Aims
Aims
Recent advances in both technology and in biological understanding mean that we know more about the workings of the brain than ever. The relationship between language and the brain has been a major area of inquiry since the beginning of modern neuroscience, but in the 21st century we finally have reached a point where neurolinguistic methodology has become not only informative to linguists but also practical. This module will explore the current state of knowledge about the neural underpinnings of language, with a focus on language comprehension.
At the end of the module, students will:
- Understand the basics of neurocognition, including basic knowledge of brain anatomy and neuroimaging methods
- Know a state-of-the-art picture of the neural bases of language and language processing
- Know how neurolinguistics both informs and is informed by linguistic theory
- Have experience reading and critiquing primary research in neurolinguistics
This module will be capped at 35.
Programme
Programme
Contact hours
In the spring term, there will be a 2-hour lecture every teaching week, except that there will be two lectures in week 9 and none in week 10 (to ensure that all students have enough time to do the open exam). In addition, there will be a 1-hour seminar session every other week (weeks 3, 5, 8 and 9), devoted to formative student work.
In the summer term, there will be a 2-hour lecture in week 1 and a 1-hour seminar in weeks 2-4. These weeks will be spent developing one or two topics in depth, and will form the basis of the final assessment.
Teaching programme
The details of the teaching programme are subject to change, but the overall plan is as follows:
| Spring |
|
| Weeks 2-3 |
Introduction, Basics of the brain and neuroimaging |
| Weeks 4-5 |
The processing of linguistic signals (speech and reading) |
| Weeks 7-8 |
The lexicon and the brain (inc. morphology) |
| Weeks 9 (two lectures) |
Syntactic and semantic processing, Overview |
| Summer |
|
| Weeks 1-4 |
Topics |
Teaching materials
A reading pack will be available via Uniprint, and all required readings will also be placed on the VLE. Slides and handouts will be made avialable for each lecture. Additional optional readings will be made available throughout the teaching terms via the VLE.
Suggestions for reading before the module starts
- Libben, Gary. 2005. Brain and language. In O'Grady, W., Archibald, J., Aronoff, M. & Rees-Miller, J (eds.). (2005) Contemporary Linguistics: an introduction. New York: Bedford/St Martins.
There are several different editions of the book listed above. It doesn’t matter which edition you use. The chapter on ‘brain and language’ is useful preliminary reading, whichever edition it is in. An electronic version of this chapter will be made available via the module VLE site.
Skills
Transferable skills developed in this module
All modules provide an opportunity to work on general oral/written communication skills (in class and in assessments) and general self management (organising your studies), alongside the specific skills in language or linguistics that the module teaches.
In addition, this module will allow you to particularly develop skills in:
- application of data analysis skills: in this module you will learn how to interpret experimental data, and draw conclusions from it. You will also get experience in reconciling apparently contradictory data sources.
- written communication: you will learn how to coherently and succinctly report on research done by others. An emphasis will be placed on identifying and clearly distilling the main ideas in sources that are written at a high level of detail.
Follow this link to hear how past students use transferable skills from their degree in their current jobs.
