SOW-PSB3BC20E
Language in Progress
Course infoSchedule
Course moduleSOW-PSB3BC20E
Credits (ECTS)4
CategoryBA (Bachelor)
Language of instructionEnglish
Offered byRadboud University; Faculty of Social Sciences; Psychology;
Lecturer(s)
Coordinator
prof. dr. A.F.J. Dijkstra
Other course modules lecturer
Contactperson for the course
prof. dr. A.F.J. Dijkstra
Other course modules lecturer
Examiner
prof. dr. A.F.J. Dijkstra
Other course modules lecturer
Academic year2018
Period
PER2  (05/11/2018 to 03/02/2019)
Starting block
PER2
Course mode
full-time
Remarks-
Registration using OSIRISYes
Course open to students from other facultiesNo
Pre-registrationNo
Waiting listNo
Placement procedure-
Aims
Upon completion of the course:
  1. You will possess a scientific theoretical framework for understanding language as a tool for adult human communication, i.e., how intentions are expressed and understood in dialogue (FQ 1.2, 2.1)
  2. You will be able to apply the Language User Framework to decompose complex daily language use in constituent cognitive components (FQ 2.3)
  3. You will be able to understand, compare, and assess verbal and computational models of language processing (FQ 1.2)
  4. You will be aware of linguistic approaches to rules and representations, and of psycholinguistic theories on processing mechanisms governing language (FQ 1.2)
  5. You will be aware of modality-specific aspects of reading, listening, and speaking (FQ 1.3, 1.4, 1.5)
  6. You will be able to understand how EEG and fMRI studies contribute to revealing language processing and function location in the brain (FQ 1.1, 1.4)
  7. You can apply these insights to special populations (bilinguals, patients) (FQ 1.5, 2.1)
  8. You can apply the acquired concepts in the development of AI programs and in social domains like education (FQ 2.6).
Content
The following aspects of language representation and use will be discussed:
  • Fundamental linguistic and psycholinguistic concepts
  • The Mental Lexicon
  • Reading letters, words, sentences, and texts
  • Listening to sounds, words, and sentences in discourse
  • Speaking sounds, words, and sentences
  • Representation and processing of language by the brain.
Where appropriate, recent language-processing research by cognitive neuroscientists will be discussed.

Exam information
Written examination, consisting of 8 open-end questions covering all materials. During the course two partial informal exercise examinations are offered to prepare for the full and formal written examination.
Prerequisites
• Completed the first-year Psychology or other first-year university programme. In case of too many enrollments Psychology students have priority over students from other faculties or universities.
• Artificial Intelligence students can attend in their first-year, as long as they meet admission requirements for the second year.

Required materials
Syllabus
Dijkstra, T. (2018). The psychology of language: From body to mental model and back. Course manual Institute Psychology and Artificial Intelligence, Radboud University, Nijmegen. This syllabus will be made available through Brightspace.

Instructional modes
Lecture

General
14 sessions, 4 hours per week

Remark
Presence will be registered.

Tests
Written exam: open answer questions
Test weight1
Test typeExam
OpportunitiesBlock PER2, Block PER3