Psychology 3140F-001

Bilingualism

If there is a discrepancy between the outline posted below and the outline posted on the OWL course website, the latter shall prevail.

1.0    CALENDAR DESCRIPTION

This course will examine how people acquire, process and use a second language. Topics will
include simultaneous and sequential bilingualism, the critical period hypothesis, theories of
bilingual language representation, cross-language transfer, language selection and switching,
simultaneous interpreting, cognitive consequences of bilingualism, the bilingual brain and
bilingual education.


Antirequisite: Psychology 3990F


Antirequisites are courses that overlap sufficiently in content that only one can be taken for
credit. So if you take a course that is an antirequisite to a course previously taken, you will lose
credit for the earlier course, regardless of the grade achieved in the most recent course.


Prerequisites: Psychology 2820E or both Psychology 2800E and 2810, and one of Psychology
2134A/B or 2135A/B


Unless you have either the prerequisites for this course or written special permission from your
Dean to enroll in it, you may be removed from this course and it will be deleted from your record.
This decision may not be appealed. You will receive no adjustment to your fees in the event that
you are dropped from a course for failing to have the necessary prerequisites.

3 lecture hours, 0.5 course

2.0    COURSE INFORMATION

Instructor: Xuan Pan
Office: SSC 7222
Office Hours: by appointment
Email: xpan55@uwo.ca


Teaching Assistant: Syed Raza
Office: WIRB 5115, desk B6
Office Hours: Monday 2-3pm
Email: sraza58@uwo.ca


Time and Location of Classes: Monday 11:30-1:30; Wednesday 11:30-12:30 SSC 3022

If you or someone you know is experiencing distress, there are several resources here at Western to assist you.  Please visit:  http://www.uwo.ca/uwocom/mentalhealth/ for more information on these resources and on mental health.

Please contact the course instructor if you require material in an alternate format or if you require any other arrangements to make this course more accessible to you. You may also wish to contact Services for Students with Disabilities (SSD) at 519-661-2111 ext 82147 for any specific question regarding an accommodation.

3.0  TEXTBOOK

There is no text. Course readings will be posted on OWL 

4.0    COURSE OBJECTIVES

The goal of the course is for students to develop an understanding of issues and theories of bilingual
language processing, and how these can be addressed through research. Students can expect to
develop their ability to read journal articles in psychology and to express their understanding orally and in
writing.

   4.1    STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES

By the end of this course, the successful student should be able to:
Learning Outcome  Learning Activities  How Assessed
Depth and Breadth of
Knowledge.
Articulate the concepts and
current states of knowledge in the
cognitive study of bilinguals
Lectures
Readings (journal articles)
Class discussion
Videos
Three essay exams
Knowledge of Methodologies.
Access, interpret and critically
evaluate research on the cognitive
aspects of bilingualism.
Formulate a research hypothesis
to address a question about
bilingualism and design a
research project to test that
hypothesis.
Lectures
Readings (journal articles)
Class discussion
Assignment
Research proposal
Three essay exams
Assignments 2-4
Assignment #1 (design
materials to test a
hypothesis)
Assignment #4 (research
proposal)
Application of knowledge.
Use evidence to support claims.
Critically evaluate the presentation
of scientific ideas and research in
the popular media.
Lectures
Read two articles about
bilingualism in the popular
media
Three essay exams
Assignments 2 & 3
Communication Skills.
Communicate in writing
accurately, clearly and logically,
using the discourse of the
discipline of psychology
Communicate psychological
knowledge in writing in a way that
would be understandable to a
non-specialist audience
Readings (journal articles)
Assignment
Assignments
Assignment 4
Assignments 2 & 3  

5.0     EVALUATION

You must pass the essay component of the course to pass the course (i.e., you must have earned at least 20 out of the 40 possible points for assignments).

Grades in the course will be based on three exams (15%, 20% and 25% for exams 1-3, respectively), and
4 written assignments (5%, 10%, 10%, and 15% for Assignments 1-4, respectively). The first 3
assignments will be approximately 3-4 pages in length and the 4th will be approximately 5 pages. 


Although the Psychology Department does not require instructors to adjust their course grades to conform to specific targets, the expectation is that course marks will be distributed around the following averages:


70%     1000-level and 2000-level courses
72%     2190-2990 level courses
75%     3000-level courses
80%     4000-level courses
   
The Psychology Department follows Western's grading guidelines, which are as follows (see http://www.uwo.ca/univsec/pdf/academic_policies/general/grades_undergrad.pdf):

A+  90-100      One could scarcely expect better from a student at this level
A    80-89        Superior work that is clearly above average
B    70-79        Good work, meeting all requirements, and eminently satisfactory
C    60-69        Competent work, meeting requirements
D    50-59        Fair work, minimally acceptable
F    below 50    Fail



6.0  TEST AND EXAMINATION SCHEDULE

There will be exams on Oct. 17, Nov. 14, and during the December exam period. Exams will be short
essay (a paragraph or two) format and will require that information be drawn from both lecture
material and course readings. The final exam is cumulative, in that it will include questions on
material from across the course.


Assignments will be due Oct. 15, Oct. 31, Nov. 12 and Dec. 5. Late assignments will incur a penalty
of 10% per day, including weekends.

7.0   CLASS SCHEDULE

Sept. 10 & 12 Languages in Canada; Characteristics of bilinguals
Sept. 17 & 19 Bilingual memory
Sept. 24 & 26 Word reading in bilinguals
Oct. 1 & 3 Perceiving and producing speech
Oct. 8 & 10 Fall Reading Week- no class
Oct. 15 Language selection and control
Oct. 17 Mid-term exam 1
Oct. 22 Cognitive consequences of bilingualism
Oct. 24 & 29 Code switching and simultaneous interpreting
Oct. 31 & Nov. 5 Acquiring sounds
Nov. 7 & 12 Acquiring words
Nov. 14 Mid-term exam 2
Nov. 19 Acquiring grammar
Nov. 21 & 26 Conceptual representations/ Language & thought
Nov. 28 & Dec. 3 Bilingual brain & aphasia
Dec. 5 Bilingual education

8.0     STATEMENT ON ACADEMIC OFFENCES

Students are responsible for understanding the nature and avoiding the occurrence of plagiarism and other scholastic offenses. Plagiarism and cheating are considered very serious offenses because they undermine the integrity of research and education. Actions constituting a scholastic offense are described at the following link:  http://www.uwo.ca/univsec/pdf/academic_policies/appeals/scholastic_discipline_undergrad.pdf

As of Sept. 1, 2009, the Department of Psychology will take the following steps to detect scholastic offenses. All multiple-choice tests and exams will be checked for similarities in the pattern of responses using reliable software, and records will be made of student seating locations in all tests and exams. All written assignments will be submitted to TurnItIn, a service designed to detect and deter plagiarism by comparing written material to over 5 billion pages of content located on the Internet or in TurnItIn’s databases. All papers submitted for such checking will be included as source documents in the reference database for the purpose of detecting plagiarism of papers subsequently submitted to the system. Use of the service is subject to the licensing agreement, currently between Western and Turnitin.com http://www.turnitin.com

Possible penalties for a scholastic offense include failure of the assignment, failure of the course, suspension from the University, and expulsion from the University.



9.0    POLICY ON ACCOMMODATION FOR MEDICAL ILLNESS

Western’s policy on Accommodation for Medical Illness can be found at:
http://westerncalendar.uwo.ca/PolicyPages.cfm?Command=showCategory&PolicyCategoryID=1&SelectedCalendar=Live&ArchiveID=#Page_12 

Students must see the Academic Counsellor and submit all required documentation in order to be approved for certain accommodation:
http://counselling.ssc.uwo.ca/procedures/medical_accommodation.html


10.0        OTHER INFORMATION

Office of the Registrar web site:  http://registrar.uwo.ca

Student Development Services web site: http://www.sdc.uwo.ca

Please see the Psychology Undergraduate web site for information on the following:

    http://psychology.uwo.ca/undergraduate/student_responsibilities/index.html

- Policy on Cheating and Academic Misconduct
- Procedures for Appealing Academic Evaluations
- Policy on Attendance
- Policy Regarding Makeup Exams and Extensions of Deadlines
- Policy for Assignments
- Short Absences
- Extended Absences
- Documentation
- Academic Concerns
- 2018 Calendar References

No electronic devices, including cell phones and smart watches, will be allowed during exams.