Module 9 Vocabulary & Terms

Question 1

Linguistic Inferiority Principle

Answer 1

refers to the tendency of speakers of the socially dominant group in a society to interpret speech of a subordinate group as linguistically inferior to that of their own.

Question 2

Grammaticality Myth

Answer 2

holds that any structure not in conformity with standard English is not grammatical.

Question 3

phonetics

Answer 3

The sounds of a language

Question 4

phonology

Answer 4

The sound patterns of a language

Question 5

morphology

Answer 5

Rules of word-formation

Question 6

syntax

Answer 6

How words combine into phrases/sentences

Question 7

semantics

Answer 7

How to derive meaning from a sentence

Question 8

pragmatics

Answer 8

How to properly use language in context

Question 9

Lexical items

Answer 9

Words, morphemes, idioms, etc

Question 10

Innateness Hypothesis

Answer 10

argues that our ability to acquire (human) language is innate (genetically encoded).

Question 11

Universal Grammar (UG)

Answer 11

refers to the “set of structural characteristics shared by all languages”

Question 12

Connectionist Theories

Answer 12

Claims that exposure to language develops and strengthens neural connections.

Question 13

Critical Period Hypothesis

Answer 13

Claims there is a critical period in development during which a language can be acquired like a native speaker

Question 14

Skinner Behaviorist Theory (not currently relevant)

Answer 14

argued that children learn language based on behaviorist reinforcement principles by associating words with meanings. Correct utterances are positively reinforced.

Question 15

Noam Chomsky UG

Answer 15

Universal Grammar is considered to contain all the grammatical information needed to combine these categories, e.g. noun and verb, into phrases. The child’s task is just to learn the words of her language (Ambridge & Lieven).

Question 16

Language Acquisition Device (LAD)

Answer 16

a hypothetical module of the human mind posited to account for children’s innate predisposition for language acquisition

Question 17

Economy of derivation.

Answer 17

a principle stating that movements (i.e. transformations) only occur in order to match interpretable features with uninterpretable features.

Question 18

Economy of representation

Answer 18

the principle that grammatical structures must exist for a purpose, i.e. the structure of a sentence should be no larger or more complex than required to satisfy constraints on grammaticality

Question 19

Cognitive Theory

Answer 19

Language Acquisition must be viewed within the context of a child’s intellectual development

Question 20

Input Theory (Motherese theory)

Answer 20

Main Argument: Parents do not talk to their children in the same way as they talk to other adults and seem to be capable of adapting their language to give the child maximum opportunity to interact and learn

Question 21

Interlanguage

Answer 21

a language or form of language having features of two others, typically a pidgin or a version produced by a foreign learner.

Question 22

Language transfer

Answer 22

the application of linguistic features from one language to another by a bilingual or multilingual speaker.

Question 23

Interaction hypothesis

Answer 23

a theory of second-language acquisition which states that the development of language proficiency is promoted by face-to-face interaction and communication

Question 24

comprehensible output (CO) hypothesis

Answer 24

comprehensible output (CO) hypothesis states that learning takes place when a learner encounters a gap in his or her linguistic knowledge of the second language (L2).

Question 25

Krashen 5 stages of second-language acquisition

Answer 25

preproduction, early production, speech emergence, intermediate fluency, and advanced fluency

Question 26

preproduction

Answer 26

also known as the silent period. Learners at this stage have a receptive vocabulary of up to 500 words, but they do not yet speak their second language

Question 27

early production

Answer 27

learners are able to speak in short phrases of one or two words

Question 28

speech emergence

Answer 28

Learners’ vocabularies increase to around 3000 words during this stage, and they can communicate using simple questions and phrases

Question 29

intermediate fluency

Answer 29

learners have a vocabulary of around 6000 words, and can use more complicated sentence structures

Question 30

advanced fluency

Answer 30

typically reached somewhere between five and ten years of learning the language. Learners at this stage can function at a level close to native speakers

Question 31

L1

Answer 31

native language acquisition

Question 32

L2

Answer 32

second language acquisition

Question 33

Language acquisition

Answer 33

Children acquire language through a subconscious process during which they are unaware of grammatical rules.

Question 34

Language learning

Answer 34

is the result of direct instruction in the rules of language.

Question 35

Language Acquisition

Answer 35

unconscious process
does not presuppose teaching
the child controls the pace

Question 36

Language Learning

Answer 36

intentional process
presupposes teaching
the teacher controls the pace

Question 37

`Bilingualism

Answer 37

the ability to use two languages

Question 38

`Academic English

Answer 38

the English language ability needed to participate in school.

Question 39

English language learner (ELL)

Answer 39

a student who is age 5 or older and who is learning English as a second language.

Question 40

Dual language program/dual immersion

Answer 40

is designed to make all students in the class literate in two languages.