Unit name | Language and Literacy in Young Children |
---|---|
Unit code | SPOL30036 |
Credit points | 20 |
Level of study | H/6 |
Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 1 (weeks 1 - 12) |
Unit director | Dr. Lucas |
Open unit status | Open |
Pre-requisites |
None |
Co-requisites |
None |
School/department | School for Policy Studies |
Faculty | Faculty of Social Sciences and Law |
This unit will of most interest to students who have enjoyed psychology units, and/or are interested in early years and primary educational settings. It brings together current knowledge from psychology about how children learn to speak, read and write, and applies this to understand how education is (or should be) provided from infancy through early primary years. You will also learn about the importance of the social and cultural context for language and literacy development. Students who take this course enjoy the wide range of topics and materials provided, and the fascinating subject matter.
Areas of study include learning to speak and understand, theories of language acquisition, bilingualism, international migration and the language environment, understanding speech and language difficulties, learning to read, learning to write and spell and inequalities in literacy. Specialist lecturers are brought in to cover topics, for example a speech and language therapist to discuss language impairments and disorders.
Students are expected to take an active part in their learning, taking part in discussion of set readings and researching topics for seminars. The formative assessment is a mock exam, designed to give you feedback and support to practice for the final exam..
This unit aims to:
By the end of the studying this unit, students should be equipped to:
" Establish a critical understanding of relevant research
" Develop report writing and essay writing skills
" Evaluate educational approaches to supporting early literacy
Lectures, fieldwork and seminars.
Formative assessment: mock exam
Summative assessment: 3 hour unseen exam