Cognitive Psychology

Outline of the Topic: Psycholinguistics

Part I
First Language Learning
Group 11

Chapter 1: Psycholinguistics: First Language Learning

1. Introduction
 The development of speech
2. From vocalization to babbling and then speech
 Early speech stages
 Later speech stages
 Speech comprehension and speech production
 Parentese and baby talk
 Imitation, rule learning and correction
 Memory and logic in language learning

Chapter 2: The Deaf and Language

1. Sign Language: A True Language without Speech
 Is Sign Language a True Language?
2. Speech-Based Sign Language
 Based on Speech of Ordinary Language
 Finger Spelling
 Morpheme by Morpheme
 Independent Sign Language
3. Oral Approach vs. Total Approach
4. Is Sign language Universal?

Chapter 3: Reading Principles & Teaching

1. Writing Systems & Speech:
 Writing systems based on speech sounds: phonemes or syllables
 The unpredictability of English orthography
 Writing systems based on meaning: the morpheme
2. The Whole-Word vs. Phonics/Decoding controversy:
 The Phonics/Decoding Approach:
 Nature and Problems
 The Whole-Word Approach:
 English and Japanese Research based supportive evidence
3. A universal four-phase reading program:
  Four phases of the teaching program
4. The advantages of early reading for pre-school age children:
 Why early reading is beneficial

Chapter 4: Wild and isolated children and the critical age issue for language learning
 Victor: the wild boy of Aveyron
 Genie: raised in isolation
 Isabelle: confinement with a mute mother
 Chelsea: began to learn language at age 32
 Helen Keller: the renowned deaf and blind girl
 Oxana and Edik: raised by dogs
 A critical age for first-language learning?

Chapter 5: Animal and Language Learning

1. The first scientific attempt : with an orangutan
2. GUA : The chimp raised with a human siblings
3. Teaching artificial languages to chimpanzee:
 Lana the computer chimp
4. Teaching language to dolphin:
 Elvar the whistling dolphin
5. Teaching rico the Dog the understand spoken English words

Conclusion

Part II
Second-language learning
Group 10

1. Children vs. Adults in Second Language Learning:

 Children are better: a common belief
 Basic Psychological factors affecting second language learning
 Social situations affecting second language learning
2. Second language teaching methods:
 Traditional Methods:
 Grammar-Translation, Natural, Direct, Audio-lingual.
 Contemporary Methods:
  Total physical response, Communicative Language Teaching, Natural Approach,
Content Based Instruction, Task Based Language Teaching, Computer Assisted
Language Learning.
 Goals must be considered in selection of a teaching method
3. Bilingualism, Intelligence, Transfer and Learning Strategies:
 Varieties of Bilingualism
 Effects of Early bilingualism on first-language development and intelligence
 Sequential and Simultaneous learning situations
 Strategies for second language production
Conclusion

Part III
Language, Mind and Brain
Group 9

 Language, Thought and Culture

 Where does language knowledge come from?
 Intelligence, Innate Language ideas, Behavior
 Natural Grammar, Mind and Speaker performance
 Language and the Brain
Conclusion