Language Acquisition and Language Learning
Code
722131032
Academic unit
Faculdade de Ciências Sociais e Humanas
Department
Linguística
Credits
10
Teacher in charge
Ana Maria Lavadinho Madeira, João Marques da Costa, Maria Sousa Lobo Gonçalves
Weekly hours
3 letivas + 1 tutorial
Teaching language
Portuguese
Objectives
a) To provide students with opportunities to develop in-depth knowledge of models of analysis and fundamental theoretical concepts in the area of Second / Foreign Language Acquisition, as well as of research methods for the collection, treatment and analysis of acquisition data, by exposing them to the primary literature in the area.
b) To enable students to develop skills which will enable them to research and interpret information autonomously and to critically evaluate competing theoretical proposals.
c) To provide students with training in the scholarly presentation of published work in the area, as well as of their own research work, encouraging them to develop the ability to construct structured arguments.
d) To enable students to develop the ability to apply theoretical concepts and empirical tools in original research in the area of Second / Foreign Language Acquisition.
Prerequisites
None.
Subject matter
1. Methods for collection, treatment and analysis of acquisition data.
2. Theoretical approaches in the area of Second Language Acquisition.
3. Acquisition of morphosyntactic properties.
4. Acquisition of the lexicon and of properties on the lexicon-syntax interface.
5. The syntax-semantics interface.
6. The syntax-pragmatics interface.
Bibliography
ARCHIBALD, J. (org.) (2000), Second Language Acquisition and Linguistic Theory. Oxford: Blackwell.
HAWKINS, R. (2001), Second Language Syntax: A Generative Introduction. Oxford: Blackwell.
HOEKSTRA, T. & B. SCHWARTZ (orgs.) (1994), Language Acquisition Studies in Generative Grammar. Amsterdam/Philadelphia: John Benjamins.
RITCHIE, W. & T. BHATIA (orgs.) (1996), Handbook of Second Language Acquisition. San Diego: Academic Press.
WHITE, L. (2003), Second Language Acquisition and Universal Grammar. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Teaching method
The topics to be addressed in the seminars will be scheduled at the beginning of each semester. Students should read the recommended texts in preparation for each seminar. There will be regular tutorial sessions with individual students or in small groups.
Evaluation method
(a) Participation in seminar discussions, with presentation of assigned readings and discussion of topics (30%).
(b) Research essay on a topic of the students own choice (70%).