CASD 7107 Advanced Language Acquisition (Epstein): Syllabus and Schedule

A.  COURSE DESCRIPTION

This course will involve the study of typically developing children, focusing on phonological, semantic, morphological, syntactic, and pragmatic development from pre-linguistic to complex language development. Major topics include contemporary models and key issues in typical speech-language acquisition, including the nature of language and its components, models and theories of language acquisition, and neurological, biological, cognitive, social-emotional, environmental, and cultural foundations of speech-language development. Students will engage in experiential learning activities that include collecting, transcribing, and analyzing children’s spontaneous speech-language samples. Bilingual and second language acquisition will be introduced. The impact of culture on language development will be infused throughout the course content. Class format will include lecture, organized discussion, group assignments, and student presentations.

B.  COURSE OBJECTIVES 

Students are required to achieve the following learner outcomes by the conclusion of this course. The 2020 ASHA Certification Standards that correspond with these learner outcomes are specified below.

Students will be able to:

1. Demonstrate knowledge of the basic components of language (form, content, and use) and the interactions among them.
2. Demonstrate understanding of the biological, neurological, cognitive, social, and cultural variations that influence the development of form, content, and use. 
3. Demonstrate knowledge of the major theories of child language acquisition and similarities and differences across theories.
4. Identify typical language learning patterns in monolingual and bilingual speakers.  
5. Demonstrate knowledge of the cognitive and social aspects of language development from pre-linguistic to early language complexity.
6. Compare and contrast theories of language acquisition and how premises of these theories are applied to assessment and intervention. 
7. Collect, transcribe, analyze, and interpret spontaneous language data and incorporate these data into a comprehensive assessment.
8. Differentiate a language difference and a language disorder.

Assessment formats:

Exams, classroom discussion, language sample analysis project and presentation.

2020 ASHA Certification Standards:

Standard IV-B: 

The applicant must have demonstrated knowledge of basic human communication (and swallowing) processes, including the appropriate biological, neurological, acoustic, psychological, developmental, and linguistic and cultural bases. The applicant must have demonstrated the ability to integrate information pertaining to normal and abnormal human development across the lifespan.

Standard IV-D:

The applicant must have demonstrated current knowledge of the principles and methods of prevention, assessment, and intervention for persons with communication (and swallowing) disorders, including consideration of anatomical/physiological, psychological, developmental, and linguistic and cultural correlates.

C. PROGRAM GRADING POLICY FOR ACADEMIC COURSES

Students must successfully complete all courses with a grade of B or higher.  A grade of B or higher in the course presumes that the student has satisfactorily completed all formative and summative assessment activities, and thus, the fulfillment of all listed learner outcomes, unless otherwise stipulated by the instructor.  Regardless of assigned course grade, an instructor may require a Performance Improvement Plan (PIP, see below) if there is a learner objective(s) that has not been satisfactorily completed for the course.

A grade of B- or C+, in the course presumes that not all formative and summative assessment activities have been satisfactorily completed and will result in a PIP. The satisfactory completion of the PIP presumes that the student has fulfilled all learner outcomes for the course but will not result in a change of course grade.  If the student fails to satisfactorily complete the PIP on or before the date assigned by the instructor, the student will be required to retake the course. If the instructor determines that the PIP must be completed during the following semester, this may delay the student’s progression through courses or the clinical sequence. If the student passes the course with a grade of B or higher upon retaking the course, the student will be permitted to continue in the program. If the student earns a grade below B upon retaking the course, the student will be dismissed from the program.

Students who earn a grade of C or below will automatically be required to retake the course. If the student earns a grade of B or higher after retaking the course, the student may continue in the program. If the student earns a grade of B- or below, the student will be dismissed from the program. Students who earn two grades of C or below within one semester of the program will be dismissed from the program.

D. PERFORMANCE IMPROVEMENT PLAN (PIP)

A Performance Improvement Plan (PIP) is a formal process whereby students are required to demonstrate sufficient understanding of course, or clinical, material by completing an assignment that is designed by the instructor to address learner outcomes that have not been achieved. In accordance with the requirements of the Council on Academic Accreditation (CAA) of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA), the instructor reserves the right to require additional work to ensure that the student demonstrates adequate competency in all academic or clinical content related to learner outcomes. 

Students who earn a grade of B – or C +, have failed to achieve all of the requisite knowledge and skill items of the course or clinical practicum. The implementation of the PIP is designed to give students an additional opportunity to achieve the learner objectives not yet achieved.

Students should be aware that each PIP is individually designed by the instructor. The student has only one opportunity to complete a PIP for a particular course. Successful completion of the PIP will not result in a change of grade. Students are allowed a maximum of two PIPs across all courses and clinical practica. If after having completed two PIPs a student earns a grade of B- or C+ (or below), the student will be dismissed from the program.

Students may be delayed in graduating due to the assignment of a Performance Improvement Plan(s) and/or repetition of a course. Students can repeat a maximum of two graduate courses (maximum one time per course) across the program.

E.    COURSE SCHEDULE AND IMPORTANT ACADEMIC CALENDAR DATES

See individual course schedules for Monday and Wednesday.

All readings must be completed by the dates listed.

Additional required readings will be announced in class or posted on the course website.

F.  COURSE REQUIREMENTS AND STUDENT RESPONSIBILITIES

1. Communication Protocols:

Materials for this course will be provided via a open educational resource course website and Blackboard (BB).

The CASD 7107 course website contains the syllabus (online and printable), course schedule, lectures (PowerPoint and printable PDFs), assigned readings, helpful resources and a link to Blackboard:

Blackboard (hereafter, BB):

BB (https://bbhosted.cuny.edu/) will be used for the following purposes:

Announcements:

will be posted on BB to update students and to provide brief comments on class progress. New announcements will also be automatically emailed to students. You will be receiving correspondence via the email address that is associated with your BB account. You should have received a welcoming email. If you have not yet received it, please log on to BB and under the menu, select Help > Update Email. To receive technical support with BB, you can access information in BB under Help in the menu. Alternatively, you may call the Brooklyn College Help desk at 718-951-4357.

Syllabus:

The "syllabus" link contains the syllabus.

Course Materials:

The Course Materials contains two folders:

1. Lecture PowerPoints

• All of the lecture PowerPoints are also located on the course website

2. Language Sample Analysis.

• Contains all of the information necessary for the language sample analysis assignments for this course, including documents and links to videos and training tutorials.These materials are not located on the course website.

Assignments

You will find details on each assignment with instructions on how to submit each one.

Q & A Forum

• Feel free to use the Q & A Forum for questions that are relevant to the entire class.

• You may email me with questions that are relevant to you specifically.

• Please include the course number as the subject in all email correspondence so that I can readily identify your email.

• I will attempt to reply to posts under the Q & A Forum and to emails within 1-2 business days.

• Be sure to log on to BB frequently and to stay abreast of the due dates for assignments.

2. Attendance and punctuality: 

• Students are expected to attend all class sessions and to arrive promptly.
• If you cannot attend class, notify the instructor before class time or within 24 hours by email or in person.
• Students are responsible for all work missed.

3. Participation: 

Each student is expected to contribute to the class by raising questions and joining in class discussions. 

4. Assignments:  

Required readings and assignments must be completed by the due dates stated on this syllabus. Late assignments will not be accepted without prior permission from the instructor.

5. Midterm and final exams: 

Each student will complete a midterm and final that will assess understanding of course lectures, classroom discussions, and assigned readings. Students who are not able to take the midterm or final exams at the assigned times will not have the opportunity to take a makeup exam.

6. Systematic Analysis of Language Transcripts (SALT) Assignments: 

Students will be provided with access to Systematic Analysis of Language Transcripts (SALT) Software Instructional Version (2018) and its accompanying PDF textbook via computers in the Brooklyn College Library.

Students are not required to purchase this software but if you wish to purchase it, you may purchase it at SALT Software 

The SALT Software will be used for computer-based language sample analysis assignments. Hands-on training to use this software will be provided in the Brooklyn College Library during class time (See Course Schedule.) and via free online SALT tutorials offered by SALT Software, LLC:

7. Language Sample Analysis (LSA) Portfolio:  Written

The purpose of this project is for students to gain experience in eliciting, transcribing, analyzing, and interpreting the results of language samples collected from children. Language content, form, and use will be analyzed using both traditional hand-scoring methods and the computerized software called SALT. Students will work in pairs. Each pair will create a portfolio comprising language sample materials and reports for data collected from a preschool child and a primary school-age child. Both students must participate in the collection of each sample.

Within the first two weeks of the course, each student will

1. Choose a partner to work with and will
2. Identify a typically developing child or language delayed child to study. The child must be between 3-5 years-old and should be monolingual.

See the handout titled Language Sample Analysis Across Development for specific instructions regarding this project.

• The LSA project will be completed over the course of the semester.
• Due dates for the project components are listed above on the Course Schedule.

The LSA portfolio and the oral presentation for this project will each be given a numerical grade based on content, writing, presentation, and adherence to formatting requirements. The same grade will be given to both members of each pair regardless of individual input.

8. Blackboard:

Students are required to check Blackboard for announcements prior to each class and are responsible for all instructions posted.

9. Evaluation Criteria:

Note: * Students who lose points for participation due to lateness or absence will not be provided with opportunities to make up the lost  points.

10. Grading Scale:

A+ = 100, A = 94-99, A- = 90-93, B+ = 87-89, B = 84-86, B- = 80-83, C+ = 77-79,  C = 74-76, F = 73 & below

    There will be no extra-credit assignments accepted for this course.

11. Academic Integrity

• The faculty and administration of Brooklyn College support an environment free from cheating and plagiarism.
• Each student is responsible for being aware of what constitutes cheating and plagiarism and for avoiding both.
• View complete text of CUNY Academic Integrity Policy and Brooklyn College procedure for policy implementation.
• If a faculty member suspects a violation of academic integrity and, upon investigation, confirms that violation, or if the student admits the violation, the faculty member MUST report the violation.
• Please read the section entitled “Academic Regulations and Procedures” in the Brooklyn College Undergraduate Bulletin or Graduate Bulletin for a complete listing of academic regulations of the College.

12. Accessibility

• In order to receive disability-related academic accommodations students must first be registered with the Center for Student Disability Services.
• Students who have a documented disability or suspect they may have a disability are invited to set up an appointment with the Director of the Center for Student Disability Services, Ms. Valerie Stewart-Lovell at 718-951-5538.
• If you have already registered with the Center for Student Disability Services, please provide your professor with the course accommodation form and discuss your specific accommodation with him/her.

13. Bereavement

• Students who experience the death of a loved one must contact the Division of Student Affairs,  2113 Boylan Hall, if they wish to implement either the Standard Bereavement Procedure or the Leave of Absence Bereavement Procedure. The Division of Student Affairs has the right to request a document that verifies the death (e.g., a funeral program or death notice).
• Typically, this death involves that of a family member, in parallel to the bereavement policy for faculty and staff. However, it is up to the discretion of the Division of Student Affairs to determine if a death outside of the immediate family warrants implementation of the student bereavement policy.
• As an option, and in consultation with the Division of Student Affairs, students may take the Leave of Absence Bereavement after the Standard Bereavement.
• Reference to the Student Bereavement Policies will be noted on course syllabi.
• Students requesting a religious accommodation should contact the Division of Student Affairs as well. The chief student affairs officer, or a designee, and the student will engage in an interactive process with the goal of finding an acceptable accommodation.

Standard Bereavement Procedure:

• Upon approval from the Division of Student Affairs, the student is allowed one week, commencing from the day of notification to the Division of Student Affairs, of excused absence.
• Should the student feel that he/she needs additional days, these should be discussed with individual course instructors and/or the Division of Student Affairs.
• The Division of Student Affairs will contact the student’s faculty and academic staff of the student’s courses.
• Faculty and academic staff will be advised that extensions must be granted to the student for the period of one week of excused absence.
• Further extensions may be negotiated with the student when he or she returns to campus.
• Students are encouraged to discuss options with their instructors.

Leave of Absence Bereavement Procedure:

• Students may be allowed to withdraw from the semester in which the death occurs.
• The Bereavement Leave of Absence is for one semester only.
• Students who have opted to take the Bereavement Leave of Absence and have already attended classes for the semester of the leave will be allowed to re-enter the following semester without having to reapply to the college.
• Students who wish to take the leave of absence prior to the beginning of the semester will be required to reapply for the following semester.
• Students who are in good academic standing will be given the opportunity to successfully complete the credits for the semester in which they return.
• Students will consult with the Division of Student Affairs, on a case-by-case basis, as to whether they should withdraw from their courses during this leave of absence or to request incompletes from the faculty member.
• Given that there may be a potential impact on financial aid, students who receive financial aid and who take the Bereavement Leave of Absence, upon arrangement with the Division of Student Affairs, will meet with a financial aid adviser prior to taking this option.

14. Non-attendance for Religious Reasons

• The New York State Education Law provides that no student shall be expelled or refused admission to an institution of higher education because he or she is unable to attend classes or participate in examinations or study or work requirements on any particular day or days because of religious beliefs.
• Students who are unable to attend classes on a particular day or days because of religious beliefs will be excused from any examination or study or work requirements.
• Faculty must make good-faith efforts to provide students absent from class because of religious beliefs equivalent opportunities to make up the work missed; no additional fees may be charged for this consideration.
• If classes, examinations, or study or work requirements occur on Friday after 4 p.m. or on Saturday, similar or makeup classes, examinations, or study or work requirements will be made available on other days, where possible and practical.
• The faculty and the administration will not allow any adverse or prejudicial effects to accrue to students availing themselves of this regulation.
• If students have complaints about the application of this policy, they are entitled to bring action or a proceeding for enforcement of their rights in the Supreme Court of Kings County.

G.  REQUIRED READINGS

RECOMMENDED TEXTS

1. American Psychological Association (2010). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (6^th ed.). Washington, DC: APA. Print copies available at numerous CUNY libraries. Call #BF76.7 .P83 2010
2. Berko Gleason, J., & Bernstein Ratner, N. (2016). The development of language (9th ed.). Boston, MA: Allyn and Bacon.
3. Brice, A. E., & Brice, R. G. (2009). Language development: Monolingual and bilingual acquisition. Boston, MA: Allyn and Bacon.
4. Hulit, L. M., & Howard, M. R. (2015). Born to talk: An introduction to speech and language development (6th ed.).  Boston, MA: Pearson. 
5. Justice, L. M., & Ezell, H. K. (2016). The syntax handbook: Everything you learned about syntax but forgot (2nd ed.). Austin, TX: Pro-Ed.
6. Miller, J. F., Andriacchi, K., & Nockerts, A. (2015). Assessing language production using SALT software: A clinician’s guide to language sample analysis (2nd ed.). Middleton, WI: SALT Software.
7. Nippold, M. A. (2014). Language Sampling with Adolescents : Implications for Intervention (Vol. Second edition). San Diego, California: Plural Publishing, Inc.   
8. Owens, R. E., Jr. (2016). Language development: An introduction (9th ed.). Boston, MA: Allyn and Bacon.
9. Pence Turnbull, K. L., & Justice, L. M. (2017). Language development from theory to practice (3rd ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson.
10. Pinker, S. (2007). The language instinct : How the mind creates language  (1st Harper Perennial Modern Classics ed.). New York: HarperPerennial ModernClassics.
11. Retherford, K. S. (2007). Guide to analysis of language transcripts  (3^rd ed.). Greenville, SC: Thinking Publications. Print copy and DVD available at Brooklyn College Library. Call # Stacks RJ496 .L35 R475 2007

I. RECOMMENDED READINGS

Heilmann, J. J., Miller, J. F., & Nockerts, A. (2010). Using Language Sample Databases. Language, Speech & Hearing Services in Schools, 41(1), 84–95. https://doi-org.brooklyn.ezproxy.cuny.edu/10.1044/0161-1461(2009/08-0075)   

J. RECOMMENDED ONLINE RESOURCES

1. Grammar Fundamentals for a Pluralistic Society  Includes six self-study video modules and assigned readings that focus on the grammar of the dialect of Standard American English and several other common U.S. dialects of English, African American English, Spanish-influenced English, and Chinese-influenced English.
2. SALT Training to support use of SALT Student Software
3. Purdue OWL APA formatting and style guide and tips on how to avoid plagiarism.
4. The Linguist List is a free resource that provides information on language and language analysis.

This syllabus may be revised at the discretion of the instructor. Changes, if necessary, will be announced in class