Psycholinguistics MA

Discover how insights from linguistics help to explain how humans learn, understand and use languages. Our MA Psycholinguistics provides you with a thorough grounding in research from the perspective of linguistics on human language processing, the representation of language in the brain, and first and second language acquisition.

You cover the processing and acquisition of sounds, words and sentences, look at different kinds of language disorders, and investigate the relevance of data from human language processing to our understanding of the nature of language. You also learn how to design and conduct experiments, and analyse the results from them.

Our researchers are using experimental techniques to understand how children learn language, how adults process language, and what happens when language ability is impaired by brain disorders. We combine a wide range of methodologies: corpora, infant behavioural studies at the babylab, response time and eye movement measures for adults.

You can choose areas of special study including:


• How words are represented and accessed in the mind



• How speakers understand sentences in real time



• Music, language and the brain



• Children’s English



If you want a global outlook, are interested in human communication, and want to study for a degree with real-world practical value in an established department, welcome to Essex.