Chapter Summary

Language is so fundamentally human and, yet, we mostly take it for granted that we can learn to speak and understand others. In this chapter, you have been introduced to psycholinguistics, explaining the processes and theoretical accounts of the key aspects of language: its production, comprehension and acquisition. You have also learned the stages of reading and what sorts of difficulties might be encountered by some people and why. Hopefully, this has produced awe at how our brains can achieve these amazing abilities and an understanding of how important psychological research in the area of language is, especially to inform support for those who find language or reading difficult.