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The Chinese University of Hong Kong
Department of Linguistics and Modern Languages
Second Term, 2013-14

Course Title: LING5202 Topics in Bilingualism
Description:

This course introduces general issues in the study of bilingualism. Basic questions such as how to define
bilingualism, degrees of bilingualism, types of bilinguals will be examined. Some myths and misconceptions
about bilingualism will be discussed and dispelled in light of the findings derived from recent research in
bilingualism. The emphasis of the first part of the course will be on how bilingualism is acquired and used.

The second part of the course addresses the relationship between bilingualism, mind and brain. These issues
will be examined by reviewing seminal findings in the fields of psycholinguistics and neurolinguistics, as well
as relevant theories of bilingual language control. Students will be familiarized with the cognitive and neural
consequences of bilingualism. The literature on language disorders will be reviewed, with a focus on what
happens when bilinguals are affected.


Content, highlighting fundamental concepts
Topics Contents/fundamental concepts
Defining bilingualism, types of bilinguals


Global factors affecting bilingualism


Bilingual and multilingual acquisition
cross-linguistic influence

The Psycholinguistics of Bilingualism


Bilingual Language Control


The Bilingual Brain



The Advantages of Being Bilingual


Language Disorders in Bilingual Subjects

different approaches to defining bilingualism and
bilinguals, significance of bilingualism

prevalence of bilingualism, sociopolitical issues
affecting bilingual acquisition and use

theoretical issues and methods of comparing
monolingual and bilingual development

review of seminal findings in bilingual speech and
language research

models of bilingual language activation and
inhibition, concepts from neurolinguistics introduced

how is language subserved by the brain, and what
can bilingualism tell us about how the brain works?


a critical look at cognitive and neural advantages that
are associated with bilingualism across the lifespan

symptoms of bilingual language loss and disorders,
as well as recovery

Learning outcomes:
acquire the key concepts in the field of bilingualism
deepen students appreciation of the significance of bilingualism in the individual and society
develop ability to learn, discuss and work in a group

Learning activities
lecture
use of multimedia materials (e.g., video clips)
interactive tutorial
projects

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Expected time allocation of each of below learning activities during the course:
Lecture Interactive
tutorial
Lab Discussion
of case
Reading Projects Web-based
teaching
Other
(midterm)
(hr)
in /out
class
(hr)
in /out
class
(hr)
in /out
class
(hr)
in /out
class
(hr)
in /out
class
(hr)
in /out
class
(hr)
in /out
class
(hr)
in /out
class
28

12 5 5 2-3 20 2
M


M M O M M M
M: Mandatory activity in the course, O: Optional activity, NA: Not applicable

Assessment scheme
Task nature Description Weight
Exam covering 1
st
half of course Midterm exam 30%
Exam covering 2
nd
half of course Final exam 30%
A project that conducts an in-depth
study of a topic of interest
Term Project

40%


Attendance counts for 10% of total marks (from 1
st
lesson for required and 3
rd
lesson for elective courses).
If student misses 3 lessons, 5% will be deducted. If the student misses 4 lessons, another 5% will be deducted.

Learning resources for students:
Kroll, J. F., & DeGroot, A. M. B. (Eds.). (2009). Handbook of bilingualism: Psycholinguistic approaches. New
York: Oxford University Press.

Bhatia, T. K., & Ritchie, W. C. (Eds.). (2005). The handbook of bilingualism. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing.

Grosjean, F., & Li, P. (2013). The Psycholinguistics of bilingualism. Sussex, UK: Wiley-Blackwell.

Li, W. (2007). The bilingualism reader (2nd ed.). New York: Routledge.

Suggested readings:
Grosjean, F. (2010). Bilingual: Life and Reality. Cambridge, Mass: Harvard University Press.

Journals
Bilingualism: Language and Cognition
International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism
International Journal of Bilingualism
International Journal of Multilingualism
Journal of Child Language

Websites
Child Language Data Exchange System (CHILDES) http://childes.psy.cmu.edu/
Childhood Bilingualism Research Centre (CBRC) http://www.cuhk.edu.hk/lin/cbrc/
Phonetics: http://liceu.uab.es/~joaquim/applied_linguistics/L2_phonetics/Fonetica_Biling_Bib.html

Blogs
Francois Grosjean: Life as a Bilingual http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/life-bilingual
Madalena Cruz: Being Multilingual http://beingmultilingual.blogspot.com/2010/10/being-multilingual.html

Feedback for evaluation
Students are welcome to give comments and feedback by sending them in written form to the TAs email
address or talking to the instructor and TA individually.
A term-end questionnaire will be administered to collect feedback for evaluation.

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Course schedule
Class/ week Date Topic
Week 1

January 7 Introduction to Bilingualism

Romaine, S. 1989. Introduction to the study of
bilingualism. In Bilingualism, Oxford: Blackwell, pp.1-12.

Li, W. 2007. Dimensions of bilingualism. In Li (ed.) The
bilingualism reader, 2
nd
edition, New York: Routledge,
pp.3-22.

Grosjean, F. 2012. What do bilinguals and hurdlers have
in common? Psychology Today. Available from:
http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/life-bilingual/2012
07/what-do-bilinguals-and-hurdlers-have-in-common
Week 2

January 14 Bilingualism in a Global World

Myers-Scotton, C. 2006. Language policies and
globalization. In Multiple voices: An introduction to
bilingualism, Malden, MA: Blackwell, pp.369-411.

Week 3

January 21

Becoming Bilingual

Meisel, J. M. 2006. The bilingual child. In Bhatia &
Ritchie (eds.) Handbook of bilingualism, Oxford:
Blackwell, pp.91-113.

Genesee F. 2007. Early bilingual language development:
One language or two? In Li (ed.) The bilingualism reader,
2
nd
edition, New York: Routledge, pp.320-335.
Week 4

January 28

Bilingual Language Production

Costa, A. 2006. Speech production in bilinguals. In Bhatia
& Ritchie (eds.) Handbook of bilingualism, Oxford:
Blackwell, pp.201-223.

Week 5

February 4

Chinese New Year Holiday
Week 6

February 11

Bilingual Speech Perception and Language
Comprehension

Sebastian-Galles N. & Bosch, L. 2009. Phonology and
bilingualism. In Kroll & DeGroot (eds.) The handbook of
bilingualism, New York: Oxford University Press,
pp.68-87.

Kroll, J. F. & Dussias, P. E. 2006. The comprehension of
words and sentences in two languages. In Bhatia &
Ritchie (eds.) Handbook of bilingualism, Oxford:
Blackwell, pp. 169-200.
Week 7

February 18

Code-switching and Code-mixing

Poplack, S. (1980). Sometimes Ill start a sentence in
Spanish Y TERMINO EN ESPAOL: Toward a typology
of code-switching. Linguistics, 18, 581-618.

Week 8 February 25 Midterm exam

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Week 9

March 4







Bilingual Language Control

Grosjean, F. 2008. The bilingual's language modes. In
Studying bilinguals, New York: Oxford University Press,
pp.37-66.

Green D. W. 1998. Mental control of the bilingual
lexico-semantic system. Bilingualism: Language and
Cognition, 1:6781.
Week 10

March 11

The Bilingual Mind

de Groot, A. M. B. 2013. Bilingual memory. In The
psycholinguistics of bilingualism, Sussex, UK:
Wiley-Blackwell, pp. 171-191.

Week 11

March 18

The Bilingual Brain

Abutalebi, J., Cappa, S. F., & Perani, D. 2009. What can
functional neuroimaging tell us about the bilingual brain?
In Kroll & DeGroot (eds.) The handbook of bilingualism,
New York: Oxford University Press, pp.497-515.

Week 12 March 25 The Advantages of Being Bilingual

Arsenian, S. 1945. Bilingualism in the post-war world.
Psychological Bulletin, 42, 65-86.

Bialystok, E., Craik, F. I. M., & Luk, G. 2012.
Bilingualism: Consequences for mind and brain. Trends in
Cognitive Sciences, 16:240250.

Bhattacharjee, Y. 2012. The benefits of bilingualism. New
York Times. Available from: http://nyti.ms/1hdVB4b
Week 13

April 1

Language Disorders in Bilingual Subjects

Green, D. W. 2009. The neurocognition of recovery
patterns in bilingual aphasics. In Kroll & DeGroot (eds.)
The handbook of bilingualism, New York: Oxford
University Press, pp.516-530.

Fabbro, F. (2001). The bilingual brain: Bilingual
aphasia. Brain and Language,79, 201-210.
Week 14 April 8 The Future of Bilingual Research

Luk, G., & Bialystok, E. (2013). Bilingualism is not a
categorical variable: Interaction between language
proficiency and usage. Journal of Cognitive Psychology,
25, 1-17.
Week 15 April 15 Final exam
April 22 Tuesday Term Project due date

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Teacher and TAs contact details
Professor/Lecturer/Instructor: Adjunct Assistant Professor
Name: Mark Antoniou
Office Location: Leung Kau Kui Building room G36
Telephone: 3943 3779
Email: mark.antoniou@cuhk.edu.hk
Teaching Venue: ELB LT1
Website: http://www.cuhk.edu.hk/lin/new/people/mark/
Other information:

Teaching Assistant/Tutor: TAs
Name: Emily Haoyan Ge & Akshay Raj Maggu
Office Location:
Leung Kau Kui Building RM G16 (Emily) & Leung Kau Kui Building,
G36 (Akshay)
Telephone: 3943-7053 (office: Emily) & 3943 3779 (office: Akshay)
Email: gehaoyan@cuhk.edu.hk (Emily) & akshay@cuhk.edu.hk (Akshay)
Teaching Venue: ELB LT1
Website: http://www.cuhk.edu.hk/lin/new/people/students/maggu/ (Akshay)
Other information: N/A

A facility for posting course announcements

All announcements of the course will be posted on Moodle.

Academic honesty and plagiarism

Attention is drawn to University policy and regulations on honesty in academic work, and to the disciplinary
guidelines and procedures applicable to breaches of such policy and regulations. Details may be found at
http://www.cuhk.edu.hk/policy/academichonesty. With each assignment, students will be required to submit a
statement that they are aware of these policies, regulations, guidelines and procedures.

For each written assignment, students are required to submit a signed declaration that they are aware of these
policies, regulations, guidelines and procedures. For group projects, all students of the same group should be
asked to sign on the declaration.

For assignments/papers in the form of a computer-generated document that is principally text-based and
submitted via VeriGuide, the statement, in the form of a receipt, will be issued by the system upon students'
uploading of the soft copy of the assignment. Assignments that do not have the receipt attached will not be
graded. Only the final version of the assignment should be submitted via VeriGuide.