Language Acquisition and Bilingualism Minor
Do you love languages? Are you fascinated by how we acquire them? Have you wondered how being bilingual affects how we think and behave? If you answered yes to these questions, SDSU’s new minor in Language Acquisition and Bilingualism—aka “the LAB minor”—is for you!
The LAB minor provides background in the linguistic and cognitive aspects of acquiring first, second, and heritage languages, as well as in the linguistic, cognitive, and societal aspects of bilingualism. You do not need to be bilingual to pursue the minor: You just need to be interested in bilingualism!
The minor consists of a minimum of 15 units (5 courses) as follows:
Four Required Courses (12 units) *
- LING 452: Language Acquisition
- LING 453: Heritage Language Acquisition
- LING 454: Second Language Acquisition
- LING 553: Bilingualism
*Required courses can be taken in any order. Spanish majors with credit in SPAN 448 and SLHS majors with credit in SLHS 300 can take all required courses without additional coursework in Linguistics. Otherwise, students must complete LING 420 (or LING 501) prior to taking LING 452. Completion of LING 101 is sufficient to take LING 453, LING 454, and LING 553.
One Elective Course selected from (3 units)
- LCS 300: Language, Culture, and Society
- LING 502: Language in Mind and Society
- LING 552: Psycholinguistics
- LING 597: Research Practicum
- SLHS 595: Research Practicum
LING 452: Language Acquisition (3 units)
Prerequisite(s): LING 420, SLHS 300, or SPAN 448
Principles of child language development. Sounds and grammar in speech of young children.
Acquisition of reading and vocabulary. Relationship between cognitive development
and language. Development of language in bilinguals. Second language acquisition.
LING 453: Heritage Language Acquisition (3 units) (GE)
Prerequisite(s): LING 101 or LING 420 or SLHS 300 or SPAN 448
Linguistic properties of heritage languages, which are minority languages acquired
in the home by bilinguals who become dominant in the main societal language. Cultural
and social aspects of language use, language education, and issues of equity in heritage
language research.
LING 454: Second Language Acquisition (3 units)
Prerequisite(s): LING 101, LING 420, SLHS 300, or SPAN 448
Basic facts about the acquisition of nonnative languages in adulthood to include beginning
and end points, implicit and explicit learning, individual differences, input and
output, ordered development, and the role of instruction.
LING 553: Bilingualism (3 units)
Prerequisite(s): LING 101, LING 420, LING 501, SLHS 300, or SPAN 448
Bilingualism in society and in schools. Cognition, language processing, and representation
in bilinguals. Research methods in the study of bilingualism.
Contact Us
Gregory D. Keating, Program Advisor
Email: [email protected] | Office: SHW 222