SLA MIDTERM EXAM QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS |NEW UPDATE WITH 100%
VERIFIED ANSWERS
Language acquisition The process by which individuals gain the ability to understand and
produce language, involving the acquisition of structures, rules, and representations necessary
for successful communication.
First language acquisition The process by which children learn their native language,
beginning from birth and continuing through early childhood, involving stages with specific
characteristics and milestones.
Behaviorist perspective Emphasizes environmental factors like reinforcement and imitation
in shaping language development, exemplified by B.F. Skinner.
Nativist perspective Posits an innate capacity for language and an innate language
acquisition device (LAD) driving language acquisition, exemplified by Noam Chomsky.
Interactionist perspective Highlights the role of social interaction and cultural context in
language development, exemplified by Lev Vygotsky.
Cooing The earliest use of speech-like sounds in language acquisition.
Babbling Production of different vowels and consonants in combinations like ba-ba-ba and
ga-ga-ga.
Telegraphic Stage Production of multi-word speech or lexical morphemes, characterized by
utterances like 'this shoe is all wet' or 'cat drink milk.'
Second language acquisition (SLA) The process of learning a language other than the native
language, involving language knowledge acquisition and communication skills.
, Acquisition The gradual development of language ability through natural communicative
situations with others who know the language, typically without a teacher.
Learning The conscious accumulation of language knowledge in pronunciation, vocabulary,
and grammar, often in an institutional setting with a teacher.
Critical period hypothesis Suggests a period in childhood when language acquisition is most
efficient, ending around puberty.
Maturational constraints theory Proposes biological changes during puberty that make it
harder to acquire a second language in a native-like manner.
Motivation A key factor in second language acquisition, influencing engagement, regular
practice, and persistence in learning.
Anxiety An affective factor in language learning that can impede progress by interfering with
attention, memory, and comprehension.
Attitude towards the target language Affects second language acquisition; negative
attitudes can decrease motivation, while positive attitudes can facilitate learning.
Divine Source Belief in religions that language originates from a divine source, with
conflicting results from experiments trying to rediscover the original divine language.
Natural Sound Source During human development, growth in processing capacity enables
recognition and differentiation of sounds in the surroundings.
The "bow-wow" theory Theory suggesting that early humans used sounds to mimic objects
and later used these sounds as words to refer to the objects, coined by Jespersen in 1922.
VERIFIED ANSWERS
Language acquisition The process by which individuals gain the ability to understand and
produce language, involving the acquisition of structures, rules, and representations necessary
for successful communication.
First language acquisition The process by which children learn their native language,
beginning from birth and continuing through early childhood, involving stages with specific
characteristics and milestones.
Behaviorist perspective Emphasizes environmental factors like reinforcement and imitation
in shaping language development, exemplified by B.F. Skinner.
Nativist perspective Posits an innate capacity for language and an innate language
acquisition device (LAD) driving language acquisition, exemplified by Noam Chomsky.
Interactionist perspective Highlights the role of social interaction and cultural context in
language development, exemplified by Lev Vygotsky.
Cooing The earliest use of speech-like sounds in language acquisition.
Babbling Production of different vowels and consonants in combinations like ba-ba-ba and
ga-ga-ga.
Telegraphic Stage Production of multi-word speech or lexical morphemes, characterized by
utterances like 'this shoe is all wet' or 'cat drink milk.'
Second language acquisition (SLA) The process of learning a language other than the native
language, involving language knowledge acquisition and communication skills.
, Acquisition The gradual development of language ability through natural communicative
situations with others who know the language, typically without a teacher.
Learning The conscious accumulation of language knowledge in pronunciation, vocabulary,
and grammar, often in an institutional setting with a teacher.
Critical period hypothesis Suggests a period in childhood when language acquisition is most
efficient, ending around puberty.
Maturational constraints theory Proposes biological changes during puberty that make it
harder to acquire a second language in a native-like manner.
Motivation A key factor in second language acquisition, influencing engagement, regular
practice, and persistence in learning.
Anxiety An affective factor in language learning that can impede progress by interfering with
attention, memory, and comprehension.
Attitude towards the target language Affects second language acquisition; negative
attitudes can decrease motivation, while positive attitudes can facilitate learning.
Divine Source Belief in religions that language originates from a divine source, with
conflicting results from experiments trying to rediscover the original divine language.
Natural Sound Source During human development, growth in processing capacity enables
recognition and differentiation of sounds in the surroundings.
The "bow-wow" theory Theory suggesting that early humans used sounds to mimic objects
and later used these sounds as words to refer to the objects, coined by Jespersen in 1922.
