Psychology 3140F-001 (Online for 2020-2021)
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.
Unless you have either the prerequisites for this course or written special permission from your Dean to enrol 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: Dr. Debra Jared
Office and Phone Number: WIRB 5150 (519) 661-2111 x84631
Office Hours: Wednesdays 11:30-12:30 on Zoom:
https://westernuniversity.zoom.us/j/94025464480?pwd=WFRJR3RwY21pZWlZYmMwUE9zKzh2dz09
Email: djjared@uwo.ca
Teaching Assistant: Maziyah Mohamed
Email: mmoha87@uwo.ca
Office hours: by appointment
Scheduled Time of Classes: Monday 10:30-12:30; Wednesday 11:30-12:30
A Mid- term exam will be held in a Monday class time (Oct. 19), Dr. Jared’s office hours are in the Wednesday slot; however, the course lectures are asynchronous.
No changes will be made to course components in the event that there is a return to lock-down.
Students who are in emotional/mental distress should refer to Mental Health@Western
http://www.uwo.ca/uwocom/mentalhealth/ for a complete list of options about how to obtain help.
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 Student Accessibility Services (formerly known as Services for Students with Disabilities) at 519-661-2147.
3.0 TEXTBOOK
Course readings will be posted on OWL. Look under the Lesson for each class date for the reading for that class.
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 |
Assessment |
|
Depth and Breadth of Knowledge. Articulate the concepts and current states of knowledge in the cognitive study of bilinguals
|
Lectures Readings (journal articles) Videos |
Two essay exams, some mini-assignments |
|
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)
|
Two essay exams Assignment 2A
Assignment 2A, some mini-assignments
|
|
Application of Knowledge. Use evidence to support claims.
Critically evaluate the presentation of scientific ideas and research in the popular media. |
Lectures
|
Two essay exams
Assignment 1, some mini-assignments |
|
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)
Example articles |
Assignment 2
Assignment 1 |
|
Autonomy and Professional Capacity Demonstrate initiative, personal responsibility and accountability |
Western English Language Centre online volunteer (an option) |
Assignment 2B |
Note: students will do either Assignment 2A or Assignment 2B. Assignment 2B is for students who choose the WELC option.
5.0 EVALUATION
Grades in the course will be based on two exams (20%, and 30% for the mid-term and final exam, respectively), weekly mini-assignments (best 10/13 for 20%) and two assignments (10%, and 20% for Assignments 1 and 2, respectively). Exams will be essay 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. The weekly mini-assignments will be graded for quality- you will not get the associated marks just for handing something in. The assignments require written work of approximately 4 pages in length for Assignment 1 and 6 pages for Assignment 2. Because this is an essay course, as per Senate regulations, you must pass the essay component of the course to pass the course (i.e., you must have earned at least 25 out of the 50 possible points for assignments).
Students will be offered the opportunity to interact with students enrolled in Western’s English Language Centre. This centre is housed in our faculty of education. Instructors in the centre assist international students to develop their English language skills so that they can handle a university program in English. Students in this course will be expected to attend three Zoom class sessions and to engage in several on-on-one conversation sessions with their students. Students who decide to complete this option will be offered an alternative to Assignment 2.
Although this course is exempt from the Senate requirement that students receive assessment of their work accounting for at least 15% of their final grade at least three full days before the date of the deadline for withdrawal from a course without academic penalty, over half of the mini-assignments, Assignment 1 (10%), and the mid-term (20%) will be completed before the November 8 date for this requirement.
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
Grades will be rounded only to the nearest whole number, that is, marks ending in a 4 or a 9 (e.g., 74 and 79) will not be rounded up a mark. No additional assignments will be offered to enhance a final grade, nor will any requests be considered for additional marks because they are needed for a grad/law/med school application, etc. To maximize your grade, do your best on each and every component during the course.
6.0 ASSESSMENT/EVALUATION SCHEDULE
There will be two exams, on Oct. 19 (10:30-12:30 am EST) and during the December exam period (December 11-22, to be scheduled by the Registrar). The exams will be synchronous “take-home” exams that will need to be completed within strict time limits (2 hours for the mid-term, 3 hours for the final). The exams will not be proctored and are “open book”.
All mini-assignments will be due on Wednesday by 5 pm EST of the week of the corresponding lectures, but will be accepted without penalty until 5 pm EST on the Friday. Use the extra time only if you really need it. No further extensions will be given. A mark of 0 will be given for assignments that are not submitted by Friday at 5 pm, except in the case of a documented long-term illness. The best 10/13 will be included in your final mark. Use the 3 “weeks off” very carefully- save them in case you get ill or a family emergency arises (i.e., these are your “sick days”). No additional mini-assignments will be created by the instructor. You do not need to inform the instructor when you choose to skip a mini- assignment.
Assignments 1 and 2 will be due Wednesday Oct. 21 and Wednesday Dec. 2, respectively, but will be accepted without penalty until 5 pm on the subsequent Friday. SRAs will apply only to the actual deadlines (Wednesdays). Assignments 1 & 2 that are submitted after Friday at 5 pm will incur a penalty of 10% per day (i.e., for each 24-hour period or part thereof), including weekends.
You are responsible for ensuring that the final copies of your assignments are correctly uploaded on time. “I uploaded the wrong version” is not an acceptable excuse for submitting an assignment late.
7.0 CLASS SCHEDULE
Sept. 8 – 11 Languages in Canada; Characteristics of bilinguals
Sept. 14 – 18 Bilingual memory
Sept. 21 – 25 Word reading in bilinguals
Sept. 28 – Oct. 2 Perceiving and producing speech
Oct. 5 – 9 Language selection and control; Cognitive consequences of bilingualism
Oct. 12 –16 Thanksgiving; Simultaneous interpreting
Oct. 19 – 23 Mid-term; Code switching
Oct. 26 – 30 Bilingual brain & aphasia
Nov. 2 – 6 Fall Reading Week
Nov. 9 – 13 Acquiring sounds
Nov. 16 – 20 Acquiring words
Nov. 23 – 27 Acquiring grammar
Nov. 30 – Dec. 4 Language & thought; Individual differences in acquisition
Dec. 7– 9 Bilingual education
8.0 STATEMENT ON ACADEMIC OFFENCES
Students are responsible for understanding the nature and avoiding the occurrence of plagiarism and other scholastic offences. Plagiarism and cheating are considered very serious offences because they undermine the integrity of research and education. Actions constituting a scholastic offence 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 offences. 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).
Computer-marked multiple-choice tests and/or exams will be subject to submission for similarity review by software that will check for unusual coincidences in answer patterns that may indicate cheating.
In classes that involve the use of a personal response system (PRS), data collected using the PRS will only be used in a manner consistent to that described in this outline. It is the instructor’s responsibility to make every effort to ensure that data remain confidential. However, students should be aware that as with all forms of electronic communication, privacy is not guaranteed. Your PRS login credentials are for your sole use only. Students attempting to use another student’s credentials to submit data through the PRS may be subject to academic misconduct proceedings.
Possible penalties for a scholastic offence include failure of the assignment/exam, failure of the course, suspension from the University, and expulsion from the University.
9.0 POLICY ON ACCOMMODATION FOR ILLNESS OR OTHER ABSENCES
Western’s policy on Accommodation for Medical Illness can be found at:
http://www.westerncalendar.uwo.ca/PolicyPages.cfm?PolicyCategoryID=1&Command=showCategory&SelectedCalendar=Live&ArchiveID=#Page_12
The full policy for consideration for absences can be accessed at: https://www.uwo.ca/univsec/pdf/academic_policies/appeals/Academic_Consideration_for_absences.pdf
If you experience an extenuating circumstance (e.g., illness, injury) sufficiently significant to temporarily make you unable to meet academic requirements, you may request accommodation through the following routes:
- Submitting a Self-Reported Absence form (for circumstances that are expected to resolve within 48 hours);
- For medical absences, submitting a Student Medical Certificate (SMC) signed by a licensed medical or mental health practitioner in order to be eligible for Academic Consideration;
- For non-medical absences, submitting appropriate documentation (e.g., obituary, police report, accident report, court order, etc.) to Academic Counselling in their Faculty of registration in order to be eligible for academic consideration. Students are encouraged to contact their Academic Counselling unit to clarify what documentation is appropriate.
Students must see the Academic Counsellor and submit all required documentation in order to be approved for certain accommodation. The self-reported absence form must be submitted before the exam/coursework deadline in order to be valid. It may NOT be used for absences longer than 48 hours; coursework/tests/exams/etc., worth more than 30% of the final grade; or exams scheduled in the December or April final-exam periods: http://counselling.ssc.uwo.ca/procedures/medical_accommodation.html
Students seeking academic consideration:
- are advised to consider carefully the implications of postponing tests or midterm exams or delaying handing in work;
- are encouraged to make appropriate decisions based on their specific circumstances, recognizing that minor ailments (upset stomach) or upsets (argument with a friend) are not normally an appropriate basis for a self-reported absence;
- must communicate with their instructors no later than 24 hoursafter the end of the period covered by either the self-reported absence or SMC, or immediately upon their return following a documented absence
10.0 Contingency Plan for Return to Lockdown
In the event of a COVID-19 resurgence during the course that necessitates the course delivery moving away from face-to-face interaction, all remaining course content will be delivered entirely online, either synchronously (i.e., at the times indicated in the timetable) or asynchronously (e.g., posted on OWL for students to view at their convenience). The grading scheme will not change. Any remaining assessments will also be conducted online as determined by the course instructor.
11.0 STATEMENTS CONCERNING ONLINE ETIQUETTE
In courses involving online interactions, the Psychology Department expects students to honour the following rules of etiquette:
- please “arrive” to class on time
- please use your computer and/or laptop if possible (as opposed to a cell phone or tablet)
- please ensure that you are in a private location to protect the confidentiality of discussions in the event that a class discussion deals with sensitive or personal material
- to minimize background noise, kindly mute your microphone for the entire class until you are invited to speak, unless directed otherwise
- In classes larger than 30 participants please turn off your video camera for the entire class unless you are invited to speak
- In classes of 30 students or fewer, where video chat procedures are being used, please be prepared to turn your video camera off at the instructor’s request if the internet connection becomes unstable
- Unless invited by your instructor, do not share your screen in the meeting
The course instructor will act as moderator for the class and will deal with any questions from participants. To participate please consider the following:
- If you wish to speak, use the “raise hand” function and wait for the instructor to acknowledge you before beginning your comment or question.
- Please remember to unmute your microphone and turn on your video camera before speaking.
- Self-identify when speaking.
- Please remember to mute your mic and turn off your video camera after speaking (unless directed otherwise).
General considerations of “netiquette”:
- Keep in mind the different cultural and linguistic backgrounds of the students in the course.
- Be courteous toward the instructor, your colleagues, and authors whose work you are discussing.
- Be respectful of the diversity of viewpoints that you will encounter in the class and in your readings. The exchange of diverse ideas and opinions is part of the scholarly environment. “Flaming” is never appropriate.
- Be professional and scholarly in all online postings. Use proper grammar and spelling. Cite the ideas of others appropriately.
Note that disruptive behaviour of any type during online classes, including inappropriate use of the chat function, is unacceptable. Students found guilty of Zoom-bombing a class or of other serious online offenses may be subject to disciplinary measures under the Code of Student Conduct.
12.0 OTHER INFORMATION
Office of the Registrar: http://registrar.uwo.ca
Student Development Services: 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
- 2020-2021 Calendar References
Copyright Statement: Lectures and course materials, including power point presentations, outlines, videos and similar materials, are protected by copyright. You may take notes and make copies of course materials for your own educational use. You may not record lectures, reproduce (or allow others to reproduce), post or distribute any course materials publicly and/or for commercial purposes without the instructor’s written consent.
