(5 credits)
In this course, education professionals focus on the theories of language acquisition and language development of young children from infancy through preschool. Education professionals explore how children acquire and develop language, and they gain an understanding of emergent reading and writing. They engage in coursework that emphasizes bilingualism, atypical speech and language development, and the impact of culture and environment on language. Additionally, education professionals make connections between course concepts and share ideas and perspectives though weekly discussions on a range of topics, such as language and the brain, adult roles in language development, early literacy, and challenges for second-language learners, among others.