Course Syllabus

Course Information
Course Number/Section Course is cross-listed as : HCS 6368-002 (3382) ; ACN
6368-002 (3336) ; PSYC 6368-002 (5119)
Call Number: 11674
Course Title Language Development
Term Fall 2010
Days & Times Wednesdays 2:30 – 5:15 PM
Location Callier Dallas A.105

Professor Contact Information

Professor Anne van Kleeck, PhD
Office Phone 214-905-3147
 (voice mail rarely checked)
Email Address annevk@utdallas.edu (much better contact option)
Office Location CD A.101
Office Hours Wednesdays, 12:30 – 1:30 PM or by appointment

COURSE PRE-REQUISITES, CO-REQUISITES, AND/OR OTHER RESTRICTIONS

None. Students may have had previous coursework in language development, but
this is not essential.

Microsoft WORD. Please have the most recent version of Microsoft WORD installed
on your computer. There are student prices available at the UTD Technology Store at
www.utdtechstore.com (full version of Microsoft OFFICE Mac 2008 is $33; Word 2010
for PC format is $49.99). Many of the files on eLearning are in the .docx format and
they will not open if you do not have this version.

COURSE DESCRIPTION

The goals of this course are to consider the developmental trajectories of the
different components of language; to consider the varied and critical roles of
language in human development; to understand the impact of culture, different
languages, child factors and the environment on development; and to be introduced
to the theoretical perspectives driving research and thinking in this area of inquiry.

STUDENT LEARNING OBJECTIVES:

1. Foundation in Psychological Sciences:

a. Students will recognize and distinguish among fundamental concepts
and theories in psychological sciences.
b. Assessed by:
i. Essay & multiple choice questions assessing target content of
core courses
ii. Assignments & Activities scored via rubrics
2. Critiquing Research:
a. Students will compare, summarize, and critically evaluate research
findings and theories in their major area of study.
b. Assessed by:
i. Essay questions assessing theories and research findings in
core & advanced courses
ii. Class presentations

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 iii. Paper
3. Teaching: Doctoral Students
a. Students will demonstrate the ability to teach in psychological
sciences.
b. Assessed by: Class presentations scored via rubric

Goals of readings (not all readings will be covered in class, and not all class
material will be covered in readings):

As this is a survey course, and an introduction to the topic for some students,
different readings have been assigned with different goals in mind. These include:

1. Providing chapters from language development textbooks and handbooks

that will be particularly helpful to those new to the study of language
development, and will provide an update and review for those who have
had previous coursework in language development (study guides are
provided for most of these to narrow the amount of detail students are
responsible for in this broad survey of the topic)
2. Sampling current empirical research within and across the various
domains of language development
3. Making connections between language development and other areas of
development, such as cognition
4. Making the connections that exist across the domains of language
development apparent (because we separate the domains only for
heuristic purposes)

Goals of different application activities:

1. Giving students the opportunity to review or practice concepts covered

2. Giving students some hands-on experience with analyzing children‟s
language from various perspectives.

GRADING POLICY

Master’s students:

40%: The first exam Oct 6th (multiple choice, matching, short answer, essay)
40%: 2nd cumulative exam Dec 1st (including information from class presentations)
10% Attending all classes & coming to class with readings completed and prepared
to participate thoughtfully in class discussion.
10% On-time completion of readings/study guides and application activities at a
graduate level of quality.

Doctoral students:

30%: The first exam Oct 6th (multiple choice, matching, short answer, essay)
30%: 2nd cumulative exam Dec 1st (including information from class presentations)
30%: Paper & presentation
20% Thorough reference list: September 15th
50% Paper Due: October 27th
30% Class presentation (date to be assigned)
10%: Class attendance and on-time completion of readings/study guides and
application activities at a graduate level of quality, coming to class with

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 readings completed and prepared to participate thoughtfully in class
discussion.

NOTE: MAKE UP EXAMS WILL NOT BE GVEN.

Plus/minus grading scale (UTD does not provide an A+ option):

A 94.5 - 100+
A- 89.5 - 94.4
B+ 86.5 - 89.4
B 84.5 - 86.4
B- 79.5 - 84.4
C+ 76.5 - 79.4
C 69.5 - 76.4

eLearning:

Users can log directly into the course by using the following URL:

https://elearning.utdallas.edu/webct/logon/488278368061

Topics, Readings, & Assignments

(These descriptions and timelines are subject to change at the discretion of
the Professor)

To access your readings:

Several (18) of your readings (marked with an asterisk) are available online at the
website below. The website just has the HCS6368 listing, but you all should be able
to get in just fine. Note that you can “Download All As Zip” (password will be given
to you in class which you may NOT share with anyone outside of our course):

http://utdallas.docutek.com/eres/coursepage.aspx?cid=838

The remaining are available for free download, because you are an enrolled student,
from the UTD library (look in Reading Assignment folder on Home page of
eLearning).

0. Problems with PowerPoint

September 1st Readings

Bumiller, E. (April 26, 2010). We have met the enemy and he is PowerPoint, New
York Times (2 pages)

Tufte, E. (2003, September). Power Point is evil. WIRED.

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 1. Why study language development?
Moving beyond its role in communication

SG = Study Guide available in eLearning folder called Study Guides

* = available at Website above

August 25th Intro and lecture

September 1st readings

*van Kleeck & Richardson (1987), The role of language in development (6

pages) (from a chapter) SG1

SG2:

Cimpian et al. (2007), Subtle linguistic cues affect children‟s

motivation (2 pages) (journal article: assignment folder)

Dessalegn & Landau (2008), More than meets the eye (6 pages)
(journal article: assignment folder)

Kray et al. (2006), Language and action control (4 pages) (journal

article: assignment folder)

1a. Components of language

September 1st reading

*Owens, (2008a), The territory (23 pages) (book chapter) SG3

2. Neurocognition & Language Development

September 8th reading (51 pages required)

*Friederici (2009), Neurocognition of language development (16 ½ pages)

(book chapter) SG4

See: for information on functional Near Infrared Spectroscopy (fNIRS) see

http://www.somanetics.com/our-technology/nirs-technology

3. Broad Cultural Issues

September 8th readings

*van Kleeck (1994), Potential cultural bias in training parents as

conversational partners with their language-delayed children (9 pages)
(journal article) SG5

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 Westby (2007), Being smart in a diverse world (6 pages) (journal article:
assignment folder) SG6

4. Infancy (across domains)

September 15th readings

SG7:
Gomez et al. (2006), Naps promote abstraction in language-learning
infants (4 pages) (journal article: assignment folder)

Bryant & Barrett (2007), Recognizing intentions in infant-directed

speech (5½ pages) (journal article: assignment folder)

Kovacs & Mehler (2009), Flexible learning of multiple speech

structures in bilingual infants. (1½ pages) (journal article: assignment
folder)

Christakis et al. (2009), Audible television and decreased adult words,

infant vocalizations, and conversational turns: A population-based
study. (4 pages) (journal article: assignment folder)

Kuhl, P.K. (2004), Early language acquisition: Cracking the speech code (10½
pages) (journal article: assignment folder) SG8

*Goldin-Meadow (2009), From gesture to word (15 pages) (book chapter)

SG9

5. Theories of Language Development

September 22nd readings

*Vigil & van Kleeck (1996) Clinical language teaching: Theories to guide our
responses when children miss our language targets. (30 pages) (book
chapter) SG10

September 29th readings:

Tomasello (2000) The item based nature of children‟s early syntactic

development SG11

*Tomasello, M. (2009) The usage-based theory of language acquisition. SG11

Hohenberger & Peltzer-Karpf (2009), Language learning from the perspective

of nonlinear dynamic systems (24 pages) (journal article: assignment folder)
SG12

EXAM 1: October 6th

6. Phonological development

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October 13th readings

*Stoel-Gammon & Dunn (1985), Normal phonological development (28

pages) (book chapter) SG13

*Stoel-Gammon, C. & Sosa, A. V. (2007), Phonological development (16

pages) (book chapter) SG14

Goldstein & Schwade (2008), Social feedback to infants‟ babbling facilitates

rapid phonological learning (8 pages) (journal article) SG15

Application activity #1 (AA1): Analyzing phonological processes (due next class)

Video files:

Listen to seven very short audio files at:

http://childes.psy.cmu.edu/topics/clips/clips.html

14 short video files, most of sound development, but a few of other early
communication skills:
http://www.babyzone.com/baby/nurturing/photos_language_development_mi
lestones

7. Morpho-Syntactic Development

October 20th readings: SG16

*Owens (2008b) Preschool development of language form (38 pages) (book

chapter)

Wagner, L., Swensen, L. D., & Naigles, L. R. (2009). Children‟s early

productivity with verbal morphology.

Leonard, L. & Deevy, P. (in press). Input distribution influences degree of

auxiliary use by children with specific language impairment.

On-line video clips on question formation:

How children ask questions AND What do you think what she said?

http://www.uga.edu/lsava/Topics/Language%20Acquisition/Language
%20Acquisition.html

8. Semantic Development

October 27th readings:

*Pan & Uccelli (2009), Semantic development (27 pages) (book chapter)
SG17

SG18:

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 Nelson et al. (2004), When children ask, „What is It?‟‟ what do they
want to know about artifacts? (5 pages) (journal article) SG

Nurmsoo & Bloom (2008), Preschoolers‟ perspective taking in word

learning (3½ pages)(journal article)

Shatzman & McQueen (2006), Prosodic knowledge affects the

recognition of newly acquired words (4½ pages) (journal article)

Application activity # 2 (AA2): Linguistic Ambiguity Humor (due next class)

9. Putting Language to Use: Pragmatic Development

Application activity: Model building instructions analysis of two children (due next
week)

November 3rd readings (34 pages)

*van Kleeck, no date, Pragmatics (6 pages + tables) SG19

*Bryant (2009), Language in social contexts: Communicative competence in

the preschool years (26 pages) (book chapter) SG20

Marsh, Elfenbein, & Ambady, N. (2003), Nonverbal “accents”: Cultural

differences in facial expressions of emotion. (2½ pages) (journal article)
SG21

Application activity # 3 (AA3): Model building instructions analysis of two children

(due next class)

10. Narrative Development

November 17th readings:

*Berman (2009). Language development in narrative contexts (20 pages)

(book chapter) Summarize (no study guide

*Westby (1994), The effects of culture on genre, structure, and style of oral
and written texts (31 pages) (book chapter) SG22

November 21st (NOTE: This is on SUNDAY, & is in lieu of the evening before
Thanksgiving)

No additional readings due.

Exam 2: December 1st

Full References for Readings

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Berman, R. A. (2009). Language development in narrative contexts. In E. L. Bavin
(Ed.), The Cambridge Handbook of Child Language (pp. 355 - 375).
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Bryant, G. A. & Barrett, H. C. (2007). Recognizing intentions in infant-directed

speech: Evidence for universals. Psychological Science, 18(8), 746 – 751.

Bryant, J. B. (2009). Language in social contexts: Communicative competence in the

preschool years. In J. B. Gleason & N. B. Ratner (Eds.), The development of
language (7th ed., pp. 192-226). Boston: Pearson Education.

Bumiller, E. (April 26, 2010). We have met the enemy and he is PowerPoint, New
York Times.

Christakis, D. A., Gilkerson, J., Richards, J. A., Zimmerman, F. J., Garrison, M. M.,
Xu, D., Gray, S. & Yapanel, U. (2009). Audible Television and Decreased Adult
Words, Infant Vocalizations, and Conversational Turns: A Population-Based
Study. Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, 163(6), 554 – 558.

Cimpian, A., Aree, H. C., Markman, E. M., & Dweck, C. S. (2007), Subtle linguistic
cues affect children‟s motivation. Psychological Science, 18(4), 314 – 316.

Dessalegn, B. & Landau, B. (2008), More than meets the eye: The role of language
in binding and maintaining feature conjunctions. Psychological Science, 19(2),
189 – 195.

Friederici, A. D. (2009). Neurocognition of language development In E. L. Bavin

(Ed.), The Cambridge Handbook of Child Language (pp. 51 - 67), Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press.

Goldin-Meadow, S. (2009). From gesture to word. In E. L. Bavin (Ed.), The

Cambridge Handbook of Child Language (pp. 145 - 160), Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press.

Goldstein, M. H. & Schwade, J. A. (2008). Social feedback to infants‟ babbling

facilitates rapid phonological learning. Psychological Science, 19(3), 515 –
523.

Gomez, R. L., Bootzin, R. R., & Nadel, L. (2006), Naps promote abstraction in
language-learning infants. Psychological Science, 17 (8), 670 – 674.

Hohenberger, A. & Peltzer-Karpf, A. (2009). Language learning from the perspective

of nonlinear dynamic systems. Linguistics, 47(4), 481 – 511.

Kovacs, A. M. & Mehler, J. (2009). Flexible learning of multiple speech structures in

bilingual infants. Science, 31, 611 – 612.

Kray, J., Eenshuistra, R., Kerstner, H., Weidema, M. & Hommel, B. (2006), Language
and action control: The acquisition of action goals in early childhood.
Psychological Science, 17(9), 737 – 741.

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Kuhl, P. K. (2004). Early language acquisition: Cracking the speech code. Nature
Reviews Neuroscience, 5, 831 - 843.

Leonard, L. & Deevy, P. (in press). Input distribution influences degree of auxiliary
use by children with specific language impairment. Cognitive Linguistics.

Marsh, A. A., Elfenbein, H. A., Ambady, N. (2003). Nonverbal "accents": Cultural

differences in facial expressions of emotion. Psychological Science, 14 (4),
373 -376

Nelson, D. G., Egan, L. C., & Holt, M. B. (2004). When children ask, „„what is it?‟‟
what do they want to know about artifacts? Psychological Science, 15 (6),
384 - 389.

Nurmsoo & Bloom (2008), Preschoolers‟ perspective taking in word learning: Do they
blindly follow eye gaze? Psychological Science, 19(3), 211 – 215.

Owens, R. E. Jr. (2008b). Preschool development of language form. Chapter in book

by Owens Language development: An introduction (7th ed., pp. 151-187).
Boston: Pearson Education.

Owens, R. E., Jr. (2008a). The territory. Chapter in book by Owens Language
development: An introduction (7th ed., pp. 1-27). Boston: Pearson Education.

Pan, B. A. & Uccelli, P. (2009). Semantic development: Learning the meanings of

words. In J. B. Gleason & N. B. Ratner (Eds.), The development of language
(7th ed., pp. 104-138). Boston: Pearson Education.

Shatzman, K. B. & McQueen, J. M. (2006). Prosodic knowledge affects the

recognition of newly acquired words. Psychological Science, 17(5), 372 – 377.

Stoel-Gammon, C. & Sosa, A. V. (2007). Phonological development. In E. Hoff & M.

Shatz (Eds), Blackwell handbook of language development (pp. 238 – 256).
Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing.

Stoel-Gammon, C., & Dunn, C. (1985). Normal phonological development. In Normal

and disordered phonology in children (pp. 15-46). Baltimore: University Park
Press.

Tomasello, M. (2000) The item based nature of children‟s early syntactic

development. Trends in Cognitive Science, 4 (4), 156 – 163.

Tomasello, M. (2009) The usage-based theory of language acquisition. In E. L. Bavin

(Ed.), The Cambridge Handbook of Child Language (pp. 69 – 87), Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press.

van Kleeck, A. (1994). Potential cultural bias in training parents as conversational

partners with their language-delayed children. American Journal of Speech
Language Pathology, 3, 67-78.

van Kleeck, A. (no date). Pragmatics: University of Texas at Austin.

9
van Kleeck, A., & Richardson, A. (1988). The role of language in development. From
chapter entitled: Language delay in the child. In N. Lass, L. McReynolds, J.
Northern & D. Yoder (Eds.), Handbook of speech-language pathology and
audiology (pp. 675-681). Philadelphia: B.C. Decker, Inc.

Vigil, A. & van Kleeck, A. (1996) Clinical language teaching: Theories to guide our
responses when children miss our language targets. In M. Smith & J. Damico
(Eds.), Childhood Language Disorders (pp. 64 – 96). New York: Thieme
Medical Publishers.

Wagner, L., Swensen, L. D., & Naigles, L. R. (2009). Children‟s early productivity
with verbal morphology. Cognitive Development, 24, 223 – 239.

Westby, C. (2007), Being smart in a diverse world. Communication Disorders

Quarterly, 29(1), 7 – 13.

Westby, C. (1994). The effects of culture on genre, structure, and style of oral and
written texts. In G. Wallach & K. Butler (Eds.), Language learning disabilities
in school-age children and adolescents (pp. 180-218). New York: Merrill.

Class presentations

Some Potential Topics:

Males & females: Are there differences in talkativeness and rate of

language development?

Impact of Electronic media on language development

Baby signs and language development

Second language exposure during infancy: What does the research

say?

The language development of twins

Baby signs and language development

Using neuroimaging in the study of early language development: Pros

and cons of various techniques

Additional course information HCS 6368 FALL 2009

Field Trip Policies / Off-Campus Instruction and Course Activities

Off-campus, out-of-state, and foreign instruction and activities are subject to state

10
 law and University policies and procedures regarding travel and risk-related
activities. Information regarding these rules and regulations may be found at the
website address http://www.utdallas.edu/BusinessAffairs/Travel_Risk_Activities.htm.
Additional information is available from the office of the school dean. Below is a
description of any travel and/or risk-related activity associated with this course.

Student Conduct & Discipline

The University of Texas System and The University of Texas at Dallas have
rules and regulations for the orderly and efficient conduct of their business. It
is the responsibility of each student and each student organization to be
knowledgeable about the rules and regulations which govern student conduct
and activities. General information on student conduct and discipline is
contained in the UTD publication, A to Z Guide, which is provided to all
registered students each academic year.

The University of Texas at Dallas administers student discipline within the

procedures of recognized and established due process. Procedures are
defined and described in the Rules and Regulations, Board of Regents, The
University of Texas System, Part 1, Chapter VI, Section 3, and in Title V,
Rules on Student Services and Activities of the university‟s Handbook of
Operating Procedures. Copies of these rules and regulations are available to
students in the Office of the Dean of Students, where staff members are
available to assist students in interpreting the rules and regulations (SU
1.602, 972/883-6391).

A student at the university neither loses the rights nor escapes the
responsibilities of citizenship. He or she is expected to obey federal, state,
and local laws as well as the Regents‟ Rules, university regulations, and
administrative rules. Students are subject to discipline for violating the
standards of conduct whether such conduct takes place on or off campus, or
whether civil or criminal penalties are also imposed for such conduct.

Academic Integrity

The faculty expects from its students a high level of responsibility and
academic honesty. Because the value of an academic degree depends upon
the absolute integrity of the work done by the student for that degree, it is
imperative that a student demonstrate a high standard of individual honor in
his or her scholastic work.

Scholastic dishonesty includes, but is not limited to, statements, acts or

omissions related to applications for enrollment or the award of a degree,
and/or the submission as one‟s own work or material that is not one‟s own.
As a general rule, scholastic dishonesty involves one of the following
acts: cheating, plagiarism, collusion and/or falsifying academic records.
Students suspected of academic dishonesty are subject to disciplinary
proceedings.

Plagiarism, especially from the web, from portions of papers for other classes,
and from any other source is unacceptable and will be dealt with under the
university‟s policy on plagiarism (see general catalog for details). This course

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 will use the resources of turnitin.com, which searches the web for possible
plagiarism and is over 90% effective.

Email Use

The University of Texas at Dallas recognizes the value and efficiency of

communication between faculty/staff and students through electronic mail. At
the same time, email raises some issues concerning security and the identity
of each individual in an email exchange. The university encourages all official
student email correspondence be sent only to a student‟s U.T. Dallas email
address and that faculty and staff consider email from students official only if
it originates from a UTD student account. This allows the university to
maintain a high degree of confidence in the identity of all individual
corresponding and the security of the transmitted information. UTD furnishes
each student with a free email account that is to be used in all communication
with university personnel. The Department of Information Resources at U.T.
Dallas provides a method for students to have their U.T. Dallas mail
forwarded to other accounts.

Withdrawal from Class

The administration of this institution has set deadlines for withdrawal of any
college-level courses. These dates and times are published in that semester's
course catalog. Administration procedures must be followed. It is the
student's responsibility to handle withdrawal requirements from any class. In
other words, I cannot drop or withdraw any student. You must do the proper
paperwork to ensure that you will not receive a final grade of "F" in a course if
you choose not to attend the class once you are enrolled.

Student Grievance Procedures

Procedures for student grievances are found in Title V, Rules on Student

Services and Activities, of the university‟s Handbook of Operating Procedures.

In attempting to resolve any student grievance regarding grades, evaluations,

or other fulfillments of academic responsibility, it is the obligation of the
student first to make a serious effort to resolve the matter with the instructor,
supervisor, administrator, or committee with whom the grievance originates
(hereafter called “the respondent”). Individual faculty members retain
primary responsibility for assigning grades and evaluations. If the matter
cannot be resolved at that level, the grievance must be submitted in writing
to the respondent with a copy of the respondent‟s School Dean. If the matter
is not resolved by the written response provided by the respondent, the
student may submit a written appeal to the School Dean. If the grievance is
not resolved by the School Dean‟s decision, the student may make a written
appeal to the Dean of Graduate or Undergraduate Education, and the deal will
appoint and convene an Academic Appeals Panel. The decision of the
Academic Appeals Panel is final. The results of the academic appeals process
will be distributed to all involved parties.

Copies of these rules and regulations are available to students in the Office of
the Dean of Students, where staff members are available to assist students in
interpreting the rules and regulations.

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Incomplete Grade Policy

As per university policy, incomplete grades will be granted only for work
unavoidably missed at the semester‟s end and only if 70% of the course work
has been completed. An incomplete grade must be resolved within eight (8)
weeks from the first day of the subsequent long semester. If the required
work to complete the course and to remove the incomplete grade is not
submitted by the specified deadline, the incomplete grade is changed
automatically to a grade of F.

Disability Services

The goal of Disability Services is to provide students with disabilities

educational opportunities equal to those of their non-disabled peers.
Disability Services is located in room 1.610 in the Student Union. Office
hours are Monday and Thursday, 8:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.; Tuesday and
Wednesday, 8:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.; and Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

The contact information for the Office of Disability Services is:

The University of Texas at Dallas, SU 22
PO Box 830688
Richardson, Texas 75083-0688
(972) 883-2098 (voice or TTY)

Essentially, the law requires that colleges and universities make those
reasonable adjustments necessary to eliminate discrimination on the basis of
disability. For example, it may be necessary to remove classroom
prohibitions against tape recorders or animals (in the case of dog guides) for
students who are blind. Occasionally an assignment requirement may be
substituted (for example, a research paper versus an oral presentation for a
student who is hearing impaired). Classes enrolled students with mobility
impairments may have to be rescheduled in accessible facilities. The college
or university may need to provide special services such as registration, note-
taking, or mobility assistance.

It is the student‟s responsibility to notify his or her professors of the need for
such an accommodation. Disability Services provides students with letters to
present to faculty members to verify that the student has a disability and
needs accommodations. Individuals requiring special accommodation should
contact the professor after class or during office hours.

Religious Holy Days

The University of Texas at Dallas will excuse a student from class or other
required activities for the travel to and observance of a religious holy day for
a religion whose places of worship are exempt from property tax under
Section 11.20, Tax Code, Texas Code Annotated.

The student is encouraged to notify the instructor or activity sponsor as soon

as possible regarding the absence, preferably in advance of the assignment.
The student, so excused, will be allowed to take the exam or complete the
assignment within a reasonable time after the absence: a period equal to the

13
 length of the absence, up to a maximum of one week. A student who notifies
the instructor and completes any missed exam or assignment may not be
penalized for the absence. A student who fails to complete the exam or
assignment within the prescribed period may receive a failing grade for that
exam or assignment.

If a student or an instructor disagrees about the nature of the absence [i.e.,

for the purpose of observing a religious holy day] or if there is similar
disagreement about whether the student has been given a reasonable time to
complete any missed assignments or examinations, either the student or the
instructor may request a ruling from the chief executive officer of the
institution, or his or her designee. The chief executive officer or designee
must take into account the legislative intent of TEC 51.911(b), and the
student and instructor will abide by the decision of the chief executive officer
or designee.

Off-Campus Instruction and Course Activities

Off-campus, out-of-state, and foreign instruction and activities are subject to

state law and University policies and procedures regarding travel and risk-
related activities. Information regarding these rules and regulations may be
found at the website address given below. Additional information is available
from the office of the school dean.
(http://www.utdallas.edu/BusinessAffairs/Travel_Risk_Activities.htm)

Study Skill Support

Students who need help with study skills, or additional help with basic writing
skills are encouraged to seek assistance at the UTD Learning Resources
Center: http://www.utdallas.edu/dept/ugraddean/lrc.html

ADDITIONAL STUDENT LEARNING OBJECTIVES for those seeking master’s

degrees in SLP

For students in this course who are master‟s students in speech-language pathology,
this course has been designed to ensure that students demonstrate required
knowledge and skill as outlined in the Standards and Implementation Guidelines for

14
the Certificate of Clinical Competence in Speech-Language Pathology. The specific
standards addressed in this class are: III-B, III-C, III-D, III-F, III-G, and IV-G

Students will be able to:

Analyze myriad perspectives regarding the role of language in human
development (that extend far beyond its obvious role in communication), and
speculate regarding the many and varied ways in which development might
therefore be affected by a language and/or communication delay or disorder
(Std. III-B, III-C).
Define the various components of language and the basic terminology used to
discuss them (Std. III-B).
Recall the developmental sequences in English of the various components of
language (phonology, syntax, morphology, semantics, & pragmatics) and
apply them to analyzing children‟s language samples (Std III-B, III-C, III-D).
Describe how different dialects and different first languages might influence
children‟s development of English in systematic ways (Std. III-B, III-C. III-D,
III-F, III-G).
Analyze and evaluate basic theories of language development, and determine
how each would influence language assessment and intervention (Std. III-B,
III-C, III- D; III-F).
Interpret data illuminating how cultural and linguistic differences can
influence all dimensions of language development and communicative
processes, compare and contrast how different cultural values and beliefs
might result in different patterns of communication with children that are
often not considered optimal for language development, and debate the
potential applications of this information to clinical or educational practices
(Std. III-B, III-C, III-D, III-F, III-G).
Explain endogenous (biological, neurological, cognitive, and psychological)
and exogenous (cultural, socioeconomic, and familial) factors that influence
language development (Std. III-B, III-C, III-D, III-F).
Analyze, synthesize, and evaluate information in order to draw conclusions
from direct empirical data and reason through discrepancies presented by
different data sets focused on the same area of inquiry (III-B, III-C, III-D,
III-F).
Apply ethical considerations and knowledge about professional issues that
relate to the assessment and treatment of language delays and disorders in
children

ASHA STANDARDS ADDRESSED IN THIS CLASS (including how knowledge

will be conveyed and how knowledge and skill acquisition will be
demonstrated)

Standard III-B: The applicant must demonstrate knowledge of basic human

communication and swallowing processes, including their biological,
neurological, acoustic, psychological, developmental, and linguistic and
cultural bases.

Specific knowledge will be demonstrated in this class in the area of normal language
and communication development, including the impact of cultural and linguistic
diversity on communication. Knowledge will be conveyed via class readings, lectures,
videotapes, and discussion. Acquisition will be demonstrated via class discussion,
homework projects, and quizzes.

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Standard III-C: The applicant must demonstrate knowledge of the nature of
speech, language, hearing, and communication disorders and differences
and swallowing disorders, including the etiologies, characteristics,
anatomical/physiological, acoustic, psychological, developmental, and
linguistic and cultural correlates.

Specific knowledge in this course will be focussed on the range of normal

development across cultural groups, which is foundational information for defining
disordered development, and differentiating disordered development from
development that is different. This course will foster thinking about these issues
regarding:

receptive and expressive language (phonology, morphology, syntax,

semantics, and pragmatics) in speaking, listening, modalities
cognitive aspects of communication
social aspects of communication

Knowledge will be conveyed via class readings, lectures, videotapes, and discussion.
Acquisition will be demonstrated via class discussion, homework projects, and
quizzes.

Standard III-D: The applicant must possess knowledge of the principles and
methods of prevention, assessment, and intervention for people with
communication and swallowing disorders, including consideration of
anatomical/physiological, psychological, developmental, and linguistic and
cultural correlates of the disorders.

Speciifc knowledge will be demonstrated in this class for language development,

differences, delays, and disorders. Knowledge will be conveyed via class readings,
lectures, videotapes, and discussion. Acquisition will be demonstrated via class
discussion, homework projects, and quizzes

Standard III-F: The applicant must demonstrate knowledge of processes

used in research and the integration of research principles into evidence-
based clinical practice.

One tool we will use in this course to explore language and communication
development is to look together at data sets, and think about how to best interpret
them. In some cases, different data sets will appear to “say” different things. As
such, it is critically important to be able to analyze, synthesize, and evaluate
information in order to draw conclusions from direct empirical data and reason
through discrepancies presented by different data sets focused on the same area of
inquiry.

Research is conducted and interpreted through a wide variety of theoretical lenses.

For this reason, in this course students will learn to analyze and evaluate theories of
language development, understand empirical evidence refuting or supporting them,
and understand how they influence how research is conducted and what is focused
upon in that research.

All of the developmental information in this course will be based on empirical studies
of children‟s language development. The extent to which we can “trust” this data

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varies, however, due to such factors as the narrow range of children who have been
study, the amount of research available, and the quality of research available. As a
result, some things we know about communication development are much more
firmly established than others. We will remain very cognizant of these issues as we
explore the various topics in the class.

Knowledge will be conveyed via class readings, lectures, videotapes, and discussion.
Acquisition will be demonstrated via class discussion, homework projects, and
quizzes.

Standard III-G: The applicant must demonstrate knowledge of

contemporary professional issues.

A professional issue that has become increasingly important, and will only continue
to do so, relates to having as much information as possible about cultural issues that
impact communication. Because communication is so very culturally shaped, we will
be continually exploring the role of culture in each and every dimension of
communication development.

Knowledge will be conveyed via class readings, lectures, videotapes, and discussion.
Acquisition will be demonstrated via class discussion, homework projects, and
quizzes.

STANDARD IV-G: The applicant for certification must complete a program of

study that includes supervised clinical experiences sufficient in breadth and
depth to achieve the skills outcomes [related to evaluation, intervention,
and interaction and personal qualities]. In addition to clinical experiences, skills
may be demonstrated through successful performance on academic coursework and
examinations, independent projects or other appropriate alternative methods.

Specific knowledge will be demonstrated in this class in the area of language.

Knowledge will be conveyed via class readings, lectures, videotapes, and discussion.
Acquisition will be demonstrated via class discussion, homework projects, and
quizzes.

Students will demonstrate the following skills:

1. Ability to discuss the pervasive roles of language in many aspects of children‟s

development, and speculate about the impact a language disorder might have on those
dimensions of development
As measured by:
Class discussion
Successful completion of quiz items on topic
Successful completion of readings, including answering questions about them
or providing summaries or commentaries/critiques

2. Ability to define the components of language

As measured by:
Class discussion
Successful completion of quiz items on topic
Homework assignments
Successful completion of readings, including answering questions about them

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 or providing summaries or commentaries/critiques

3. Identify phonological processes characteristic of children‟s early speech development

and speech disorders in older children
As measured by:
Ability to accurately identify phonological processes in examples of children‟s
speech in homework assignment
Successful completion of quiz items on topic
Ability to identify examples of different processes discussed in class
Successful completion of readings, including answering questions about them
or providing summaries or commentaries/critiques

4. Ability to recall the sequence of development of phonological, semantic, syntactic, and

pragmatic skills in children learning English as a first language
As measured by:
Class discussion
Successful completion of quiz items on topic
Successful completion of homework assignment on MLU, semantic relations, &
morphological development
Successful completion of readings, including answering questions about them
or providing summaries or commentaries/critiques

5. Ability to describe and analyze the influence of different dialects and different first
language on the development of the phonological and syntactic subsystems of English
As measured by:
Class discussion
Successful completion of quiz items on topic

6. Ability to identify and discuss environmental influences on language development and

issues in prevention
As measured by:
Successful completion of quiz items on topic
Class discussion
Successful completion of homework assignment on family interaction patterns
with young children
Successful completion of readings, including answering questions about them
or providing summaries or commentaries/critiques

7. Ability to interpret data illuminating how cultural values and beliefs shape the way in
which interaction with young children unfolds, compare and contrast the impact different
cultural practices might have on interaction patterns with young children, and debate
the potential applications of this to clinical or education practices
As measured by:
Successful completion of quiz items on topic
Class discussion
Successful completion of readings, including answering questions about them
or providing summaries or commentaries/critiques
8. Ability to identify and discuss endogenous variables that influence language
development
As measured by:
Successful completion of quiz items on topic
Class discussion
Successful completion of readings, including answering questions about them

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 or providing summaries or commentaries/critiques

9. Ability to discuss, analyze, evaluate, and explain theories of language development

As measured by:
Successful completion of quiz items on topic
Class discussion
Successful completion of readings, including answering questions about them
or providing summaries or commentaries/critique

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