Language Acquisition Review Quiz - April 2025

According to Daniels (in Clark, 1985), which of the following is NOT one of the 'Nine Ideas About Language'?

• Language operates by rules.

• Writing is primary and speech is derivative.

• Everyone speaks a dialect.

• Language change is normal.

Which theory of language acquisition emphasizes imitation, practice, feedback, and habit formation?

• Innatism

• Interactionism

• Behaviorism

• Cognitivism

Chomsky's concept of Universal Grammar (UG) suggests that:

• All languages share the same grammatical rules.

• The basic structure of language is inborn and triggered by input.

• Language is learned through social interaction.

• Children learn language primarily through imitation.

The stage in first language acquisition where a child uses single words to convey complex meanings (around 12-18 months) is known as the:

• Telegraphic stage

• Babbling stage

• Cooing stage

• Holophrastic stage

According to Krashen's Monitor Model, 'acquisition' differs from 'learning' in that acquisition is:

• A conscious process of rule learning.

• Primarily used for editing speech.

• A subconscious process similar to L1 development.

• Dependent on explicit instruction.

Which perspective views second language acquisition as the building up of knowledge that becomes automatic through practice, involving processes like noticing and restructuring?

• Behaviorist Perspective

• Innatist Perspective

• Cognitive Perspective

• Sociocultural Perspective

The Contrastive Analysis Hypothesis primarily focuses on:

• Analyzing learner errors after they occur.

• The interaction between learner and environment.

• Predicting L2 errors based on L1-L2 differences.

• The learner's innate language faculty.

Errors such as 'goed' or 'runned' made by language learners are examples of:

• Interlingual errors (transfer)

• Fossilization

• Developmental errors (overgeneralization)

• Avoidance strategies

Vygotsky's Sociocultural Theory emphasizes that language development is primarily tied to:

• Innate cognitive abilities.

• Conditioning and reinforcement.

• Universal Grammar principles.

• Social interaction and dialogue.

According to Lightbown & Spada (drawing on Nation), approximately how many words are needed for everyday conversation in English?

• 500

• 2,000

• 10,000

• 20,000