LONDON’S GLOBAL UNIVERSITY

UCL SUMMER SCHOOL

Language and the Mind: An Introduction to Psycholinguistics

Key Information

Module code ISSU0039

Taught during Session One: Monday 4 July - Friday 22 July 2022
Mode of delivery Face-to-face on campus
Module workload 45 teaching hours plus approximately 100 study hours
Module leader Dr Alina Konrad
Department Psychology and Language Sciences, Faculty of Brain Sciences
Credit 15 UCL credits, 7.5 ECTS, 4 US
Level Level 1, first year undergraduate
Pre-requisites Standard entry requirements
Assessment Three short quizzes (25% each), Presentation (25%)

Module Overview
This module is an introduction to Psycholinguistics, an interdisciplinary field of study which aims to understand
how humans learn, represent, comprehend, and produce language. It will begin by asking what it means to know
a language and explore the nature of our linguistic competence. Students will examine core properties of mental
representations and processes involved in acquiring and understanding language, and how linguistic processes
unfold in real time. Finally, students will explore issues in perception, production and acquisition in three core
domains: speech sounds, words, and sentences.

Week One:
• Linguistic competence
• Biological basis of language
• Acquisition of language
• Experimental design and methods

Week Two:
• Speech perception
• Understanding words
• Understanding sentences

Week Three:
• Processing discourse and reference
• Language production
Please note that this module description is indicative and may be subject to change.
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 • Neuroscience of language

Module Aims
The module aims to illustrate core issues in Cognitive Science through a discussion of the mental representations
and processes involved in acquiring and understanding language. An important goal of the course is for students
to appreciate how knowledge is created in Cognitive Science. Students will learn the basics of experimental
design and core experimental techniques, and they will work in small groups to design small-scale
psycholinguistics experiments, and to collect and analyse experimental data. The module will provide a
foundation for further study in Linguistics, Cognitive Psychology, and other areas of Cognitive Science and
Cognitive Neuroscience.

Teaching Methods
The classes will consist of lectures and interactive discussions and workshops. Students will be expected to
complete background readings prior to teaching sessions. The workshops will integrate discussions and
research-based learning activities for students to follow up on the topics introduced in lectures. Students will
work in small groups to conduct small-scale psycholinguistics experiments and give presentations to the rest of
the class discussing their work. Reading lists will be available online via the UCL library site. Students will be
directed towards class materials, further support and discussion forums on UCL’s Virtual Learning Environment.

Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion of this module, students will have:
• Appreciate of the relations between Linguistics and Cognitive Psychology and make links between
different areas of Cognitive Science
• Appreciate how knowledge is created in Cognitive Science through hands-on experience
• Be familiar with major theoretical models of language processing and representation
• Have gained a solid understanding of both the research methodologies used in Psycholinguistics and
many of the well-established major findings in the field
• Have developed active-learning and transferable skills (e.g. critical thinking, communication, and group
work skills).

Key Texts
Required text
• Fernández, Eva M., & Cairns, Helen Smith (2010). Fundamentals of Psycholinguistics. Chichester, UK:
Wiley-Blackwell. ISBN 9781405191470.
Supplementary texts
• Pinker, S. (1994/2007). The Language Instinct. New York: HarperCollins.
• Altmann, Gerry T. M. (1997). The ascent of Babel: an exploration of language, mind, and understanding.
Oxford.
• Harley, T.A. (2014). The psychology of language: From data to theory (4th Edition). Hove: Psychology
Press.
• Traxler, M.J., and Gernsbacher, M.A. (2006). Handbook of Psycholinguistics (2nd Edition). Academic
Press.
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Further reading will be suggested as the module progresses.

Please note that this module description is indicative and may be subject to change.
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Module Leader
Dr. Alina Konradt is a Lecturer (Teaching) in language acquisition and psycholinguistics at UCL, and a visiting
lecturer on the Early Childhood Studies program at the London University of Roehampton. Alina holds a BA in
Philology from St-Petersburg Gerthsen Pedagogical University, Russia; a BA in Early Childhood Studies from the
University of Roehampton; an MA in Linguistics from UCL, and an MSc in Neurolinguistics from UCL. In her PhD,
obtained at the department of Linguistics, UCL, Alina addressed issues concerning language processing and
production in young children and adults using experimental methods.

Please note that this module description is indicative and may be subject to change.
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