
2. Outline how language varies in its use on the basis of social, cultural and/or individual factors and relate this to clinical practice
3. Apply relevant concepts, notation and terminology in the description, analysis and interpretation of language data, to include distinguishing between typical and atypical/impaired patterns of language
4. Use linguistic knowledge and terminology to construct an assessment for a client, including the rationale for, and details of administrative procedures and scoring

Module content

Language and symbol systems; the relevance of linguistics, its concepts and methods for speech and language therapy; language use; word (syntactic) categories; syntactic category tests and their application to typical and atypical language; morphology: inflection vs. derivation; thematic roles; argument structure; arguments vs. adjuncts; verbs; phrase structure and clinical applications; lexical and sentence meaning; lexical relations; pragmatics; discourse and conversation; social dimension of language; the role of family, gender.

Structure

Teaching and learning methods

Teaching will consist of weekly lectures that are backed up by weekly seminars that include group-work based on practical exercises and reading.

Study hours

At least 30 hours of scheduled teaching and learning activities will be delivered in person, with the remaining hours for scheduled and self-scheduled teaching and learning activities delivered either in person or online. You will receive further details about how these hours will be delivered before the start of the module.

Please note the independent study hours above are notional numbers of hours; each student will approach studying in different ways. We would advise you to reflect on your learning and the number of hours you are allocating to these tasks.

Semester 1 The hours in this column may include hours during the Christmas holiday period.

Semester 2 The hours in this column may include hours during the Easter holiday period.

Summer The hours in this column will take place during the summer holidays and may be at the start and/or end of the module.

Assessment

Requirements for a pass

Students need to achieve an overall module mark of 40% to pass this module.

Summative assessment

Penalties for late submission of summative assessment

The Support Centres will apply the following penalties for work submitted late:

Assessments with numerical marks

• where the piece of work is submitted after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline): 10% of the total marks available for that piece of work will be deducted from the mark for each working day (or part thereof) following the deadline up to a total of three working days;
• the mark awarded due to the imposition of the penalty shall not fall below the threshold pass mark, namely 40% in the case of modules at Levels 4-6 (i.e. undergraduate modules for Parts 1-3) and 50% in the case of Level 7 modules offered as part of an Integrated Masters or taught postgraduate degree programme;
• where the piece of work is awarded a mark below the threshold pass mark prior to any penalty being imposed, and is submitted up to three working days after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline), no penalty shall be imposed;
• where the piece of work is submitted more than three working days after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline): a mark of zero will be recorded.

Assessments marked Pass/Fail

• where the piece of work is submitted within three working days of the deadline (or any formally agreed extension of the deadline): no penalty will be applied;
• where the piece of work is submitted more than three working days after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension of the deadline): a grade of Fail will be awarded.

The University policy statement on penalties for late submission can be found at: https://www.reading.ac.uk/cqsd/-/media/project/functions/cqsd/documents/qap/penaltiesforlatesubmission.pdf

You are strongly advised to ensure that coursework is submitted by the relevant deadline. You should note that it is advisable to submit work in an unfinished state rather than to fail to submit any work.

Formative assessment

Formative assessment is any task or activity which creates feedback (or feedforward) for you about your learning, but which does not contribute towards your overall module mark.

Four online CAQ tests of around 20 MCQ or multiple answer questions.

Reassessment

Additional costs