English Language Unit 1 AOS2: Language Acquisition

Key knowledge

• the nature and the developmental stages of child language acquisition

• the major theories of child language acquisition

• phonological, morphological, lexical, syntactic and semantic development in children

• metalanguage to discuss how language is acquired.

Key skills

• define key linguistic concepts as they relate to the acquisition of language

• use key concepts and metalanguage appropriately to describe and analyse language use in an objective and a
systematic way

• investigate what children need to acquire as they develop as users of spoken language from babyhood to early
adolescence, including how they acquire language knowledge and how they learn to use language for a range of
functions

• read a phonetic transcription of Australian English, using the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA).

Below are some practice questions to assist with your revision:

1. Explain the following terms: Babbling; Holophrastic; Two-Word and Telegraphic (8 marks)
- Babbling: The stage where the baby is using its mouth to produce sounds, not saying any words but
experimenting with speaking
- Holophrastic:
- Two-word:
- Telegraphic:

2. Assign the following terms to the relevant theorist. Explain each term (1 mark per theorist + 2 marks per term)
A) Language Acquisition Device; Universal Grammar
B) Reinforcement; Imitation; Association
C) Language Acquisition Support System; Child Directed Speech

3. Explain why children often substitute “d” for “th” sounds. Use metalanguage in your response (3 marks)

4. When do children begin using function words in their utterances? (1 mark)

Children use function words at the end of the telegraphic stage.

5. What is a semantic field? Provide an example (2 marks)

The semantic field is the context and/or the topic of the text.

6. Explain the nature V nurture debate. Which theories are associated with each? (5 marks)
7. Transcribe the following sentences from IPA to standard English: (4 marks)
A) /lʊk æt ðə bɜd ɪn ðə tri/ look at the bird in the tree
B) /ju kæn gɛt hɒt ænd kɒld wɔtə wɛn ju tɜn ɒn ðə tæp/ you can get hot and cold water when you turn on the
tap

8. What is a voiced sound? Provide an example (2 marks)

 The ‘z’ sound is a voiced sound because it required you to use your vocal cords.
9. What is the difference between the place and manner of articulation? (3 marks)
10. What is the place and manner of the following sounds: (3 x 2 marks)
A) P
B) R
C) N
11. How does a child’s morphology progress? (4 marks)
12. Compare semantic overgeneralisation, undergeneralizations and mismatch. (4 marks)
13. Analyse the following transcript, noting the child’s ability with (6 marks):
A) Phonology
B) Morphology
C) Select a theorist and explain the child’s language acquisition

Kate (2 yrs 6 months) is sitting on the knee of a family friend.

Adult: (Pointing to one of Kate’s feet) What’s that?

Kate: A footsie

Adult: (Pointing to both feet) What are these?

Kate: Two footsies- no, two feetsies, I mean.