I’m about halfway through my first prerequisite courses at USU, and I’m still excited.
The material is fascinating (even if the textbooks can be dry and repetitive). In the phonetics class, I’ve already surpassed my previous Phonetics & Phonology of Spanish course that I took in college. Right now we’re learning how to transcribe connected speech. It’s not easy – in case you were wondering. There are so many different factors to consider and sometimes I can’t hear the difference in certain sounds.
In the other course on language development, it is SO COOL to learn about how we acquire language! After the chapter on Vygotsky and Piaget (and all their other friends), I thought the course would be a repeat of my Ed Psych course in undergrad, but it has actually been filled with new info! The chapters on infant, toddler, and pre-school development are filled with facts and research about developmental milestones, potential disorders, learning processes, and other nifty stuff that I didn’t know.
Grades wise – I’m doing pretty well. I’m working pretty hard on the homework assignments – I usually submit about 4 pages per assignment. I need to put in a little more effort into the phonetics assignments though – like double checking rules for stress patterns instead of following my gut. One thing I like about USU’s platform for classes is the ability to “test out” different grades in the grade book for each class so you can see how it will affect your score!
One thing I find challenging is trying to figure out which things I will need as a practitioner one day. I mean, obviously all of the material is important or we wouldn’t be learning it. But, I want to know what will I use everyday as a practitioner. What things should I memorize now to save myself time later, and what things should I not worry about because I will naturally learn them through practice?
If you’re interested in Utah State University, for their online 2nd degree program in Communication Disorders, I’d be happy to answer questions. Just email me at: