Free Practice Quiz Question List

08 Language Acquisition Online Quiz Questions

Use this free practice quiz with 20 questions to review 08 Language Acquisition, test your knowledge, and prepare for your next test or exam.

20 questions

True or false

1 point

The developmental ages described for children’s language milestones are fixed deadlines that can be used on their own to diagnose a language delay.

A
True
B
False

True or false

1 point

According to the material, a learner’s age by itself determines whether they will succeed in learning a second language.

A
True
B
False

Fill in the blank

1 point

A child says “goed” after learning the regular past-tense pattern. This kind of rule extension is called .

Written response

1 point

What is the term for a second-language learner’s evolving system, which is often systematic but not yet identical to the target language?

Written response

1 point

What learning process involves detecting regularities by tracking which sounds, words, and forms tend to occur together?

Choose one

1 point

A researcher explains that a learner struggles to produce a grammatical form because it is difficult to notice, remember, and process. Which approach most directly emphasizes these kinds of general learning processes?

A
A nativist approach
B
A cognitive approach
C
A behaviorist account
D
A sociocultural approach

Choose one

1 point

A young child who hears two languages from early life sometimes combines words from both in a sentence. Which interpretation is best supported?

A
The child is necessarily confused and should stop using one language.
B
The child must first become fluent in one language before learning the other.
C
The child may be acquiring both languages; combining them alone does not show confusion or delay.
D
The child has begun learning a sequential second language.

Choose one

1 point

An L2 learner applies a pattern from a language they already know. What does the material suggest about the possible effect of this transfer?

A
Transfer always helps because learners already know a language.
B
Transfer may help when the languages share a pattern and hinder learning when they differ.
C
Transfer prevents learners from developing an interlanguage.
D
Transfer occurs only in formal language instruction.

Choose all

1 point

Select all the statements that accurately describe input, interaction, and output in second-language acquisition.

A
Input is language a learner hears or reads.
B
Interaction can make input easier to understand and draw attention to form.
C
Output lets learners try out developing knowledge and can reveal gaps.
D
Output refers only to language a learner hears from other people.

Choose all

1 point

Select all the factors identified as influencing second-language development.

A
Exposure to the language
B
Opportunities to understand and use the language
C
Feedback and instruction
D
Motivation
E
The learner’s social setting
F
Age as the sole determinant of an individual’s success

Fill in the blank

1 point

In a sociocultural account, a more capable speaker may help a learner accomplish something not yet manageable ; with experience, the learner may do it without that support.

Choose one

1 point

Which statement best represents the material’s account of nativist approaches?

A
Nativist approaches propose that biological capacities support or constrain language learning, but researchers disagree about the nature and extent of innate language-specific knowledge.
B
Nativist approaches claim that imitation and reinforcement alone explain all language learning.
C
Nativist approaches deny that humans have any biological capacities relevant to language.
D
Nativist approaches state that all researchers agree on a fully specified innate grammar.

Choose one

1 point

Which statement best describes language development beyond early childhood?

A
Language development is complete by the end of the preschool years.
B
Only grammatical accuracy continues to develop after early childhood.
C
Schooling and experience can support vocabulary, literacy, and complex sentence use beyond early childhood.
D
Beyond early childhood, language grows only through formal instruction.

Open ended

1 point

Explain why the material presents multiple approaches to language acquisition rather than one approach as a complete explanation. Describe at least three approaches and what each contributes to understanding how language is learned.

Choose one

1 point

A learner notices that many verbs ending in “-ed” refer to past events and begins using that pattern with new verbs. Which account best explains how the learner inferred the pattern?

A
Learners memorize every sentence they hear and repeat it unchanged.
B
Learners track recurring patterns in the language they hear and infer regularities.
C
Learners acquire language only through explicit correction.
D
Learners avoid using forms until they have mastered the entire grammar.

Choose one

1 point

A child says “goed” instead of “went.” What does this error most strongly suggest about the child’s language learning?

A
The child has forgotten how to form past-tense verbs.
B
The child is repeating an adult sentence exactly.
C
The child is applying a regular past-tense pattern to an irregular verb.
D
The child is showing that grammatical rules are not developing.

Choose one

1 point

Which observation is a key limitation of explaining language acquisition through imitation and reinforcement alone?

A
Children can produce novel sentences and learn complex patterns from incomplete, variable examples.
B
Children benefit from hearing language during everyday interaction.
C
Learners sometimes repeat forms they have heard.
D
Practice and responses can strengthen some learned routines.

True or false

1 point

Age alone determines whether an individual learner will succeed at acquiring a second language.

A
True
B
False

Written response

1 point

What is the term for an L2 learner’s evolving system, which is often systematic but not yet identical to the target language?

Written response

1 point

In second-language acquisition, what term refers to the language a learner hears or reads?