Deck 1: Introduction to the Study of Language Development

Question 1

The reasons to study language include:

A) It is required.
B) It provides an opportunity to meet parents and preschool children.
C) It provides understanding for applied and social sciences.
D) All of these answers are true.

Answer 1

C

Question 2

Observation of how "The Wild Boy of Averyon," learned language:

A) contributed to success in teaching learners who are deaf.
B) contributed to the use of baby biographies
C) laid the foundation for Darwin's study of his son's communication
D) proved that children without language have limited thinking skills

Answer 2

A

Question 3

Researchers agree that language development is a:

A) socially learned behavior defined by a child's social or cultural community.
B) complex system that maps sounds, or oral language, to meanings.
C) result of a device in the human brain that takes information from the environment and uses it to produce language.
D) None of these answers are true.

Answer 3

D

Question 4

The first recorded language acquisition experiment:

A) was conducted by Greeks in the fourth century BC.
B) provided the foundation for ethics in child language development.
C) focused on racial issues.
D) explained how two infants learned their first words.

Question 5

Behaviorism refers to the study of:

A) changes in children's behavior.
B) how children behave.
C) language behavior.
D) how behavior changes in response to occurrences in prior behavior.

Question 6

The study of language is divided into the following components:

A) Phonology, lexical development, syntax and morphology, and communicative competence.
B) Learnability, behaviorism, cognitivism, and connectionism.
C) Baby biographies, normative studies and case studies.
D) Second language acquisition, bilingualism, verbal skills, and language universals.

Question 7

In the 1950's, two psychological theories, behaviorism and cognitivism, were pitted against each other to:

A) explain what goes on in the mind of a rat.
B) account for differences in developmental stages.
C) explain how children acquire the complexities and use of language.
D) serve as a test for studying changes in human behavior.

Question 8

Research on language development has evolved to the point that:

A) technology is increasingly used to study how the brain develops.
B) brain image studies are used to evaluate cross-cultural language learning.
C) cognitive development and the study of the nature of the human language capacity are central to the field.
D) language development hypothesis are tested in computer simulations.

Question 9

Language development research focuses on:

A) questions regarding normal language development in most cases
B) subjects that include points of contact with a variety of social sciences
C) communication for learners who have disabilities
D) education and anthropology

Question 10

Generally, the age when very little is completely missing from the linguistic competence of children, or when language acquisition is completed, is:

A) Three years old.
B) Four years old.
C) Six years old.
D) Eight years old.

Question 11

Semantic components of oral language refer to:

A) the transmittal of information to others in socially appropriate ways.
B) the sound system of the language.
C) vocabulary and processes of derivational morphology.
D) None of these answers.

Question 12

Cognitivism refers to the study of:

A) changes in children's mental language.
B) internal mental processes and how they relate to behavior.
C) language development.
D) psychological developmental stages.

Question 13

The biological approach to researching child language acquisition:

A) focuses on the relationship of the child's developmental milestones and language learning mechanisms.
B) represents the debate between psychologists and linguists on how the child processes language in the brain.
C) examines how language and language development are related to biological processes.
D) explains the fact that language is acquired and is considered the "learnability approach" to research.

Question 14

The study of "The Wild Boy of Averyron," a child deprived of language access in his early years does which of the following?

A) Demonstrates how children learn to talk in normal environments.
B) Reflects the influence of environment on child language development.
C) Demonstrates appropriate language intervention practices for young children.
D) Indicates that there may be a critical period for normal language acquisition.

Question 15

The study of language development is used as an applied research topic for:

A) children who have a variety of conditions, including mental retardation, brain injury, and hearing impairment.
B) commercial industries to increase the economic stature of businesses.
C) sociologists interested cultural differences.
D) researchers interested in autism.

Question 16

Data collection in language research relies on diary studies for what purpose?

A) For mothers to keep data on child language development in longitudinal research projects.
B) To illustrate rapid changes in children's language acquisition.
C) To describe early language development.
D) None of these answers are true.

Question 17

Child language research paralleled studies in linguistics in which of the following ways?

A) Research in the 1960's focused on children's phonologic development, followed by focus on the history of child language research, and then later had an interest in pragmatics.
B) Research from the 1960's through the 1980's focused on the debate between nature vs. nurture perspectives, behaviorism and interactionist approaches.
C) Research in the 1960's focused on children's grammatical development, then focused on theory; later in the 1980's and 1990's, research focused on syntax as well as lexicon and pragmatics.
D) Research from the 1960's through the 1980's centered on the general study of language development milestones, pragmatics and sociolinguistic approaches to data analysis.

Question 18

A chronological view of child language development demonstrates that children learn language in the following stages:

A) All at once.
B) Syllables sounds, grammar and communicative competence.
C) Phonology, vocabulary, grammar.
D) None of these answers are true.

Question 19

Most research on language acquisition was conducted:

A) between World War I and the 1950s.
B) to establish norms in large-scale studies.
C) to evaluate new language assessment instruments.
D) to evaluate when children articulate different sounds, acquire vocabulary and use long sentences.

Question 20

Studies of children "without language," such as Psammeifhus's study, Goldin-Meadow, and the "Wild Boy" from Aveyron, provide:

A) examples of unethical practices.
B) ways to address questions related to the origin of language.
C) evidence of early language learning behaviors.
D) a background into the study of society's influence on language acquisition.

Question 21

Constructivism grew out of:

A) a response to behaviorism.
B) Piaget's views on cognitive and language development.
C) nativist' views on child language acquisition.
D) empiricists views on nature vs. nurture.

Question 22

The connectionist approach to language research:

A) attempts to explain the relationship of a system of rules, how they operate over symbols and child development.
B) relies on the use of computer programs to evaluate the categories, or variables, of units of linguistic knowledge.
C) refers to computer processing systems as a metaphor for how the human brain stores linguistic knowledge.
D) refers to the study of how the child connects knowledge of words, symbols and language rules to communication.

Question 23

Theories of language development can be divided into several categories of research, including:

A) theories of how children develop a language acquisition device.
B) studying different aspects of cognitive development, perspectives on language development, and theories of childhood development.
C) focusing on longitudinal, observational, experimental and correlational studies.
D) studying children with disabilities and communicative handicaps.

Question 24

Social interactionism represents the view that:

A) children learn socially appropriate language by the age of eight.
B) the need for social interaction with another person is central to learning language.
C) the mind is programmed for language development by aspects of children's social groups.
D) All of these answers are true.

Question 25

The nature-nurture debate:

A) represents arguments presented as a result of recent developments in the field of language research.
B) encompasses the nativist, interactionist, constructivist and emergent points of views.
C) relates to the differences between the empiricist and behaviorist points of view.
D) is based on arguments raised in Chomsky's research on the rapidity and ease of children's language acquisition processes.

Question 26

The domain-specific theoretical position in the discussion of the nature of language:

A) asserts that children process language and store it across domain areas in the brain.
B) refers to the position that language input and learning procedures are a result of individual genetic coding.
C) is part of the modularity thesis, which states that language is a self-contained module in the mind.
D) explains that language learning processes parallel cognitive development processes.

Question 27

Studies of babies listening to nonsense syllables demonstrated that babies:

A) can distinguish phonological differences in utterances.
B) can process patterns of sounds in utterances.
C) evelop rules for receptive communication.
D) All of these answers are true.

Question 28

The formalist view of language entails:

A) the view that language is formally learned in a ritualistic manner.
B) the understanding that language learning is prescribed by cultural rules.
C) the view that the human mind has a faculty for language learning that is a computational-representational system.
D) Studying language in a computer-based methodology.

Question 29

Babies are statistical learners, which refers to:

A) only language development processes.
B) how they copy different lengths of speech utterances.
C) the rate and accuracy of copying phonological units of utterances.
D) the notion that counting the frequency with which one stimulus follows another occurs in language and cognitive skill development.

Question 30

The formalist view of language states that:

A) child language development occurs as a result of innate intelligence.
B) the influence of adult language modeling stimulates child language development.
C) studying language and the process of using language to communicate is not relevant to the discussion of child language acquisition.
D) language is a "computational-representational system" that it is not intrinsically a system of communication.

Question 31

The study of continuity and discontinuity in language development:

A) refers to the study of how children have delays in the sequence of language development milestones.
B) takes into account the relationship of childese to parents' or caregivers' language.
C) refers to the relationship of vocabulary development to continuous language development.
D) takes into account changes in the quality of a child's language use.

Question 32

Emergentism refers to the view that children's language:

A) develops out of the interactions of environmental and biological aspects of the child's nature
B) emerges as a result of adult modeling
C) is a product of cognitive and social behaviors
D) develops as a result of social interaction

Question 33

Major disagreements about language learning center on the:

A) nativist vs. interactionist view.
B) interactionist view vs. the constructivist view.
C) constructivist view vs. the connectionist view.
D) nature vs. nurture view.

Question 34

Connectionism is a model where language consists of:

A) a number of elements of language components interacting with each other.
B) a set of processing elements, or nodes, and the connections among these nodes to other nodes.
C) the relationship between nature and nurture.
D) a mechanism that interacts with nodes to produce language.

Question 35

Empiricism considers that children:

A) learn language in a scientific manner.
B) acquire language without direct instruction.
C) acquire language quickly.
D) are born with minds like blank slates

Question 36

Opposing the formalist view is the functionalist view, which states that:

A) language is shaped by the communicative functions that it serves.
B) language is learned in context and must be useful.
C) children learn to communicate because they have a desire to express thoughts and feelings.
D) communication functions as a learning tool.

Question 37

Major theories of language development take into account:

A) several approaches to psychological and cognitive development, some which are functional and others which are interactive.
B) Noam Chomsky's view that children are motivated to learn language according to feedback that adults and peers give them.
B)F. Skinner's view that language learning is based on innate knowledge and is motivated by socialization.
C) five sets of tenets that address grammar, language construction, social phenomenon, language as a system of patterns and learning through positive behaviorism.
D)

Question 38

The dynamical systems theory (DST) is based on

A) the premise that language is a static system of knowledge in a dynamic culture.
B) the view that language emerges as a result of a series and number of interactions.
C) the outcomes of research on cognitive development.
D) theories related to the concept of the language acquisition device.

Question 39

The developmental approach to the study of language addresses such issues as:

A) stages of the child's language learning process.
B) evidence of what the child knows.
C) how natural language is created, governed and constrained.
D) the nature of evolution of language.

Question 40

The social approach to researching child language acquisition:

A) recognizes the principle that there is a "Universal Grammar" for all children.
B) is based on examining the social phenomenon related to children's language development.
C) is based on the view that language development occurs as a domain-general cognitive process.
D) relies on the examining the relationship between developmental milestones and social-emotional needs of the child.

Question 41

Describe the many issues embedded in the discussion of nature vs. nurture. Explain how they relate to each other and what influence the discussion has on research practices.

Question 42

Describe the various aspects of learning mechanisms examined in early child language acquisition and discuss how they influence the understanding of how children learn language.

Question 43

Describe computational modeling and give examples of how it is used in studying language development. Explain how it is used to test theories.

Question 44

Define language and provide a discussion of how the overview of language development relates to applied research.

Question 45

Research on the field of child language acquisition is published in:

A) three major journals.
B) journals from eight different disciplines.
C) journals designed for linguists only.
D) None of these answers are true.

Question 46

Discuss the current questions facing researchers in child language development and how they relate to major issues in the field.

Question 47

Background knowledge on past and current developments in research is basic to an individual's study of child language research. Examine the journals and major publications on this subject. Select three topics and provide an annotated list of related references.

Question 48

Explain the relationship between communication and language. List the major researchers in this discussion and describe the main contributions they have made to the field of study.

Question 49

Describe how early experiments on child language development from as long ago as the fourth century
B.C. relates to the Chomskyan revolution. Describe researchers' questions across the years and compare and contrast the outcome of their studies.

Question 50

CHILDES is a data bank of:

A) transcribed samples from Roger Brown's early research with Adam, Eve, and Sarah.
B) language samples.
C) results of standardized tests on children's language stages.
D) computerized data on child language development.

Question 51

How to best conduct research on child language acquisition is an integral question in the field of language acquisition study. Compare and contrast the various issues related to this topic.

Question 52

Transcripts are coded by linguists:

A) with a standardized coding system.
B) by hand for accuracy.
C) with a variety of methods which are designed for the purpose of the research.
D) using the International Phonetics Alphabet.

Question 53

Students refer to journals to:

A) study of specific topics of interest.
B) reference to research reported in the text.
C) complete class assignments.
D) All of these answers are true.

Question 54

The discussion of children's innate ability to learn language is salient to the field of child language research. What are the major points in this discussion?

Question 55

Standardized tests and measures of language development:

A) are used to evaluate the relationship of language to IQ.
B) examine whether children with language delay have lower cognitive functioning.
C) get norm-referenced measures for placement in school programs.
D) None of these answers are true.