Question 1

Early exposure is _________ condition for normal language development.
A) a necessary and sufficient
B) neither necessary nor sufficient
C) a sufficient
D) a necessary but not a sufficient

Accepted Answer

Early exposure to language is necessary for normal language development, but it is not sufficient on its own. Other factors, such as genetic predispositions and environmental factors, also play a role in language development. Therefore, option D (necessary but not sufficient) is the best choice.

Question 2

According to Lane (1976), Victor's delay in language acquisition was due to:
A) his isolation in the wild
B) his being mentally retarded or autistic
C) both (a) and (b)
D) neither (a) nor (b)

Accepted Answer

Lane (1976) claimed that Victor's delay in language acquisition was primarily because of his isolation in the wild. There was no evidence to suggest that Victor was mentally retarded or autistic.

Question 3

Children with Williams syndrome display:
A) normal cognitive development but delayed syntactic skills
B) delayed cognitive development but normal syntactic skills
C) delayed cognitive development and delayed syntactic skills
D) normal cognitive development and poor semantic skills

Accepted Answer

Children with Williams syndrome typically have delayed cognitive development and are slower to reach developmental milestones. However, they typically have normal syntactic skills, meaning they can understand and use grammar and sentence structure correctly.

Question 4

Slobin's list of operating principles explains:
A) universal patterns in child development
B) the steps by which children learn exceptions to regular verb forms
C) how child-directed speech facilitates acquisition
D) how children acquire a second language more easily than adults do

Accepted Answer

Slobin's list of operating principles explains universal patterns in child development, such as the use of word order, sentence structure, and other language features.

Question 5

In general, speech directed at young children is _____ than adult-directed speech.
A) longer, higher in pitch, and more intonationally exaggerated
B) shorter, lower in pitch, and spoken in a monotone
C) shorter, higher in pitch, and more intonationally exaggerated
D) longer, lower in pitch, and spoken in a monotone

Accepted Answer

Studies have shown that speech directed at young children, also known as infant-directed speech or motherese, tends to be shorter, higher in pitch, and more intonationally exaggerated. This may help capture and maintain the attention of the child, and also aid in language acquisition.

Question 6

Children who have mastered object permanence begin to use words that refer to:
A) objects that don't move
B) objects that they can move or manipulate themselves
C) any object in the immediate environment
D) objects that are not immediately present

Accepted Answer

Children who have mastered object permanence begin to understand that objects continue to exist even when they are out of sight. As a result, they may begin to use words to refer to objects that are not immediately present, such as "daddy" or "toy."

Question 7

Experimental studies of the effect of adult speech input on language acquisition suggest that children benefit from:
A) practice in imitation of adult speech
B) adult sentences that recast the child's sentences into more complete grammatical form
C) adult sentences that are short and grammatical
D) adult sentences that are similar to their own

Accepted Answer

Studies have shown that when adults recast a child's sentence into a more complete grammatical form, it helps the child learn by providing them with a model of how to use grammar correctly. This type of input is often called "input enhancement" and has been found to be effective in improving children's language acquisition.

Question 8

The existence of patients with intact syntactic skills who have deficits in semantic knowledge refutes the notion that:
A) universal grammar exists
B) there is a distinction between linguistic competence and performance
C) normal cognitive development is necessary for language development
D) there is a critical age for language learning

Accepted Answer

The existence of patients who can understand and produce grammatically correct sentences but struggle with understanding the meaning of words or sentences (semantic knowledge) suggests that normal cognitive development is not strictly necessary for the development of syntactic skills. This challenges the idea that all aspects of cognitive development must be intact for language development to occur normally.

Question 9

The strong form of the motherese hypothesis states that:
A) motherese is necessary but not sufficient for language to develop properly
B) motherese is necessary and sufficient for language to develop properly
C) motherese is not necessary for language development if other forms of child-directed behavior are used
D) motherese is neigher necessary or sufficient for language to develop properly

Accepted Answer

The strong form of the motherese hypothesis states that motherese is both necessary and sufficient for language development to occur properly. This view suggests that infants who are not exposed to motherese will not develop typical language abilities. However, this view has been criticized by researchers who argue that caregiver responsiveness and other child-directed behaviors also play a crucial role in language acquisition.

Question 10

The effects of motherese on children's syntactic development seems most clear in the child's acquisition of:
A) negation
B) verb auxiliaries
C) pronouns
D) definite articles

Accepted Answer

Studies have shown that motherese or infant-directed speech (IDS) has a particularly strong impact on the child's acquisition of verb auxiliaries, such as "is" and "are." Mothers tend to overuse these auxiliary verbs in IDS, which helps children to learn and produce these forms more quickly and accurately than other forms of grammar.

Question 11

Hakuta and Bialystok (2001) argued against the concept of a critical period for second-language (L2) acquisition. They argued that:
A) even though earlier immigrants show greater L2 proficiency, there was a sharp break at 15 years of age
B) younger and older learners differ in cognitive development, and perhaps in the cognitive strategies they use in L2 learning
C) the sheer amount of practice that adults receive in L2 is far greater than that received by children
D) adults' fears and attitudes about second language learning strongly affects their L2 acquisition

Accepted Answer

Hakuta and Bialystok argued that younger and older learners differ in cognitive development and may use different cognitive strategies in L2 learning. They did not find evidence for a critical period for L2 acquisition.

Question 12

In Johnston and Slobin's (1979) waiting room metaphor, the entry door represents the:
A) child's cognitive development
B) transition from infancy to toddlerhood
C) the lag between conceptualizing and expressing a concept
D) acquisition of the appropriate linguistic form

Accepted Answer

The answer of In Johnston and Slobin's (1979) waiting room...

Question 13

Children reputed to have been raised in the wild or by animals are known as:
A) hominid
B) feral
C) critical
D) biprogrammed

Accepted Answer

Children reputed to have been raised in the wild or by animals are referred to as feral. The term "hominid" refers to any member of the family Hominidae, which includes humans and the great apes. "Critical" refers to something important or decisive, and "biprogrammed" is not a recognized term.

Question 14

Children's first use of negative sentences reflects which operating principle?
A) pay attention to the ends of words
B) avoid exceptions
C) avoid interruptions or rearrangement of linguistic units
D) pay attention to the order of words and morphemes

Accepted Answer

Children's first use of negative sentences often involves placing "no" or "not" at the beginning or end of a sentence, reflecting their tendency to avoid interruptions or rearrangement of linguistic units.

Question 15

When children encounter a new word, they usually assume that it refers to the entire object rather than to part of the object. This is called the:
A) mutual exclusivity bias
B) sensorimotor bias
C) whole object bias
D) taxonomic bias

Accepted Answer

The description provided refers to the whole object bias, which is the tendency for children to assume that a new word refers to the entire object rather than just a part of it. The other options (A) mutual exclusivity bias, (B) sensorimotor bias, and (D) taxonomic bias do not fit the description given.

Question 16

Genie's language acquisition was particularly weak in the area of:
A) semantics
B) pragmatics
C) syntax
D) phonology

Accepted Answer

Genie, a feral child, struggled significantly with syntax, which involves the arrangement of words and phrases to create well-formed sentences.

Question 17

Children's overregularizations of grammatical morphemes corresponds to which operating principle?
A) pay attention to the ends of words
B) avoid interruption or rearrangement of linguistic units
C) pay attention to the order of words and morphemes
D) avoid exceptions

Accepted Answer

Overregularizations stem from children's tendency to apply regular rules to all words, including exceptions. This corresponds to the operating principle of avoiding exceptions.

Question 18

When children reject a second name for an object whose name they already know, they are using the:
A) mutual exclusivity bias
B) sensorimotor bias
C) whole object bias
D) taxonomic bias

Accepted Answer

The mutual exclusivity bias is a cognitive bias that leads children to assume that each object has a single name. When they encounter a second name for an object, they tend to reject it because they already know a name for that object, reflecting their assumption that objects cannot have more than one label.

Question 19

Research on the relationship between object permanence and the acquisition of the words more and allgone was based on the hypothesis that object permanence should occur _____ the acquisition of these words.
A) before
B) the same time as
C) after
D) independently of

Accepted Answer

Object permanence is the understanding that objects continue to exist even when they cannot be seen, heard, or otherwise sensed. This cognitive development typically precedes language acquisition, including the understanding and use of words like "more" and "allgone," which imply an awareness of the presence or absence of objects.

Question 20

Johnson and Newport (1989) studied native Korean and Chinese speakers who had immigrated to the United States between 3 and 39 years of age. The subjects judged whether strings of English words were sentences or not. The study showed that those who arrived in the US between _____ years old had the highest grammatical scores.
A) 3 and 7
B) 8 and 10
C) 11 and 15
D) 16 and 39

Accepted Answer

The study by Johnson and Newport (1989) found that individuals who were exposed to a second language (in this case, English) between the ages of 3 and 7 years old achieved the highest grammatical scores, supporting the critical period hypothesis for language acquisition.

Quiz 12: Processes of Language Acquisition

Early exposure is _________ condition for normal language development.

According to Lane (1976) , Victor's delay in language acquisition was due to:

Children with Williams syndrome display:

Slobin's list of operating principles explains:

In general, speech directed at young children is _____ than adult-directed speech.

Children who have mastered object permanence begin to use words that refer to:

Experimental studies of the effect of adult speech input on language acquisition suggest that children benefit from:

The existence of patients with intact syntactic skills who have deficits in semantic knowledge refutes the notion that:

The strong form of the motherese hypothesis states that:

The effects of motherese on children's syntactic development seems most clear in the child's acquisition of:

Hakuta and Bialystok (2001) argued against the concept of a critical period for second-language (L2) acquisition. They argued that:

In Johnston and Slobin's (1979) waiting room metaphor, the entry door represents the:

Children reputed to have been raised in the wild or by animals are known as:

Children's first use of negative sentences reflects which operating principle?

When children encounter a new word, they usually assume that it refers to the entire object rather than to part of the object. This is called the:

Genie's language acquisition was particularly weak in the area of:

Children's overregularizations of grammatical morphemes corresponds to which operating principle?

When children reject a second name for an object whose name they already know, they are using the:

Research on the relationship between object permanence and the acquisition of the words more and allgone was based on the hypothesis that object permanence should occur _____ the acquisition of these words.