Department of Education, Unit Catalogue 2007/08 |
ED30194 Language, communication & learning |
| Credits: 6 |
| Level: Honours |
| Semester: 2 |
| Assessment: CW 100% |
| Requisites: |
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Aims: The unit aims to introduce students to issues concerning:
* The role of social interaction in language development; * Children's language acquisition and development; * The development of literacy and its social and cognitive consequences; * Language and literacy in the context of home and school; * Gender issues in language and literacy. Learning Outcomes: By the end of the unit students will be able to: * Understand issues concerning the role of social interaction in language development; * Understand issues concerning language, communication and learning in classrooms with reference to their professional experience in early educational settings and in key stage 1 and 2 classrooms; * Understand the external constraints on classroom communication; * Evaluate research into language, communication and learning in early educational settings and in key stage 1 and 2 classrooms. Skills: By the end of the Unit students will be able to: * Communicate an argument. * Evaluate others' arguments and research. * Select appropriate and relevant information from a range of sources. * Synthesise information from a number of sources in order to gain a coherent understanding. Content: The degree to which language development is/seems innate/genetically programmed; the degree to which language acquisition is socially and culturally conditioned; - the development of literacy and its social and cognitive consequences; the role of language in theories of learning. The language of home vs. the language of school; the sociology of education with respect to classroom language (e.g. Bernstein); socio-cultural perspectives on classroom processes (e.g. scaffolding). Language and communication problems in children. Gender issues in classroom language. |