Child Language Acquisition

Question 1

What is the primary goal of using child-directed speech (CDS)?

Answer 1

To simplify communication so children can more easily understand and acquire language.

Question 2

When an adult uses a higher pitch and exaggerated intonation while talking to a baby, what is the purpose of this?

Answer 2

To help maintain the baby’s attention and interest.

Question 3

What is a common strategy used in CDS to encourage language development by expanding on the child’s utterance?

Answer 3

Recasting

Question 4

What does “recasting” mean in child-directed speech?

Answer 4

Repeating the child’s sentence in a grammatically correct or more complex form.

Question 5

When a child says “doggy run” and the adult responds, “Yes, the dog is running!” this is an example of
E _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Answer 5

Expansion

Question 6

Why is a slower speech tempo often used in child-directed speech?

Answer 6

It gives the child more time to process the sounds and meaning.

Question 7

Which strategy involves repeating what a child says in a more sophisticated or grammatically correct way?

Answer 7

Expansion

Question 8

“Parental scaffolding” is a key feature in child-directed speech. What does this involve?

Answer 8

Gradually adjusting the complexity of language to match the child’s growing abilities.

Question 9

What is the function of repetition in child-directed speech?

Answer 9

To build the child’s confidence in understanding and using language.

Question 10

When talking to children, why do adults often emphasise and repeat key words?

Answer 10

To help the child focus on important words and their meanings.

Question 11

Talking to yourself out loud about what you’re doing, especially when a child is watching is a CDS strategy called:
S _ _ _ T _ _ _

Answer 11

Self Talk

Question 12

Asking open-ended questions and waiting for their response could be described as a feature of what?

Answer 12

Child Directed Speech

Question 13

What is “substitution” in the context of phonological errors?

Answer 13

Replacing one sound with another, often easier, sound.

Question 14

A child says “pat” instead of “cat.” This is an example of:
S _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Answer 14

Substitution

Question 15

What is the term for a child’s tendency to replace a difficult sound with a simpler one, such as “w” for “r” (e.g., saying “wabbit” for “rabbit”)?

Answer 15

Substitution

Question 16

When a child omits the final consonant in a word, for example, saying “ca” instead of “cat,” this is called:

Answer 16

(Final consonant) deletion

Question 17

What is “consonant cluster reduction”?

Answer 17

When a child omits one or more consonants in a group of consonants (e.g., “poon” for “spoon”).

Question 18

A child says “gog” instead of “dog.” What type of error is this?

Answer 18

Assimilation

Question 19

“Reduplication” occurs when a child repeats a
W _ _ _ _ S _ _ _ _ _ _ _ (e.g., “baba” for “bottle”)

Answer 19

Whole Syllable

Question 20

A child says “nana” instead of “banana.” What kind of phonological process is this?

Answer 20

Deletion of an unstressed syllable

Question 21

What is “assimilation” in phonological errors?

Answer 21

Changing a sound to make it more like another sound in the word (e.g., “gog” for “dog”).

Question 22

A child says “tee” instead of “tree.” What type of phonological error is this?

Answer 22

Consonant cluster reduction

Question 23

What does “deletion of an unstressed syllable” refer to?

Answer 23

Removing the quieter, less emphasized syllable in a word (e.g., saying “nana” for “banana”).

Question 24

A child says “pider” instead of “spider.” This is an example of:

Answer 24

Consonant cluster reduction

Question 25

According to Bruner, what is the primary factor that drives language development in children?

Answer 25

Social interaction and communication with caregivers

Question 26

What is the name of the supportive framework that adults provide to help children learn language, according to Bruner?

Answer 26

Language Acquisition Support System (LASS)

Question 27

The gradual removal of support as the child becomes more competent. What aspect of social interactionism would this describe?

Answer 27

Scaffolding

Question 28

Bruner emphasized the importance of interaction between children and adults in structured, routine settings. What is the term for these repetitive interactions, like mealtime or story time, that support language learning?

Answer 28

Scaffolding routines

Question 29

What is the role of the Language Acquisition Support System (LASS) in Bruner’s theory?

Answer 29

It represents the external social and cultural framework that supports language learning.

Question 30

How does Bruner’s theory of social interactionism differ from Chomsky’s theory of language acquisition?

Answer 30

Bruner emphasises social interaction and cultural context, while Chomsky focuses on an innate language acquisition device.

Question 31

In Bruner’s view, the interactional routines used by caregivers when speaking to children help achieve what goal?

Answer 31

Structuring the environment to make language predictable and easier to learn.

Question 32

What is the term for the way adults modify their speech patterns when talking to young children, a concept central to Bruner’s theory?

Answer 32

Child-directed speech

Question 33

In what way does Bruner’s concept of scaffolding change over time during a child’s language development?

Answer 33

The adult provides less structured guidance as the child becomes more independent.

Question 34

What is Bruner’s primary criticism of theories that focus solely on the innate biological mechanisms for language development?

Answer 34

They underestimate the role of social interaction and cultural context in language learning.

Question 35

According to Skinner’s behaviourism, how do children learn language?

Answer 35

By imitating adults and receiving reinforcement

Question 36

What type of reinforcement is central to Skinner’s explanation of how children acquire language?

Answer 36

Negative reinforcement

Question 37

When a child says “milk” and the caregiver responds by giving the child milk and praising them, this is an example of P _ _ _ _ _ _ _ R _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Answer 37

Positive reinforcement

Question 38

A child repeats words or phrases they hear from adults.
What would Skinner call this?

Answer 38

Imitation

Question 39

What does Skinner mean by operant conditioning in the context of language development?

Answer 39

Language learning occurs as a result of reinforcement and consequences.

Question 40

How does Skinner’s theory explain the development of more complex sentences in children?

Answer 40

Caregivers provide reinforcement as children attempt increasingly complex speech.

Question 41

Which theory is most clearly associated with virtuous errors? Why is this?

Answer 41

Nativism - because it shows children apply grammatical rules without being taught them

Question 42

What is a virtuous error?

Answer 42

A logical mistake - where a grammatical rule is applied to an irregular form e.g. I runned using a regular -ed inflection

Question 43

How many morphemes are in the following sentence?

‘The doggies runned over there’

Answer 43

7

Question 44

What is a morpheme?

Answer 44

The smallest unit of meaning

Question 45

Name the phonological error: The doggy goes over there

Answer 45

Addition

Question 46

Name the phonological error: Can I see babbit [rabbit]?

Answer 46

Assimilation

Question 47

Name the phonological error: I eat yogyog

Answer 47

Reduplication

Question 48

Name the phonological error: I eat with poon

Answer 48

Consonant Cluster reduction

Question 49

Name the phonological error: Where mote [tv remote] gone?

Answer 49

Deletion of unstressed syllables

Question 50

Name the phonological error: my ca [cat] says miaow

Answer 50

Deletion

Question 51

Name the phonological error: The lowwy [lorry] makes a big noise

Answer 51

Substitution

Question 52

Which theory of child language acquisition is this: the view that language is acquired through imitation and reinforcement

Answer 52

Behaviourism

Question 53

Which theory of child language acquisition is this: that language acquisition is part of a wider development of understanding

Answer 53

Cognitivism

Question 54

Which theory of child language acquisition is this:

Question 55

Which theory of child language acquisition is this: the view that humans have an inbuilt capacity to acquire language

Answer 55

Nativism

Question 56

Which theory of child language acquisition is this: the view that child language is developed through close interaction with carers

Answer 56

Social Interactionism