In Spring quarter 2026, Dr. Laurie Lawyer will be teaching a new class on the acquisition of language. Read a short description of it below.
This class covers topics in child language acquisition, focused on the acquisition of grammar. It will look at the acquisition of specific grammatical constructions, such as relative clauses, WH-questions, and passives, from two different theoretical standpoints: nativist and emergent accounts. The data is primarily from English-learning children, although there will be some examples from other languages. Students will get to work first-hand with child language acquisition data, and will be able to explore topics of their own interest as related to first language acquisition.
For graduate students, the class will count as an elective course in the "language sciences" track. For interested undergraduate students, speak with your advisor to get information on what credits this course will satisfy.
Reach out to Laurie for more details.