Introduction to Course
Overview of today's class
- Take photos
- Introduction to course content
- Introduction to format and activities of the course
- Introduction to Compass software (in computer labs)
Photos
- Take digital photo of each student with NetID "badge,"
keeping list of NetIDs and names
- Photos will allow instructor and students to get to know
each other
- Photos will be made available on web only to students in
this course, under control of the student
Intro to course content
Three main topics
- Structure and use of human language
- Language acquisition
- Implications for education and child-rearing
Language
What is human language?
- How is human language structured?
- Phonology (sounds and how they are combined to form words)
- Lexicon (words)
- Syntax (how words are combined to form phrases and sentences)
- Semantics (meaning)
- Pragmatics (appropriate use in context)
- Hierarchial structure of language
- Phonetic features (e.g., bilabial, voiced) are combined to
form ->
- Phonemes (sounds) are combined to form ->
- Morphemes (words and parts of words) are combined to form
->
- Phrases are combined to form ->
- Sentences are combined to form ->
- Narratives (discourse)
- What is human language used for?
- Communication
- Thought
- Art: literature, poetry, music
- Could human culture and civilization be possible without
language?
What is the origin of language?
- How did human language originate?
- Why are there so many human languages (about 3,000 and shrinking)?
- What does the origin of language and its continued change
mean for a child acquiring language?
Some language puzzles
Plural formation in English
- What is the plural spoken form of cat, bee, church?
- i.e, what sound(s) is(are) put on the end to make it plural?
- Did you know the rule? (implicit vs. explicit)
- How did you learn it? memorized them?
- Then what about dap, wug, and poosh
- Distinction between implicit (tacit) and explicit knowledge
- For much of what we know (especially for language)
- We don't know that we know it
- We don't know what we know
- We don't know how we came to know it
- In other words, our implicit (tacit, procedural) knowledge
is not the same as our explicit (declarative) knowledge
Some additional puzzles
Pinker/Chomsky
- 003 (1.1) verb complements; dine, eat, devour, put
- John ate.
- John ate the pizza.
- ==========
- John dined.
- *John dined the pizza.
- ==========
- John devoured the pizza.
- *John devoured.
- ==========
- John put something somewhere.
- *John put something.
- *John put somewhere.
- *John put.
- 007 (1.6) datives
- John gave a painting to the museum.
- John gave the museum a painting
- ==========
- John donated a painting to the museum.
- *John donated the museum a painting.
- 008 (1.7) passives
- John touched Fred.
- John was touched by Fred. (also hit, see, like, kick, etc.)
- ==========
- John resembled Fred.
- *Fred was resembled by John.
- 008 (1.8) roll, cry
- The ball rolled.
- John rolled the ball. (also slid, melted, bounced, opened,
closed, etc.)
- ==========
- The baby cried.
- *John cried the baby.
- 008 (1.9) load, pour
- Irv loaded eggs into the basket.
- Irv loaded the basket with eggs. (also sprayed, crammed,
splashed, stuffed, etc.)
- ==========
- Irv poured water into the glass.
- *Irv poured the glass with water.
Vocabulary learning
- The cat is on the mat and "gavagai" problem
- newspaper problem (meaning depends on context; we have to
figure out the meaning anew in new situations
- Where is the newspaper?
- I read in the newspaper.
- The newspaper is having financial difficulties.
- The newspaper is on strike.
- They are picketing outside the newspaper.
- crazy English words (Lederer Richard, Crazy English)
- with
- England fought with France.
- England fought with France against Germany.
- bolt: to secure in one place; to dart away
- I'll bolt the door
- Did you see the horse bolt?
- dust: remove material from; spread material on
- Three times a week they dust the floor.
- Three times a year they dust the crops.
- dress: put items on; remove items from
- Let's dress for the party.
- Let's dress the chicken.
- sanction: give approval of; censure
- The NCAA sanctions all collegiate sports events.
- Should the UN impose new sanctions on Libya?
- brain injury dilemma; should ignore or treat have different
meanings?
- No brain injury is too trivial to ignore.
- No brain injury is too trivial to treat.
- young children learn about a dozen new words a day (about
1 for each hour awake); how is this done?
Expletive insertion
- where to insert the "f- word" (or "bloody"
if British) in:
- Cinderella
- Minnesota
- Ohio
- Arkansas
- Mississippi
- Iowa
- ==========
- Min-f-nesota?
- Minne-f-sota?
- Minneso-f-ta?
- Answer
- Minne-f-sota
- why?
- expletive must come before syllable with primary stress
- can't insert f-word in words with initial primary stress
like Arkansas or Delaware or Iowa (but can for Ohio)
- other examples
- *O-f-hio or *Ohi-f-o
- Missi-f-ssippi or *Mis-f-sissippi
- *Arkan-f-sas
- Illi-f-nois
- *Dela-f-ware
- note how difficult it is to use this word in the context
of a university course meeting; sociolinguistic rules of language
use
Language acquisition
- A normal child has mastered most of the sounds, grammar and
much of the vocabulary of his or her native language by the age
of four
- Four-year-old child "knows" more than the linguist
- How is this possible?
- Is language taught to children?
- How can parents or others teach language to children if they
themselves don't explicitly know its structure?
- Is it in some way innate?
- Then why don't we all speak the same language?
- Or do we? (language universals)
- Are there important or only superficial differences among
the world's 3,000 or so languages?
- What is the role of biological endowment (nature)
- Emphasized by Chomsky and other linguists
- What is the role of environment (nurture)
- Emphasized by many psychologists (psycholinguists) and educators
Implications for education and child-rearing
- Very important issues for education and child-rearing
- how to interact with children to facilitate language development
- Central importance of language and literacy skills in education
and career success
- What do we know of the structure of language, the human brain
and child development to facilitate the acquisition of language
(including literacy) skills at home and in school?
Intro to course format & activities
Format
- Combination of:
- Lecture & demonstrations
- Videos
- Group and cooperative learning activities
- Web-based quizzes, writing, evaluations using Compass
- Taking
advantage of technology for education
Activities
- Weekly cycles of:
read, quiz, write, listen, interact, evaluate
- Read (outside class)
- Quiz (outside class)
- Write (outside class)
- Student take weekly turns
- Consistent (odd student for odd-numbered assignment or even
student for even-numbered assignment)
- Post Summary, Critique, and Impact (SCI) statement on Compass
-> Weekly Assignments -> Week XX
- 1. Summary: Describe what you consider to be the major
points of the reading.
- 2. Critique: Describe what you agree and/or disagree
with, and why.
- 3. Impact: Describe how the reading has led you to
revise your knowledge about some aspect(s) of the topic (or why
it hasn't).
- Label each of the three parts of your statement with a paragraph
heading.
- One paragraph minimum (at least two sentences) for each of
the three parts.
- Inconsistent (odd student for even-numbered assignment or
even student for odd-numbered assignment)
- Post a Reaction ("Reply") to another student's
Summary, Critique & Impact statement on Compass.
- Listen (in class)
- Class lecture and/or demonstration by instructor or guest
speaker
- Videos
- Interact (in class)
- Small- and large-group cooperative learning activity
- Evaluate (outside class)
- Provide feedback on previous class activities on Compass
- For more information
Class notes
- Class notes via Course Calendar at http://www.ed.uiuc.edu/courses/edpsy313/calendar.html
- Will try to make updates to notes available on web by 8:00 am of day
of class
- HINT
- Consider printing out notes before class, adding blank
sheet to end, and then using back of next sheet for adding annotations
during class (punch holes on right side of sheet and order sheets
"backward" for adding to three-ring binder)
Groups
- (have students divided into Odd and Even groups on Compass before class)