Schedule

BCSC 259: Lecture Schedule

Only students who are enrolled in the course may access materials online. You must be logged into Blackboard to download these files.

Below you’ll find a schedule of topics and associated readings and assignments; readings/viewings must be completed BEFORE the date listed on the syllabus. This schedule is subject to change; I hope to hold as closely to it as possible, but want to retain flexibility so that we can ensure the class best meets your needs. I will make an announcement both in class and on Blackboard if I need to make changes to either the topics or the readings.

KEY: Hoff = your textbook, HW = Homework

Date
Topic
Reading
Quizzes/Assignments
PART 1 :: SOUNDS AND WORDS OF LANGUAGE
08/30
Introduction
Logistics and plans for the semester
 
 
09/04
Labor Day, NO CLASS
 
 
09/06
Why study language development?
Hoff Ch. 1
Miller 2003
 
09/11
Early speech perception 1
Hoff Ch 3
Wynn 2018
Pat Kuhl TED Talk (video)
 
09/13
Early speech perception 2
Hoff Ch 2
Maye et al (2002)
Quiz 1
09/18
Distributional learning & word segmentation
Saffran et al. 1996
Saffran 2020
*Relevant info in Hoff Ch 3
 
09/20
Phonological development & first words
Hoff Ch 4
Bergelson 2020
Deb Roy TED Talk (video)
HW1 available after class time
09/25
Processes of lexical development 1 & How to study for Exam 1
Hoff Ch 5
Swingley 2022
HW1 due, Friday 9/29, 6PM
09/27
Processes of lexical development 2: syntatic bootstrapping
Hoff Ch 5
Naigles 1990
Quiz 2
Study guide v1 posted after class time
10/02
Processes of lexical development 3: Pragmatic inference & in-class review
Hoff Ch 5
Grigoroglou & Papafragou 2022
Study guide v2 posted after class time
10/04
Exam 1 (on Blackboard – Please bring your laptop. If you prefer a printed copy of an exam or use other electronic devices for this exam, please contact Dr. Kurumada by 9/27.)
 
 
PART 2 :: STRUCTURE OF LANGUAGE & ROLES OF INPUT
10/09
One-word to Multi-word speech
Hoff Ch 6
Tomasello 2000
HW2 available after class time
10/11
Grammatical development 1
Hoff Ch 6
Wilson et al. 2018
HW2 due, Fri 10/13, 6pm
10/16
Fall Break (No Class)
 
 
10/18
Grammatical development 2: Overregularization and over-generalization
Pinker 1991
Plunkett 2017
Quiz 3
10/23
Early communicative development
Hoff Ch 7;
Baldwin 2000
 
10/25
Sociolinguistic variations and individual differences
Hoff Ch 7
Johnson & White 2019
 
10/30
Language disorders and linguistic development in autistic children
Guest Lecture Dr. Loisa Bennetto (Psychology)
Hoff Ch 11
Final project survey out after class time
11/01
Pidgins, Creoles, and Inconsistent Input
Hoff Ch 2 (p. 31-34)
Hudson-Kam & Newport 2005 *Introduction
Quiz 4
Exam study guide v1 posted after class time
11/06
Language learning in Deaf and Hard of Hearing (DHH) children
Guest Lecture
Dr. Zhen Bai (CS)
Dr. Wyatte Hall (URMC);
Hall et al. 2017
Bai et al., 2022
Final project group assignment
11/08
Asking learnability questions using artificial languages
Hudson-Kam & Newport 2005
Smith et al. 2016
Exam study guide v2 posted after class time
11/13
Exam 2:
(on Blackboard – Please bring your laptop. If you prefer a printed copy of an exam or use other electronic devices for this exam, please contact Dr. Kurumada by 11/6.)
 
 
PART 3 :: LANGUAGE AND THE BRAIN
11/15
Experiment design & What are CHILDES and Gorilla.sc?
Please download CLAN on your computer before the class time.
HW3 Due by 4:50pm on Sunday (11/19)
11/20
Group work: brainstorming for the final project
 
HW4 due by Wed, 11/22, 12:00pm
11/22
Thanksgiving, NO CLASS
 
 
11/27
Bilingualism and Second Language Learning
Hoff Ch 9
Meet with Dr. Kurumada, Lillian, Seth to discuss your project ideas
11/29
Brain & Language 1, Approaches to neural basis of language
Hoff Ch 2
Kuhl 2010
Quiz 5
12/04
Brain & Language 2: Trajectory of language development and brain plasticity
Summary
Ferjan Ramirez et al. 2017
Olulade et al. 2020
 
12/06
Group project presentation 1
 
Study guide for the optional final exam uploaded after class time
12/11
Group project presentation 2
 
Project report due on 12/15 (Fri) 4:50pm
12/13
NO CLASS: Dr. Kurumada away for a conference overseas. She will be available for individual zoom meetings (by appointment) and answer questions regarding this class, research opportunities, and other topics on academic/career development.
 
 
12/19
Exam 3: (This exam is Blackboard-based. You may take it from home. It will become available at the college designated exam time (8:30am EST) and will stay open for 24h. You can submit your answers anytime until 8:30am on 12/20 (Wed).