SPANISH 4407G*/SP 9700

THE ACQUISITION OF SPANISH AND ENGLISH AS FIRST LANGUAGES

2008-2009

Joyce Bruhn de Garavito

Office: University College, Room 154
Phone: 661 2111, Ext. 85864

Prerequisite: Spanish 3303A, 303a/b or permission of the department.
Antirequisite: None
Constraints: None
Please note: You are responsible for ensuring that you have successfully completed all course prerequisites and that you have not taken an antirequisite course. Lack of prerequisites may not be used as a basis of appeal. If you are not eligible for a course, you may be removed from it at any time, and you will receive no fee adjustment. These decisions cannot be appealed.

Course description:

Most people assume there is no interesting problem in the acquisition of your native tongue. To linguists, it is fascinating. Language is perhaps one of the most complex activities we engage in, and yet a child is able to acquire the basic knowledge for this activity in less than three years. How is this possible? What steps does the child go through? Using examples from Spanish and English we will learn to think about the 'miracle' of acquisition, and try to understand how it is accomplished.

The course is taught twice a week (2x1 1/2 hours). It is taught in Spanish, although many of the readings will be in English.

There is no textbook. The course is based on assigned readings and class notes. A summary of these notes will be provided by the instructor.

Objectives: At the end of the course the student should

o understand how the problem of language and language acquisition contributes to our understanding of the human mind and how knowledge is acquired (Plato's problem).

o understand the scientific basis of language studies and thus be able to eradicate a number of misconceptions regarding language and language acquisition.

o understand the relation of theory to experimentation in relation to language.

o have an understanding of the course of first language acquisition, and the issues relating to it.

Evaluation
Participation 10%
Assignments (5) 10%
1 empirical research paper (10 pages)
outline 5%
paper 25%
oral presentations based on paper 10%
Midterm Exam 20%
Final exam 20%

Plagiarism: Plagiarism is a major academic offense (see Scholastic Offense Policy in the Western Academic Calendar). Plagiarism is the inclusion of someone else's verbatim or paraphrased text in one's own written work without immediate reference. Verbatim text must be surrounded by quotation marks or indented if it is longer than four lines. A reference must follow right after borrowed material (usually the author's name and page number). Without immediate reference to borrowed material, a list of sources at the end of a written assignment does not protect a writer against the possible charge of plagiarism. The University of Western Ontario uses a plagiarism-checking site called Turnitin.com.

Absenteeism
Students seeking academic accommodation on medical grounds for any missed tests, exams, participation components and/or assignments must apply to the Academic Counselling office of their home Faculty and provide documentation. Academic accommodation cannot be granted by the instructor or department.

UWO's Policy on Accommodation for Medical Illness (https://studentservices.uwo.ca/secure/index.cfm)

Downloadable Student Medical Certificate (SMC): https://studentservices.uwo.ca under the Medical Documentation heading