Syllabus

BCSC 261: Syllabus

Fall 2025

Personnel

Instructor: Florian Jaeger
Office hours: by request

Prerequisites

Prior coursework in psycholinguistics (e.g., BCS 152 or equivalent) is strongly encourage but feel free to contact the instructor if you might be interested in the class, and are not sure whether you have the necessary background.

Course Description

This course explores the cognitive mechanisms used to understand spoken or signed language. We will focus, in particular, on the relation between social and linguistic processing. This includes questions about how social perception can affect how we understand speech, or how we express ourselves, depending on who we are talking to---for example, subconscious alignment or anti-alignment in speaking styles, pronunciation, and lexical choices. We will also ask how our brain manages to map sound (or sign) onto meaning given that even speakers of the same dialect can differ starkly in the physical (acoustic) signals they produce. Please have a look at the schedule for a list of topics.

This is an advanced seminar in the cognitive/neuroscience of language. It is intended to let you explore research topics in more depth than is possible during introductory lectures. Learning how to approach, explore, and discuss scientific topics in this manner can prepare you for graduate/med school, or can simply be fun.

Required readings are uploaded to Blackboard. Please be sure to read them before each class. Announcements will also be made via Blackboard when new materials are posted. This course follows the College credit hour policy for four-credit courses, including independent out-of-class assignments (completion of the required readings) for at least 1 academic hour per week.

Course Requirements and Grading

Final grades will be based upon the following scale:

  • A 93 -100
  • A- 90 - 92
  • B+ 87 - 89
  • B 84 – 86
  • B- 80 - 83
  • C+ 77 – 79
  • C 73 – 76
  • C- 70 – 72
  • D+ 67 – 69
  • D 63 – 66
  • D- 60 – 62
  • E below 60

Scores will be based on (1) class participation, (2) class discussion you will lead, and (3) a final project, which is either a manuscript of a scientific outreach video. In more detail:

  1. Participation (30%): Active participation in discussions and class activities are expected. Completion of the required readings and your active participation in discussion are crucial in your effective learning in a seminar. Everyone should contribute at least one insightful comments/questions to each reading by posting on Slack by 6pm on the day before class. You can also participate by trying to answer questions that are posted on Slack. This is particularly valued.
    I recognize that different people have different communication preferences. While I will actively elicit your participation in class, you can alternatively provide your thoughts via Slack. Grading is based on the overall quality and participation, regardless of whether it happens over Slack or in class. Regardless of whether in class or over Slack, I would like all of us to approach this class without fear of being wrong. One of the most effective ways to learn is to express our ideas, understanding, hypotheses, etc. and then correct and revise them based on the feedback we receive.
    Participation is graded to achieve the following: if you consistently participate over Slack or in class, you will have an A- for participation. If you occasionally go beyond the expected, or consistently participate both over Slack and in class, you will have an A for participation.
    For those that want more detail, here is how I grade participation. For each class meeting, I assign separate scores for Slack and in-class participation. The scoring system is simple: absent or present but no participation (0), participated at least once (1), actively participated, making a few solid contributions (2), made particularly valuable contributions (3; this will be rare and should be seen as similar to an A+). I then take the higher of these two numbers (in-class & Slack) and that’s your participation score for that day. Then I add a small bonus (0.3) if you participated both over Slack and in class. At the end of the semester, I average all daily participation scores, and normalize them so that they range from 0 for (an average score of 0) to 100% (for an average score of 2).
  2. Leading one class discussion (30%). A discussion organizer will be assigned for each class (starting the third week). There are many different ways to organize a successful discussion session, and you have leeway in finding your personal style (e.g., you might be more comfortable giving a lecture, or you might prefer a highly interactive approach; you might focus on one paper and discuss it in depth, or you might aim for an overview of several papers but in less depth; etc.). Make sure to read the notes on “How to prepare for your discussion”.
  3. For the remaining 40% of the grade, you will either (i) submit a manuscript or (ii) a scientific outreach video. Sometimes, depending on the size of the class, a third option is available (iii) to lead a second discussion class (reach out to instructor if this is the option you are interested in). For options (i)-(ii), the first submission will account for 50% of your grade for the final project. You will then receive feedback on the manuscript/video, and will resubmit it with revisions. The revisions will account for the second 50% of the grade for the final project. For a written final project, please see the document “How to prepare your final paper”. For an outreach video, please see the document “How to prepare your outreach video”.

Revisions of manuscript/video will be graded based on how well you integrated feedback—an essential skill for scientific writing and collaboration. You will be graded both on how you communicate the revisions, and on the final project itself. To communicate the changes you made, write a brief—typically one to three paragraphs long—overview of the changes you implemented, and respond to all comments you received (e.g., in the word file you submitted if I left comments there). If you decide not to integrate feedback you received explain why. For example, you might find that it would make your project less good (say why), or the requested change became obsolete because of other changes you made. If necessary, revisions can add additional content.

Due dates for (i) and (ii): If you’re leading a class discussion in the first half of the semester, the writing assignments/video is due 11/30. If you’re leading a class discussion in the second half of the semester, the writing assignments/video is due 10/30. Revisions are due 1 week after you receive feedback.

Grading policies

  1. Academic misconduct. Please read the policy posted online.
  2. Early submission bonus. If you submit your writing assignment/video at least a week before the deadline, this will result in a 5% bonus on your score for that submission.
  3. Late submission penalties. If you submit your writing assignment/video after the deadline, each day of delay—e.g., for the final projects—results in a 5% decrease in the maximal achievable score (not your score, but the maximum you can achieve). This is done out of fairness to everyone else in the class.
  4. Attendance determines a large part of your grade (see above).
    1. Exceptions for religious holidays or events of comparable cultural or personal significance will always be granted, provided you bring them to the instructor’s attention at least 2 weeks in advance.
    2. Emergency exceptions due to documented medical reasons, family emergencies, or alike will also always be granted
    3. All other missed classes result in a zero score (grade E) for participation for that day. The semester has many days, so that’s not the end of the world.