Ling711, Topics in Psycholinguistics
Oral Presentation Assignment
Due 9 April 2026 (in class)
Task: Compare the Innatist Theory of Language Acquisition with one of
the following: Behaviourist, Usage-Based, or Social Interactionist
approaches. Where relevant, relate your discussion to evidence from
bilingual or multilingual language acquisition.
In your presentation, include studies/research that were done to support
your ideas.
Your presentation must:
• Explain the core assumptions of each theory
• Evaluate their ability to account for key phenomena in language
acquisition (e.g., grammatical development, input variability, error
patterns)
• Engage with at least 3–5 empirical studies
• Critically assess strengths and limitations
• Conclude with a justified position grounded in evidence (not
personal opinion)
IMPORTANT
• All presentations should be presented on PowerPoint. A hard copy
of your PowerPoint should be handed to me before you present (or
email a softcopy a day before).
o Feel free to add audio-visual material if you wish
o You are allowed to use your own data as long as you reference
it and show clear examples
• Presentations will take 15 minutes; 10 minutes talk time and 5
minutes discussion
o You must prepare at least one question for the other presenter.
• All presentations will be recorded for marking purposes.