Psychology

Child Language: Development, Disorders and Individual Differences

Module code: C8823
Level 6
15 credits in spring semester
Teaching method: Workshop
Assessment modes: Essay, Coursework

Language is vital to our ability to understand others and be understood ourselves. Children appear to acquire language almost effortlessly. Or do they?

In this module, you will learn more about the various aspects of language acquisition to better understand this important aspect of early child development.

Topics include:

• gestures
• accents
• vocabulary growth
• the role of sleep.

You'll focus mainly on typical development, but also discuss implications and findings from children with developmental disorders and learning differences. You look at language learning in non-laboratory environments, including the impact of television and electronic devices on children’s learning.

Pre-requisite

Pre-requisites include Developmental Psychology or equivalent.

Module learning outcomes

• Systematically understand key aspects of theories of child word learning and communication development
• Be able to critically evaluate relevance of empirical evidence, including research methods and testing, concerning language acquisition and communication development in children.