CTEL CTEL Language and Language Development 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which theorist proposed that children are born with an innate Language Acquisition Device (LAD) that facilitates language learning?
- B.F. Skinner
- Noam Chomsky (Correct answer)
- Lev Vygotsky
- Jean Piaget
Correct answer: Noam Chomsky
Chomsky proposed the LAD as an innate mental faculty that enables children to acquire language naturally.
Question 2: What is the term for the systematic errors English learners make that reflect patterns of their first language?
- Interlanguage
- Language transfer (Correct answer)
- Code-switching
- Fossilization
Correct answer: Language transfer
Language transfer (also called L1 interference) occurs when L1 patterns are applied to the L2, producing systematic errors.
Question 3: A student who can discuss topics fluently in casual conversation but struggles with academic writing is demonstrating a gap between which two language proficiency dimensions?
- Phonology and morphology
- BICS and CALP (Correct answer)
- Syntax and semantics
- Receptive and productive skills
Correct answer: BICS and CALP
BICS (Basic Interpersonal Communication Skills) develops before CALP (Cognitive Academic Language Proficiency), which takes 5-7 years to develop.
Question 4: Which morpheme type is attached to the end of a base word to change its grammatical function, such as adding '-ness' to an adjective?
- Inflectional morpheme
- Derivational morpheme (Correct answer)
- Free morpheme
- Bound base morpheme
Correct answer: Derivational morpheme
Derivational morphemes like '-ness' change a word's part of speech or create a new word with a different meaning.
Question 5: What phonological process occurs when a sound changes to become more like a neighboring sound, as in 'did you' becoming 'didja' in casual speech?
- Deletion
- Epenthesis
- Assimilation (Correct answer)
- Metathesis
Correct answer: Assimilation
Assimilation is the process by which one sound takes on features of an adjacent sound, common in natural speech.
Question 6: A student consistently says 'He go to school' instead of 'He goes to school.' This error most likely reflects which stage of acquisition?
- Silent period
- Overgeneralization of a simpler form (Correct answer)
- Code-switching
- Pragmatic transfer
Correct answer: Overgeneralization of a simpler form
Omitting the third-person singular '-s' is a common overgeneralization in which learners apply a simpler uninflected verb form.
Question 7: Which concept refers to a speaker's underlying knowledge of the rules of their language, as distinct from actual language use?
- Performance
- Pragmatics
- Competence (Correct answer)
- Register
Correct answer: Competence
Chomsky distinguished linguistic competence (internalized knowledge of grammar) from performance (actual language use, which can include errors).
CTEL CTEL Language and Language Development 2
Which theorist proposed that children are born with an innate Language Acquisition Device (LAD) that facilitates language learning?