By the end of this class, students should have demonstrated their ability to critically evaluate and discuss theoretical and experimental material related to speech processing.
Throughout this course we will discuss theoretical and experimental studies focusing on speech processing in a first and second language. Various languages are expected to be discussed, with possibly a higher emphasis on English and Japanese. Students are strongly encouraged to choose some of the topics discussed in this seminar, and are required to present a brief summary of two studies related to speech processing. Students are welcome to present the results of a study they have previously conducted as part of one of the two presentations. Each presentation should be about 10 to 20 min, presented with PowerPoint (or an equivalent), and followed by interesting discussion questions and relevant comments.
Week 1: Introduction to the seminar
Week 2: How to prepare for your presentation (how to make effective use of PowerPoint, etc.)
Week 3: Presentations by instructor
Week 4-12: Presentations and discussion by students of various papers related to speech processing in a first and second language
Week 13: Each student present the topic chosen for their final research paper
The course format is made of in-class discussions and presentations conducted exclusively in English.
Presentations (2) 50% Research paper 50%
Students will be responsible to find some of the reading material on-line or at the library.
For an example of a study that could be presented:
Grenon, I., Kubota, M., & Sheppard, C. (2019). The creation of a new vowel category by adult learners after adaptive phonetic training. Journal of Phonetics, 72, 17-34.
This seminar is taught in English only, and the reading material chosen by students must also be in English.