This version of the course guide is provisional until the period for editing the new course guides ends.

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Language Acquisition and Processing

Code: 107884 ECTS Credits: 9
2025/2026
Degree Type Year
Logopedia FB 1

Contact

Name:
Daniela Viviana Mieres Maldonado
Email:
daniela.mieres@uab.cat

Teachers

Melina Aparici Aznar
Lucía López Baños
Alondra Camus Torres
Mar Formiga Ribas

Teaching groups languages

You can view this information at the end of this document.


Prerequisites

It is important for students to have a good command of spelling and writing, as well as strong oral expression skills in their native language. We recommend that students take the preparatory course "Comunicar amb èxit: descobreix les claus per redactar amb eficàcia en logopèdia i psicologia", which lasts 15 hours and is offered at the faculty before the start of the semester.
It is also important that they are able to read in English.


Objectives and Contextualisation

This first-year course aims to provide students with the tools to acquire fundamental knowledge on two key topics in psycholinguistics: how we acquire language in childhood and how we process it.

By the end of the course, students will be able to:

  • recognize and describe the main theoretical approaches to the study of psycholinguistics and language acquisition;

  • list the characteristic features of language and its functions;

  • describe the different stages of human language processing and the internal representations associated with this processing;

  • describe and understand the stages through which linguistic and communicative abilities are acquired from childhood to adulthood;

  • identify the different data collection methodologies and approaches used in the study of psycholinguistics;

  • relate language development to other processes (cognitive and social);

  • detect difficulties in the early stages of language acquisition.


Learning Outcomes

  1. CM08 (Competence) Assess the fundamental contributions of scientific works linked to the psychological processes that underpin language acquisition and development.
  2. KM13 (Knowledge) Identify the psychological and psycholinguistic foundations of speech therapy.
  3. KM15 (Knowledge) Describe the different psychological processes involved in the production and understanding of discourse and relate them.
  4. KM16 (Knowledge) Classify the main processes of human communication and their alterations.
  5. SM13 (Skill) Design, based on cases raised, actions to promote people's communication skills.

Content

LANGUAGE PROCESSING

  1. Language processing in perception
    1.1. Language comprehension
      1.1.1. Speech perception in infants and adults
      1.1.2. How we recognize and store words
      1.1.3. Syntactic processing: the structure of language
    1.2. Language and communication
      1.2.1. Pragmatics of language in use
      1.2.2. Discourse comprehension and production

  2. Language production
      2.1. Speech production: stages and spontaneous speech errors

  3. Neuroanatomical foundations of language

  4. Is language a domain-specific capacity?
      4.1. Major theoretical debates on the cognitive nature of language

LANGUAGE ACQUISITION
5. Language acquisition
  5.1. Theories of language acquisition: nativist, constructivist, socio-interactionist
  5.2. Research methods: observational methodology, experimental paradigms

  1. Stages and processes in language acquisition
      6.1. Prelinguistic communication: the emergence of intentional communication; infants’ speech perception abilities; adult adaptations
      6.2. Lexical acquisition: first words, lexical explosion, developmental phenomena in meaning acquisition
      6.3. Phonological development: prelinguistic behaviors; phonological development and simplification processes
      6.4. Morphosyntactic acquisition process: telegraphic speech; morphology acquisition; simple sentences; compound sentences and sentence modalities
      6.5. Pragmatic development: conversational skills; speech acts

  2. Language development beyond the age of five: "late developments"
      7.1. Later semantic and pragmatic developments: non-literal meanings
      7.2. Later syntactic developments: compound sentences; complex syntactic structures
      7.3. Discourse construction


Activities and Methodology

Title Hours ECTS Learning Outcomes
Type: Directed      
Master class with TIC support and group discussion 64.5 2.58 CM08, KM13, KM15, KM16, CM08
Workshop classes (Seminar) 6 0.24 CM08, SM13, CM08
Workshop (Lab) 8 0.32 CM08, SM13, CM08
Type: Supervised      
Individual attention to students 10.5 0.42 KM13, KM15, KM16, KM13
Participation in discussions and other activities at the online campus. 10 0.4 CM08, KM13, KM15, KM16, CM08
Type: Autonomous      
Autonomous search of information 20 0.8 CM08, KM13, KM15, KM16, CM08
Individual study and exam preparation 50 2 KM13, KM15, KM16, KM13
Reading papers and book chapters 48 1.92 CM08, KM13, KM15, KM16, CM08

Type of methodology used:
The teaching staff will conduct lecture-based sessions to develop theoretical content and provide guidelines for individual study. Audiovisual materials will be used in these sessions. The class group will be expected to participate in debates.

In small group sessions, case studies or practical work will be carried out. At the end of each session, students will write reports on the cases presented or the practical work developed during the session.

The virtual campus will be used to share class materials, conduct discussion forums, and carry out specific exercises.

Note: 15 minutes of one class session, within the schedule established by the faculty/program, will be reserved for students to complete surveys evaluating the instructor’s performance and the course/module.

 

Annotation: Within the schedule set by the centre or degree programme, 15 minutes of one class will be reserved for students to evaluate their lecturers and their courses or modules through questionnaires.


Assessment

Continous Assessment Activities

Title Weighting Hours ECTS Learning Outcomes
Ev1. Written exam 40% of the final score 2 0.08 KM13, KM15, KM16
Ev2. Written exam 40% of the final score 2 0.08 KM13, KM15, KM16
Ev3 Practical activities 20% of the final score 4 0.16 CM08, SM13

CONTINUOUS ASSESSMENT

Evidence 1 and 2: To pass the course, students must take two partial exams (during the 1st and 2nd assessment periods; on-site exams). Each of these exams accounts for 40% of the final grade (40% + 40% = 80%). The exams will be individual, written, and consist of multiple-choice questions.

Evidence 3: The average grade from the group activities conducted in the practical class (weeks 3, 4, 5, 6, 13, 14, and 15; brief on-site reports) accounts for 20% of the final grade. Students must submit at least 4 reports to be eligible for evaluation.

To pass the course, students must obtain a minimum average grade of 5.0 across all three types of evidence. The student will only be able to pass if they have submitted all three pieces of evidence and have obtained a minimum grade of 3.5 in both Evidence 1 and Evidence 2.

A student who does not submit all pieces of evidence and does not obtain at least 3.5 in both EV1 and EV2 will not pass the course, even if the overall average grade is equal to or higher than 5.0.

Any student who has submitted learning evidence weighing 40% or more of the total grade cannot be marked as "not assessable."

 

Resit

Students may be eligible for the resit if, during continuous assessment, they have submitted evidence weighing at least two-thirds (2/3) of the total grade, and have obtained an overall grade below 5.0 but equal to or higher than 3.5. The resit will take place in weeks 19 or 20.

The resit will consist of a written exam (or several written exams if multiple pieces of evidence need to be recovered) covering the evidence in which performance was unsatisfactory, in order to demonstrate mastery of the minimum required content to pass the course. It is mandatory to pass this/these exam(s) to pass the course.

The maximum grade that can be obtained from resit exams is 5.0, which will replace the grade of the recovered evidence(s) (only if they werepreviously 4.9 or lower) and will be used to recalculate the final grade. If the new final grade is higher than 4.9, the course will be considered passed. If the recovered evidence is not passed or the recalculated final grade is still below 5.0, the original grade before the resit will remain as the final grade.

However, the maximum final grade that can be obtained from the resit process is "Pass" (5.0).

 

Attendance

Attendance at seminars (PLAB and SEM) is mandatory.

 

SINGLE ASSESSMENT

In this course, students may choose to be evaluated in a single assessment session, covering all course content. This option must be requested within the deadlines established by the Faculty.

SINGLE ASSESSMENT MUST BE REQUESTED ONLINE (via e-form) DURING THE SPECIFIED PERIOD (more information is available on the Faculty’s website).

The single assessment will consist of:

  • Two oral exams, one on Acquisition content and one on Processing content (each counting for 40% of the final grade),
  • Two case-based exercises, equivalent to the course’s practical components (combined 20% of the final grade).

These assessments will take place during the second assessment period of the semester.

If a student fails any of these assessments, they may retake them during the resit period, under the same conditions as students following the continuous assessment system (see "Resit" section).

 

Faculty Assessment Guidelines

https://www.uab.cat/web/estudiar/graus/graus/avaluacions-1345722525858.html

Students enrolled for a second or subsequent time are not eligible for evaluation through a single, non-recoverable synthesis exam.

 

Important

Exams will be in Catalan. If a studentwishes to take the exams in Spanish and meets the requirements established in Article 263, they must submit the request during Week 4 via an online form (more information on the Faculty’s website). Requests will not be accepted in other cases or outside the established period.

Feedback

  • For EV1, general feedback will be given orally in class, and, upon request, also during an individual tutorial after grades have been published.
  • For EV2, feedback will be available upon request, given orally and individually after grades have been published.
  • For EV3, feedback will be provided either through a digital platform or orally in class, depending on the session, usually one or two weeks after each session.

Use of AI

Use of AI is strictly prohibited. In this course, the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies is not allowed at any stage of any activity. Any work that includes AI-generated content will be considered a breach of academic integrity and may result in a partial or total penalty on the grade, or more serious disciplinary action in severe cases.

 


Bibliography

Basic references:

Aparici, M. (2012). L’adquisició del llenguatge. A Ll. Barrachina, Ll. (coord.), M. Aparici & E. Noguera, Desenvolupament i Avaluació del llenguatge oral. Barcelona: Editorial UOC.

Soler, O. (coord.) (2006). Psicologia del Llenguatge. Barcelona: EdiUOC.


Complementary references:

Aguado, G. (1995) El desarrollo del lenguaje de 0 a 3 años. Madrid: Ciencias de la Educación Preescolar y Especial.

Andreu, L.; Serra, J.M.; Soler, O.; Tolchinsky, L. (2013) Trastorns d'aprenentatge de l'escriptura i de les matemàtiques. Barcelona: Editorial UOC.

Aparici, M. & Igualada, A. (2019). El desarrollo del lenguaje y la comunicación en la infancia. Barcelona: Editorial UOC.

Bosch, L. (2006). Capacidades tempranas en la percepción del habla y su utilización como indicadores para la detección de trastornos. Revista de Logopedia, Foniatría y Audiología, 26 (1), 3-11.
 
Clemente, R. A. (1995) Desarrollo del lenguajeManual para profesionales de la intervención en ambientes educativos. Barcelona: Octaedro.

Ellis, A.W. (2016). Reading, Writing and Dyslexia (Classic edition). A cognitive approach. Oxford: Routledge, Taylor and Francis Group.

Cuetos, F., González, J., y de Vega, M. (2015). Psicología del lenguaje.Madrid: Editorial Médica Panamericana.

Garton, A. (1994) Interacción social y desarrollo del lenguaje y la cognición. Barcelona: Paidós.

Gràcia, M. (2003) Comunicacióny lenguaje en primeras edades. Intervención con familias. Lleida: Editorial Milenio.

Karmiloff, K. &Karmiloff-Smith,A. (2001) Hacia el lenguaje. Madrid: Morata (Original: Pathways to language. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.)

López-Higes, R. (2003). Psicología del lenguaje. Madrid: Piràmide.

López-Ornat, S. (2011). La adquisición del lenguaje, un resumen en 2011. Revista de investigación en Logopedia, 1,1 pp. 1-11.

López Ornat, S. (2024). Del balbuceo al discurso: Avances sobre la psicología y la neurociencia de la adquisición del lenguaje. Alianza Editorial

Mariscal, S. i Gallo, M. P. (2014). Adquisición del lenguaje. Madrid: Síntesis.

Moreno Ríos, S. (2005). Psicología del desarrollo cognitivo y adquisición del lenguaje. Biblioteca Nueva: Madrid.

Owens, R. E. (2003). Desarrollo del lenguaje. Madrid: Pearson/Prentice Hall.

Perera, J., Aparici, M., Rosado, E., Salas, N. (2016). Written and Spoken Language Development across the Lifespan. Dordrecht: Springer.

Rondal, J.A. (1990). La interacción adulto-niño y la construcción del lenguaje. México: Trillas.

Serra, M., Serrat, E., Solé, M. R., Bel, A. y Aparici, M. (2000). La adquisición del lenguaje. Barcelona: Ariel.

Torrens, V. (ed.) (2018) La adquisición del lenguaje. Londres: Pearson.


Software

Not applicable


Groups and Languages

Please note that this information is provisional until 30 November 2025. You can check it through this link. To consult the language you will need to enter the CODE of the subject.

Name Group Language Semester Turn
(PLAB) Practical laboratories 111 Catalan/Spanish second semester morning-mixed
(PLAB) Practical laboratories 112 Catalan/Spanish second semester morning-mixed
(PLAB) Practical laboratories 113 Catalan/Spanish second semester morning-mixed
(PLAB) Practical laboratories 114 Catalan/Spanish second semester morning-mixed
(SEM) Seminars 111 Catalan/Spanish second semester morning-mixed
(SEM) Seminars 112 Catalan/Spanish second semester morning-mixed
(SEM) Seminars 113 Catalan/Spanish second semester morning-mixed
(SEM) Seminars 114 Catalan/Spanish second semester morning-mixed
(TE) Theory 1 Catalan/Spanish second semester morning-mixed