In today’s chapters, we will be reading lots about a case eerily similar to Genie with Victor. L’enfant Sauvage is a French film released in 1970 depicting the life of Victor, a boy discovered in the forest that was not socialized with society. Watch the trailer to get a better understanding. Genie was discovered around this time as well, and the book will make a point of their cases’ parallels.
But beyond humans, there has been discussion of other creatures being able to speak. Enter Koko and other apes: Can Apes Really "Talk" To Humans? Then, there’s also Alex the parrot: Alex The Parrot: Teaching a Parrot to Talk | Nature Bites With these cases: Alex, Koko, Victor, and Genie, the question of what language and communication really means continues to evolve. Today’s task is to read up through chapter 16. With this, you will need to do some basic tasks.
0 Comments
Finish Pictures
Finish drawing a picture of the world through Genie’s eyes. Pick a scene from the book. This can be something harrowing like her room where she was kept, or something more positive like learning to speak with the doctors. Focus on the emotions and the sensory details, try to draw as if you are Genie, with no context and limited experience. Language Acquisition Let’s start with a video today: What do all languages have in common? - Cameron Morin. The principles and parameters framework builds upon the original universal grammar theory by providing a more detailed account of language acquisition. It explains how children can rapidly learn the specific rules of their native language by only needing to identify the relevant parameters, rather than learning language from scratch. This theory supports the idea of a "language instinct" in humans, suggesting we are biologically predisposed to acquire language through an innate, universal grammar. Principles:
Parameters:
A quick discussion before we read:
Reading Then, we read once again. Today you should read chapters 5-10. We will be moving onto chapters 11-16 tomorrow. Make sure you are filling out annotations with the book, looking for common themes, important details, and plenty of connections and questions. Prepare for the questions in Friday's discussion The point here is that language, and specifically meaning, has changed over time.
Then, based on your questions in the prewrite, I want to show you this video: What English Sounds Like To Non-Speakers. Try to put yourself in Genie’s shoes here, imagine what it would be like to enter the world for the first time. Today we are going to be officially starting the book with chapters 2-4. These chapters are a bit harrowing, as are all depictions of Genie’s life frankly. We’re going to take the whole class period to do two things:
Hand in the picture and finish reading when you are done. Do not read further, as I want to brief you on some concepts from Noam Chomsky, winner of best soil adjacent name 1950-2016. Welcome those who have remained through the trials to come to the end of psychology class. You brave few will be working with me to read through a scientific book that goes through the life of Genie.
Today, we will be doing a pre-write about what language actually is. Then, we will be reading the first chapter of the book together so I can stop us and have little mini lessons about the topics. Then, with any time remaining, you will have the opportunity to read the next few chapters in preparation for our first mini assignment. Mini-Lessons: Read/watch the resource and then turn and talk about these questions.
Language Prewrite Take a moment and really think about what language means. You are using it right now to be able to read this and eventually to write something. Does language include gestures, posture, or even drawings? How can we differentiate between sounds that make up different sounds to make meaning? What even is Grammar? Do humans have the innate ability to speak? What about other animals? Does language shift the way the brain works? Create a new document or write on a sheet of paper your thoughts on everything to do with language. You should write a paragraph about what you know about language. Don’t be afraid to be pedantic here. Then, a second paragraph with questions, just like the section above. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. Archives
May 2024
Categories |