Linguistics electives

Angoose · 12-10-2011 at 10:19 PM

Hey everyone, I'm in second year bio atm, and I was trying to decide on an elective for second term. For now, I have psych 2b03 with Dr. Day, but I'm also kind of interested in linguistics courses. Has anyone taken psych2b03 before and is the workload very heavy? I took both psych1x03/xx3 and ling1a03/aa3, and I'm considering a minor in either of these. I don't really mind if there are assignments, but I kind of want less essays :'(. So I'm wondering if anyone has recommendations for pysch or ling electives?

Thanks for any help.

akikokoyoki · 12-11-2011 at 01:26 AM

Most 2nd year linguistic courses are offered this semester but for 2nd sem, there is Ling 2S03 (Sociolonguistics), 2E03 (Slang to Formal Discourse) and 2PH3 (Phonology). I'm taking these courses next semester so i dont know how these classes run but you should consider taking them. As for Phonology, you need the Phonetics course (2L03) so I don't think you can take it. If you want to take linguistics courses, I recommend 2SY3 (Syntax), 2L03 (Phonetics), 2PS3 (Psycholinguistics) and 2LC3 (Historical Linguistics) but you have to take these next year since these were offered this semester. Most second year long courses just have weekly exercises, a midterm and a final so I recommend any linguistics courses. They are all interesting

Angoose · 12-11-2011 at 01:45 AM

Aw darn it, I took econ1b03 instead of phonetics this term. Guess I'll have to try it next year :(. How was phonetics and syntax, though, compared to 1A03 and AA3? I didn't really like psycho and historical linguistics...maybe because of the prof for AA3. We got a substitute prof and he was kinda boring :S.

akikokoyoki · 12-11-2011 at 01:55 AM

I remember the sub prof and yes I didn't like him too much either. As for Phonetics and Syntax well it is more elaborate in terms of what is taught in first year linguistics. In Phonetics we learn more about what was taught in 1A03 but it is more about how sound is produced in the mouth. We learn about more IPA symbols and there is more memorization to do. There is only one prof for this course, Dr. Tar-Jin Yoon. He is an ok prof but his lectures are quite boring tbh.

For Syntax, there is more tree-drawing but the trees drawn seems easier than the ones in 1AA3. Assignments were straight-forward and you can easily get good marks. The prof for that course in Dr. Ivona Kucerova. She is a pretty good prof and she helps you a lot. Her lectures are mostly discussions and she let's the students participate a lot in lectures.

_Mike · 12-11-2011 at 12:12 PM

I would recommend syntax, for sure. In 1AA3, tree-drawing was more difficult because we were just told rules to memorize without really understanding why we drew the trees the way we did. This course is in a sense problem-based learning because you start with a theory and revise it based on certain examples and data, so we see why it makes sense to draw trees a certain way -- I found this helpful. Overall, I thought the course was challenging, but extremely fair -- if you know the material, you will excel.

I also took psycholinguistics and child language acquisition and I'd say these are harder than syntax. It's not that the material is too hard to wrap your mind around, but the tests are very challenging and it's very easy to lose marks on them. Fortunately, there are ways to boost your mark, from iClicker points, projects, and the class notes. I think that having a more scientific or analytical brain is an asset in this course because of the kinds of questions asked. If you are looking for a bird course that you can 12, I would be wary of taking these, but they are both good courses.

m3Liisza · 12-11-2011 at 02:13 PM

Has anyone taken 2S03 yet? If so, would you say the textbook is worth purchasing?

mickey2012 · 12-11-2011 at 04:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by m3Liisza

Has anyone taken 2S03 yet? If so, would you say the textbook is worth purchasing?

it's the first time Dr. Penner is teaching this course, so not sure how much he'll use it.

akikokoyoki · 12-11-2011 at 06:43 PM

I'm taking 2S03 this coming semester for my degree so hopefully it will be a good course.

mickey2012 · 12-11-2011 at 07:18 PM

From prior experience he is pretty easy. I wish I could take it but I just don't have any more credits to spend.

Angoose · 12-11-2011 at 10:34 PM

I guess I will try and take phonetics and syntax then! I really enjoyed the IPA transcription and tree-drawing in AO3/AA3...well more than what the sub prof for AA3 taught. Child Language Acquisition and Slang to Formal Discourse seem kind of interesting, though. Is there a lot of writing involved in these? Haha, no comments regarding psych courses atm, I guess that says a lot it itself XD.

akikokoyoki · 12-12-2011 at 12:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Angoose

I guess I will try and take phonetics and syntax then! I really enjoyed the IPA transcription and tree-drawing in AO3/AA3...well more than what the sub prof for AA3 taught. Child Language Acquisition and Slang to Formal Discourse seem kind of interesting, though. Is there a lot of writing involved in these? Haha, no comments regarding psych courses atm, I guess that says a lot it itself XD.

I'm taking Slang to Formal Discourse this coming semester and I am planning of taking Child Language Acquisition next year. I heard that there are some writing in Child Language Acquisition but not sure about Slang to Formal Discourse (I gotta find out soon enough)

Phantom · 12-12-2011 at 12:26 AM

Slang to formal discourse (if with Dr.Stroinska (as always) will have a lot of writing.
The content itself is pretty easy and the assignments can be interesting but extremely tedious and long at times.

However, it is not a hard course and it is quite possible to get a good grade if you put in effort (as with any other courses).

The assignments are worth 35% I don't remember clearly. There is a midterm, iclicker, and a final exam, which had writing as well; but really easy writing as far my experience with it goes.

_Mike · 12-12-2011 at 12:41 PM

Oh sorry! I didn't realize you were asking about psych too.

Well I'm enrolled in 2B03 for next semester, so I can't comment on that. But I can give some reviews for other courses I've taken.

Abnormal Psych: I really enjoyed this course and Dr. Day is a great lecturer. All of the non-textbook test questions are from the online quizzes, so if you do them enough times, you'll have seen every question and know the answers for the test. But if memorizing lots of facts and numbers is not your forte, I would be hesitant about taking this!

Animal Behaviour: For the most part, pretty interesting. The tests get progressively easier. Beware, the exam was worth 60% when I took it, although I did better on it than the two tests. Make sure you know how to draw graphs well!

Child Language Acquisition: see previous post, but just to add, there's not too much writing. One project involved summarizing experimental findings in a way that was accessible to a non-academic audience (1 page). The other was project where you analyzed data. But it wasn't essays or anything.

Evolution & Human Behaviour: Pretty interesting and challenging but fair. The hardest part of this class is doing the readings -- each week there is one or two readings to do from the scientific literature. Sometimes, they are fairly straightforward, but other times, they can be 20-40 pages and quite dense. I'm pretty sure we got an old version of the exam or something though because it mentioned studies and concepts we never learned in class or in the readings, so who knows how that will work out.

Human Learning & Cognition: Simple enough concepts, but kind of boring at times and the tests are challenging (basically exactly like 1X03).

Motivation & Emotion: I'm really interested in this area of psychology, so I'm a bit biased. This course is definitely very challenging but also fair -- if you know the material, you will do well.

Psycholinguistics: see previous post

Sensory Processes: Stay away!

In terms of best to worst overall:
M&E > AP = AB > CLA = E&HB = HL&C > P > SP

In terms of easiest to hardest:
AP = AB > CLA = EH&B = HL&C = M&E = P > SP

Angoose · 12-23-2011 at 03:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by _Mike

Oh sorry! I didn't realize you were asking about psych too.

Well I'm enrolled in 2B03 for next semester, so I can't comment on that. But I can give some reviews for other courses I've taken.

Abnormal Psych: I really enjoyed this course and Dr. Day is a great lecturer. All of the non-textbook test questions are from the online quizzes, so if you do them enough times, you'll have seen every question and know the answers for the test. But if memorizing lots of facts and numbers is not your forte, I would be hesitant about taking this!

Animal Behaviour: For the most part, pretty interesting. The tests get progressively easier. Beware, the exam was worth 60% when I took it, although I did better on it than the two tests. Make sure you know how to draw graphs well!

Child Language Acquisition: see previous post, but just to add, there's not too much writing. One project involved summarizing experimental findings in a way that was accessible to a non-academic audience (1 page). The other was project where you analyzed data. But it wasn't essays or anything.

Evolution & Human Behaviour: Pretty interesting and challenging but fair. The hardest part of this class is doing the readings -- each week there is one or two readings to do from the scientific literature. Sometimes, they are fairly straightforward, but other times, they can be 20-40 pages and quite dense. I'm pretty sure we got an old version of the exam or something though because it mentioned studies and concepts we never learned in class or in the readings, so who knows how that will work out.

Human Learning & Cognition: Simple enough concepts, but kind of boring at times and the tests are challenging (basically exactly like 1X03).

Motivation & Emotion: I'm really interested in this area of psychology, so I'm a bit biased. This course is definitely very challenging but also fair -- if you know the material, you will do well.

Psycholinguistics: see previous post

Sensory Processes: Stay away!

In terms of best to worst overall:
M&E > AP = AB > CLA = E&HB = HL&C > P > SP

In terms of easiest to hardest:
AP = AB > CLA = EH&B = HL&C = M&E = P > SP

Wow, thanks for being so thorough. Hm, I'm also enrolled in 2b03 atm. I was considering either a psych or linguistics minor, but I didn't take end up taking the linguistics courses I wanted this year due to prereq. fulfillment :(. Is psycholinguistics actually that bad? I'm okay with memorizing random facts, but I already have a couple of courses that require random memorization (biochem2ee3, bio2c03). There isn't much time left to decide, but I don't want to screw myself over again like I did last semester. I bit off way more than I could chew and ended up doing worse than I had hoped :(.

akikokoyoki · 12-23-2011 at 03:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Angoose

Wow, thanks for being so thorough. Hm, I'm also enrolled in 2b03 atm. I was considering either a psych or linguistics minor, but I didn't take end up taking the linguistics courses I wanted this year due to prereq. fulfillment :(. Is psycholinguistics actually that bad? I'm okay with memorizing random facts, but I already have a couple of courses that require random memorization (biochem2ee3, bio2c03). There isn't much time left to decide, but I don't want to screw myself over again like I did last semester. I bit off way more than I could chew and ended up doing worse than I had hoped :(.

I didn't take psycholinguistics but I have friends who did and they said that it is a pretty interesting course but the midterm and final were hard. Dr. Anderson is the prof and I heard that she's pretty good.