! Kingdom of Saudi Arabia The Royal Commission at Yanbu Yanbu University College Yanbu Al-Sinaiyah Midterm Exam Academic Year 1436/1437 H (2015/2016 G),First Semester (151) Applied Linguistics Department LING 307 Language Acquisition Date : 27/10/2015 Day: Tuesday Starting Time: 15:00 PM Finishing Time: 16:30 PM Name: ID: Section: GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS: Read and follow the instructions for each question carefully. This paper has 10 pages and contains 10 questions (Q10 is optional) Keep your mobiles switched off during the exam. Total Marks: 25 (80 pts. / 3.27) Marked By: Checked By: Marks Awarded : Signature: Signature: 1 of 13
Q1: Decide whether the following statements are True or False by circling your answer: (10pts.) 1. Child language acquisition happens in a predictable manner. 2. According to the Unitary Language Hypothesis, bilingual children at very early stages are able to distinguish between the languages they are acquiring. 3. Brain imaging studies show that patterns of activation in syntactic tasks differ between early bilingual learners, and bilinguals from birth. 4. If children are equally competent in both languages they acquired, then they are called simultaneous bilinguals. 5. Bilinguals seem to perform less than monolinguals in tasks that require selective attention. 6. Telegraphic speech contains grammatical elements but a limited number of vocabulary. 7. Child directed speech plays a significant role in acquisition according to innate theories of language acquisition. 8. Connectionism emphasizes the importance of having innate knowledge in acquiring language. 9. According to Behaviorism, learning is a cumulative process that is determined by genetic factors. 10. The rate of acquisition can vary from one child to another. 11. bilingual and monolingual speakers may develop different patterns of cognitive skills due to the different language environments they experience. 12. Naturalistic learners learn the L2 through informal opportunities in multicultural neighbourhoods, schools and workplaces, without ever receiving any organized instruction on the workings of the language they are learning. 13. When we discuss the term transfer we are referring to a process rather than a product. 14. According to connectionism, speaking consists of mimicking and analogizing. 2 of 13
Q2: Choose the correct answer for the following: 1. Child language acquisition is interested in all the following EXCEPT: a) the L1 development including all linguistic levels b) the relation between mother talk and L1 development c) the social factors that require the acquisition of additional languages d) the phonological development of the native language 2. Behaviorism assumes that language learning a) is a result of cognitive processes that able learners, by induction, to create rules. b) happens in a blank slate that has cognitive processors inducing language rules. c) happens in a blank slate by cumulatively building habits. d) is a result of a stimulus-response relation that by instinctive factors build on habits. 3. L1 development happens in a) a predictable manner, with predictable rate of development. b) a predictable rate of development, with an unpredictable stages of development. c) an unpredictable rate of development, with predictable stages of development. d) an unpredictable rate of development with unpredictable stages of development. 4. One of the following statements describe the connectionism understanding of language learning: a) Language learning happens through the setting of parameters. b) Language learning happens through a specific language system that induce rules. c) Language learning happens through the interaction of cognitive systems in which language emerges. d) Language learning happens through the analysis of a stimulus-response relation through the specific language system. 5. bababababababa is an example of a) non-reduplicated babbling b) variegated babbling 3 of 13
c) telegraphic speech d) reduplicated babbling 6. One of the following is an example of a substantive universal: a) Pro-drop b) word-order c) verbs d) wh-movment 7. The Unitary Language hypothesis assumes that a) Language is acquired within a natural setting in which both languages develop independently. b) Children learn language through two independent language systems. c) Children acquire language by not depending on a linguistic system but through general cognitive mechanism. d) Children are capable of distinguishing between their two languages, particularly in the early stages of acquisition. 8. The sentence The car yellow is an example of an English sentence affected by Arabic. It includes: a) phonological mixing b) syntactic mixing c) pragmatic mixing d) lexical mixing 9. Bilinguals use language interchangeably in the early stages of development, but, according to Bialystok (2001), he argues that a) children lack the ability to separate the rules of one language from another. b) children lack the ability of differentiation in their minds. c) children are capable of telling the difference between the two from the very beginning. d) children s interlanguage is still developing. 10. In the case of bilingualism, the two languages develop independently in which one language does not affect the other. This statement best describes the. a) interdependent system theory b) autonomous systems theory c) gap-filling hypothesis d) cross-linguistic influence 4 of 13
11. One of the following statements about brain imaging studies and bilingualism is true which is: a) the brains of early learners and bilingual learners from birth have the same patterns of activation in syntactic tasks. b) the brains of late learners and bilingual learners from birth have the same patterns of activation in syntactic tasks. c) the brains of early learners and late learners from birth have the same patterns of activation in syntactic tasks. d) the brains of late learners and late bilingual learners from birth have the same patterns of activation in syntactic tasks. 12. By and large, learners who begin acquiring the L2 [second language] before a certain age, which these studies locate to be around puberty, will tend to exhibit intuitions that are very close to those of native speakers of that language (Ortega, 2009, p. 19). This quote is best related to one of the following statements: a) The critical period does not have affect on the end point of acquisition and acquirers will run out having features like the native speakers. b) The critical period exist although it does not put constraints on the end point of acquisition in which acquirers will have native-like competency. c) The critical period does not exist and learners will not have native-like competency even if they acquire language before puberty. d) The critical period exists and it has an effect on the end point of acquisition in which, if the acquirer does not pass, the learner will have native-like competency. 13. Most cognitive skills are regulated by the. a) attentional control b) central executive c) cerebral cortex d) amygdala 14. bilinguals must constantly control attention between two active and competing language systems (Martin-Rhee & Bialystok, 2008, p. 91). This suggests that: a) bilinguals have great metalinguistic awareness skills b) bilinguals have great language proficiency c) bilinguals have great attentional control d) bilinguals have weak metalinguistic awareness skills 5 of 13
15. All the following applies to second language acquisition except: a) it is learnt after the establishment of the L1 b) it is learned very shortly after the L1 c) it is learned in adulthood d) it is learned in late childhood 16. Bi/multilingualism answers the following questions except: a) how does the two languages are represented in the brain? b) how do bilinguals shift and maintain control on their two languages? c) how are language impairments overcame? d) what are the factors supporting a successful bilingualism? 17. Italian sentence produced as an L2 utterance: Mangia bene il bambino? (means literally: eats well the baby); it is equivalent to the L1 Spanish sentence: Come bien el niño? (means literally: eats well the baby). The L2 utterance is an example of a) code switching b) interference c) facilitation d) retroactive inhibition 18. Language loss (L1 loss) happens due to: a) proactive inhibition b) retroactive inhibition c) facilitation d) interference 19. If there is an Australian student, who speaks English as his native, decided to learn Arabic at the age of 20. This learner was surprised that Arabic has duality which his language lacks. Then, according to the hierarchy of difficulty, this case is a case of: a) differentiation b) coalescing c) new category d) correspondence 20. There is a Moroccan immigrant who immigrated to France at the age of 23. When he arrived at France, he decided to work to afford the costs of living. As he was working, he 6 of 13
learned French. After three years, at the age of 26, he spoke an almost fluent French. The best statement that describes his situation is: a) Second language acquisition in a formal situation b) Heritage language acquisition in an informal situation c) Second language acquisition in an informal situation d) Late bilingualism in a naturalistic setting. Q3: Read the following quotation by Fries (1957) in his forward to Lado s boo, and answer the following questions: Before any of the questions of how to teach a foreign language must come the much more important preliminary work of finding the special problems arising out of any effort to develop a new set of language habits against a background of different native language habits... Q3.1. How is language defined? How is it acquired (according to the quotation) Q3.2. What is (i) the theory supported by Fries? (ii) How does it work? (iii) How is it related to foreign language teaching? (i): (ii): (iii): 7 of 13
Q4: Match between column A and B by writing the match in C 1. In babbling the child produces all the sounds that are found in all the world s languages 2. experimenters measure the sucking rate of infants on an artificial teat. 3. Children do not have immediate access to all their innate knowledge, but it becomes available over time. the process of forming a rule by.4 generalizing from specific.instances 5. babbling has no relation to later language development 6. mothers in some way tailor the amount of simplification they provide depending on how much the child appears to need. continuity hyporthesis sucking habituation paradigm Maturation hypothesis induction discontinuity hypothesis linguistic feedback hypothesis 7. Language is rule governed Innateness theories 8. words are used more specifically than their meaning 9. The general capacity to use syntax to infer meaning 10. the idea of acquiring simple words by a parent pointing at a dog and saying dog, and the child then simply attaching the name to the object. 11. The set of principles and parameters that constrain language acquisition underextension Syntactic bootstrapping Tensile model of learning UG 8 of 13
Q5: Differentiate between the following terms. Be specific, clear, and avoid using ambiguous words. Use examples in cases that indicate so. 1. Bilingualism / Second Language Acquisition (use an example for each) 2. Positive transfer / Negative transfer (use an example for each) 3. American Tradition of CA / European Tradition of CA 9 of 13
4. Learning according to Innate theories of acquisition / Learning according to connectionist theories of acquisition 5. Weak Contrastive Analysis / Error Analysis Q6: What is UG? How is the L1 is acquired in the UG framework? What is the difference between principles and parameters? Give an example for a principle and an example of a parameter. 6.1. What is UG? 6.2. How is the L1 acquired according to UG? 10 of 13
6.3. The difference between a principle and a parameter: 6.4. Examples for principles and parameters Q7: Briefly, as stages, list how the L1 is developed in monolinguals. 11 of 13
Q8: Stockwell, Bowen, and Martin (1965a, 1965b) introduced a hierarchy of difficulty (or a hierarchy of learning) in recognition of the complexity found when comparing languages. Define each level and give an example from the Arabic or English language. Category Differentation Define it: Give an Example: New category Absent category Coalescing Correspondence 12 of 13
Q9: Study the following case and answer the questions that follow: There is a family in which the parents speak Arabic. They decided to move to the United States to complete their studies. The father speaks English as a second language, while the mother is a monolingual. They have a baby boy who is now 2 years old. The mother decided to learn English in an institution. The father decided to learn a third language which is Spanish; the motivation behind learning Spanish was that the family is living in a state that 40% of it speaks Spanish. The family is deciding to stay in the United States for at least 10 years. Hence, the father wants to learn Spanish, the mother wants to learn English, and the baby boy will grow up in an English speaking community that has a significant amount of Spanish speakers. 9.1. What is starting (initial state) of the interlanguage of the a) baby boy: b) mother: c) father: 9.2. What is the case of acquisition for the (e.g. early bilingualism, second language acquisition, heritage language acquisition etc.) a) mother: b) father: c) baby boy: 9.3. The baby boy is going to learn English in a formal setting: (True - False) 9.4. What is the final state of the a) mother: b) father: c) baby boy: 13 of 13