The aim of the course is to examine how children learn to listen like and sound like the native speakers of their language. To this end, it provides a comprehensive account of major qualitative and quantitative changes during the construction of children’s phonetic/phonological system in the first years of life and throughout childhood. The course will initially address influential theoretical frameworks which have informed the study of phonological development including the behaviourist, structuralist, generative, cognitive and biological models. It will also present important methodological issues concerning the experimental procedures adopted in perception and production research for phonological development. It will proceed to a description of the perceptual capacities of the infant and early vocal production during the first year of life. The transition to language in the second year of life will follow and later developments including the emergence of the segment, vocabulary growth and prosodic development will be examined. Finally, the course will present selected characteristics of phonological disorders and some of the most influential frameworks and experimental studies regarding the acquisition of second language phonology. Overall , the course will provide an overview of child phonological data and discuss its connections to phonological theory. Course handouts and other materials (audio files, videos, internet sites) are uploaded on e-class. Learning outcomes: n Knowledge of theoretical approaches to phonological development and ability to evaluate their contribution n Knowledge of key concepts in infant speech perception and production n An understanding of the factors that influence speech perception and production during infancy and childhood n Knowledge of key methodological issues in experimental work on phonological development n Ability to analyse child data and evaluate different approaches to phonological analysis n Ability to critically review current research in the field of phonological development. Course textbook and outline/list of readings are available. Assessment: Final seen exam: three theoretical questions (100%). Students will be given seven theoretical questions to prepare at home using multiple bibliographical sources including current research papers. They will be examined on three of these questions selected by the instructor. Students need to answer all three questions to pass the course.
