Institute of English Studies
COURSE CONTENTS
Psycholinguistics
English Language & Teaching
Code: PSY.LING 703
Title: Psycholinguistics
Rating: 03 Credit Hours
Type: Compulsory
Pre-requisites: BS (English)/ M.A (English)
Introduction:
This course aims to build concepts pertaining to Psycholinguistics, primarily by providing
students with comprehensive knowledge related to the interrelationships between linguistic
factors and psychological aspects. The trajectory taken in the course will move from the
understanding of psychology of language to how languages are processed in the brain.
Objectives:
Students will understand basic language production, perception data and how the data
has contributed to the development of the major theories in psycholinguistics.
Students will learn how to develop detailed knowledge of basic sub-fields of
psycholinguistics, including: the biological bases of language (language & brain),
speech perception, lexicon, sentence processing, discourse, speech production and
language acquisition.
Students will be introduced to the methods used in psycholinguistic research and
ways to interpret the types of results these methods have uncovered.
Students will understand the fundamental relationship between language and the
processes of brain and mind.
Students will be introduced to the major theories in the domain of psycholinguistics.
Students will be guided about specific issues in psycholinguistics, which might be
examined experimentally.
Content:
Introduction to Psycholinguistics
The Psychology of Learning
Cognitive Psychology & Humanistic Psychology
Behaviorism
Mentalism
Language Development in Children
First Language Acquisition
Second Language Acquisition: Theories & Problems, & Educational Approaches
Theories of Language Learning
Neurolinguistics.
Biological & Developmental Bases of Language
Individual differences in Language Learning
Memory process in language learning
Structure of Language System
Outcomes:
Students will comprehend language as a phenomenon related to biological and
cognitive processes.
Students will be able to identify the basic areas of the brain involved in language and
describe the functions carried out by these areas.
Students will enlist the major issues in the areas of speech perception, word
recognition, sentence processing, text processing, reading and language acquisition.
Students will enumerate the major processes involved in speech perception, word
recognition, sentence processing, text interpretation, reading and language
acquisition.
Students will demonstrate theoretical models of speech perception, word recognition,
lexical organization, sentence processing, & language acquisition.
Recommended Books:
Field, John. Psycholinguistics: A Resource Book for Students. Psychology Press,
2003.
Garnham, Alan. Psycholinguistics (PLE: Psycholinguistics): Central Topics. Taylor
& Francis, 2013.
Harley, Trevor. The Psychology of Language: From Data to Theory. 2nd.ed., Taylor
and Francis, 2001.
Steinberg, Danny. D. Psycholinguistics: Language, Mind and World. 2nd ed.,
Routledge, 2001.
