Homework 1: Introduction

The goal of this assignment is:

To find out a little about you, to know about your background, and to poke about at why you're taking this course.
To ensure that you're able to contact the instructor and access the on-line resources for the course.

This assignment must be emailed to me! (llsp AT umd DOT edu)

A. Please let me know the following things about yourself:

Name
Class (freshman, sophomore etc.)
Majors/minors (known or expected)
Why are you taking this course, and what do you aim to get out of a course in language & mind? (Note: It sounded nice and It fulfills a core requirement are perfectly legitimate answers.)
What is/are your native language(s)? Where did you grow up (e.g., Mexico City, College Park, Beijing)?
Have you studied any other languages in the past? Which languages? How confident are you in speaking or understanding these languages?

B. Now some questions about you and computers - given the extensive use of electronic tools and resources in this course, this information will be very useful to me in organizing the course:

Do you mostly work with a computer in your home/dorm or with a computer at one of the university computing sites?
How do you normally access the internet - do you have regular access to a high-speed connection (e.g. dorm-room ethernet, cable modem, DSL) or through a dial-up modem connection (56k or slower)?
What operating system(s) are you familiar with (e.g. WindowsXP, Macintosh, Unix). Which operating system do you mostly use?
What is your preferred email address?
Are you experienced in using World Wide Web search tools to look for information (e.g. Google, Yahoo, Altavista)?
Are you experienced in using electronic library resources (electronic books, electronic reference works, electronic journals, etc.)? (University of Maryland Library: http://www.lib.umd.edu)

C. And while we're at it...

The researchers in the U. of Maryland Cognitive Neuroscience of Language Laboratory are often looking for volunteers to participate in their studies of how people learn and understand spoken and written language. Participants are paid $10/hour for participation. Studies typically last from 1 hour ($10) to around 3 hours for longer studies ($30!), and involve reading simple words or sentences, or listening to speech sounds over headhpones. No special skills required. If you are interested in participating in a study, please indicate this in your email.

Please note: In saying that you're interested in this, you are not making any firm commitment - you're simply stating that you are willing to let us contact you when opportunities arise. (Also, if your friend or roommate is interested in participating, we're also interested in hearing about that!) If you're interested in participating, please let me know your handedness (left or right-handed), because this has known effects on language organization in the brain.