Welcome to the course!

In this course, we will be exploring the field of psycholinguistics together. This is a discipline that is fundamentally interested in the psychological processes that allow us humans to acquire, produce and comprehend language. We will cover several topics in each of these areas. Psycholinguistics is, by its nature, an interdisciplinary endeavour, which not only sits on the fence between psychology and linguistics, but also touches other areas in the cognitive sciences. 

Consultation hours: After prior arrangement via email over Zoom

Class format

Teaching takes place in blocks, four times per semester. If nothing major changes in the epidemiological situation, classes will take place in person. The teaching dates are as follows:

11/11 8:00 - 13:30 U43 - Language production
25/11 8:00 - 12:00 U35 - Language comprehension

16/12 8:00 - 13:30 U35 - Essay discussions

Our classes will consist of two parts - lectures and discussions.

In each of the first three weeks we will discuss one of the big areas of psycholinguistics - acquisition, production and comprehension. At the beginning of each block, there will be a lecture where we will discuss the fundamentals of a particular field of ​​psycholinguistics. This will be followed by discussion and a question-and-answer session. In the second part of the block, we will then focus on a specific topic from the given area. Reading lists will be assigned in advance for this part. The assigned literature will serve as the basis of the discussion. You will be divided into smaller groups in which you will debate the given topic among yourselves and with the teacher.

Reading and understanding the assigned studies is essential, as knowledge of them will be expected as part of the discussion part of the class. You don't only have to read the assigned studies! If you find other studies of your own on the topic and want to share with others in the discussion, it will be most welcome!

Assessment

This course will end with a colloquium. You will be tasked with writing an essay on a given question (1500 to 2000 words) from one of the three areas of psycholinguistics (acquisition, production, comprehension). You will write this essay in the period between the third and fourth blocks of teaching. In the fourth block, we will divide into three groups according to these areas. In class, we will discuss the topic together and debate your essays. This essay and the defense of your work in discussion will be evaluated. If the essay or defense is insufficient, you will have the opportunity to revise it during the exam period.

P.S.: If you're wondering what those wonderful blue bird-like creatures in the picture are, then I can tell you these are "wugs"! The wug is the mythical animal that represents psycholinguistics. It comes from an ingenious language acquisition experiment by Gleason (1958) that showed that children have an implicit knowledge of linguistic structure that they can apply to new words!