Multilingualism and Cognition

6 ECTS credits
150 h study time

Offer 1 with catalog number 4020085ENR for all students in the 1st semester at a (E) Master - advanced level.

Semester

1st semester

Enrollment based on exam contract

Impossible

Grading method

Grading (scale from 0 to 20)

Can retake in second session

Yes

Taught in

English

Partnership Agreement

Under interuniversity agreement for degree program

Faculty

Faculty of Languages & Humanities

Department

Linguistics and Literary Studies

External partners

Universiteit Gent

Educational team

Esli Struys (course titular)

Activities and contact hours

13 contact hours Lecture
13 contact hours Seminar, Exercises or Practicals
75 contact hours Independent or External Form of Study

Course Content

This course focuses on the mental processes that are involved in understanding, producing, and controlling multiple languages in the multilingual individual. The first part of this course will provide an overview of the four main approaches involved in the study of language and the brain: 1) the behavioural approach; 2) the neuroimaging approach; 3) the clinical approach; 4) the computational approach. In the second part, we consider the mental processes involved in multilingual word recognition and production. In the third part, the important concept of bilingual language control is introduced, to conclude with a fourth part which will involve a discussion whether or not these control processes are specific to the language domain or domain-general. In this final section, the current bilingual advantage debate is used as an illustration as to how knowledge is constructed in the field of multilingualism and cognition. Special attention is given to the variety of different types of individual multilingualism that in interaction with society may shape cognitive processing in the multilingual brain.

The first three parts of this course will use the principles of blended learning, with group assignments to be prepared at home, and in-depth discussion in class, once in every two weeks.

Course material

Digital course material (Required) : Powerpoint slides in pdf and ppt are made available, provided by the teacher

Additional info

Esli.Struys@vub.be

Learning Outcomes

General compentencies

Students know and have insight into the main theoretical frameworks about language and cognitive processing in multilingual individuals and they can explain the mutual relationships between these frameworks.

Students can provide an evidence-based contribution to ongoing debates on the relationship between multilingualism and cognition.

Students can critically reflect on a recent research article in the field of multilingualism and cognition and they can communicate their reflections in a written report and an oral presentation.

Grading

The final grade is composed based on the following categories:
Written Exam determines 50% of the final mark.
Other Exam determines 50% of the final mark.

Within the Written Exam category, the following assignments need to be completed:

Individual paper with a relative weight of 10 which comprises 50% of the final mark.

Note: Individual paper with a critical reflection on a chosen scientific article in the domain of multilingualism and cognition

Within the Other Exam category, the following assignments need to be completed:

Individual presentation with a relative weight of 10 which comprises 50% of the final mark.

Note: Individual presentation based on feedback on the paper

Additional info regarding evaluation

All information regardig evaluation will be announced timely on the online learning platform. The student is responsible for ensuring that he/she is registered on the online learning platform. If the student encounters problems with the registration on the online learning platform, he/she is expected to notify the teacher as soon as possible by email.

The student will be graded for each evaluation component. If the student has not participated to one or more of the evaluation components, he/she will be given an ‘absent’ score. The paper will be evaluated with the assistance of software for detecting plagiarism.

The evaluation components are the same for the first and the second session. The results of individual components may, upon written request of the student via email, be transferred to the next exam session.

Allowed unsatisfactory mark

The supplementary Teaching and Examination Regulations of your faculty stipulate whether an allowed unsatisfactory mark for this programme unit is permitted.

Academic context