Key terms for CLA (Paper 3)

Question 1

Communicative competence

Answer 1

Ability to form accurate and understandable utterances, using the grammar system, and understand social context for using them

Question 2

Proto words

Answer 2

‘Made up’ words that a child will use to represent a word that that they may not be able to pronounce e.g. ‘ray ray’ for raisins

Question 3

Pre-verbal stage

Answer 3

2-6 months
A period of time that involves experimenting with noises and sounds but without producing recognisable words- usually lasting for the majority of the baby’s first year

Question 4

Cooing

Answer 4

Distinct from crying but not yet forming recognisable vowels and consonants

Question 5

Babbling

Answer 5

Vocal play that involves forming vowel and consonant sounds, which can be reduplicated ( repeated) or variegated (different sounds put together)

Question 6

Variegated sounds

Answer 6

Different sounds put together

Question 7

Holophrastic stage

Answer 7

12-18 months

The point in a child’s development when a child uses individual words to communicate

Question 8

Non-verbal communication

Answer 8

All the ways in which communication occurs that does not involve words (e.g. shaking the head from a parent)

Question 9

Phonological development

Answer 9

Refers to how children learn to organize sounds into meaning or language (phonology) during their stages of growth.

Question 10

Plosives

Answer 10

The sound made by closing the mouth and then releasing a burst of breath: t, k, and p (voiceless) and d, g, and b (voiced).

Question 11

Fricatives

Answer 11

Produced by bringing the mouth into position to block the passage of the airstream, but not making complete closure, so that air moving through the mouth generates audible friction: f, s; v, z

Question 12

Articulatory ease

Answer 12

The linguistic concern for how certain sound changes in words might be motivated by how easy or hard the word is to pronounce.

Question 13

Perceptual discriminability

Answer 13

The brain’s ability to accurately perceive information in a complex, fluid and confusing situation and, even more importantly, to accurately differentiate amongst confusable types of information.

Question 14

Reduplication

Answer 14

Repeated syllables within a word e.g. baa for blanket

Question 15

Diminutives

Answer 15

The reduction in scale of an item through the way a word is created e.g. booklet (a small book), droplet (a small drop), wavelet (a small wave)

Question 16

Addition

Answer 16

Adding an additional suffix to the end of a word in order to change the way a word is pronounced and interpreted e.g. mummy and dolly instead of mum and doll

Question 17

Substitution

Answer 17

The process of swapping one sound for another (that is easier to pronounce) e.g. ‘Fink’ instead of think

Question 18

Assimilation

Answer 18

One consonant or vowel is swapped for another e.g. handbag often pronounced ‘hambag’ or ‘borry’ for lorry

Question 19

Deletion

Answer 19

A sound segment is removed from a word e.g. flyin or tephone

Question 20

Consonant cluster reductions

Answer 20

Reducing phonologically more complex units into simpler ones- from two (or more) consonants down to one e.g. ‘dis’ not dish

Question 21

Syntax

Answer 21

The arrangement of words and phrases to create well-formed sentences in a language.

Question 22

Two-word stage

Answer 22

18 months

Period of time when a child begins to put two words together e.g. kick ball

Question 23

Telegraphic stage

Answer 23

2 years old
Period of time when a child’s utterances will be three words and more: there might be omission of some words , with the key words included

Question 24

Post telegraphic stage

Answer 24

Age 3
Period of time when a child’s language will include both content and grammatical words and more closely resemble adult speech

Question 25

Content words

Answer 25

Words within a sentence that are vital to convey meaning

Question 26

Grammatical words

Answer 26

Words within a sentence that are necessary to demonstrate structural accuracy

Question 27

Operant conditioning (skinner)

Answer 27

The idea that either a positive or negative response given by a caregiver can influence the way in which a child talks on future occasions

Question 28

Positive reinforcement

Answer 28

The positive feedback given to a child which is thought to encourage similar performance again

Question 29

Negative reinforcement

Answer 29

The lack of feedback, correction or negative feedback that might prevent a child from from making the same error repeatedly

Question 30

Language acquisition device (LAD- Chomsky)

Answer 30

The idea that all humans are born with an innate language learning capability

Question 31

Tabula rasa

Answer 31

Latin for 'blank slate' and the term used to describe the idea that children are born with undeveloped, fresh brains

Question 32

Universal grammar (Chomsky)

Answer 32

The notion that all human languages possess similar grammatical properties which the brain is 'hard wired' to be able to decode and use

Question 33

Virtuous errors (Chomsky)

Answer 33

Grammatical errors that are understandable and logical through an incorrect assumption being made about grammar rules

Question 34

Critical period

Answer 34

The age at which a child will be most receptive to learn language

Question 35

Cognitive development

Answer 35

A child's development of thinking and understanding

Question 36

Language acquisition support system (LASS- Brurner)

Answer 36

A system that refers to caregivers and other important participants within a child's life that facilitate learning

Question 37

Egocentric

Answer 37

Thinking only of themselves, without understanding or regard of the feelings of others

Question 38

Object permanence

Answer 38

An understanding that objects continue to exist even if they cannot be seen or touched

Question 39

Scaffolding (Bruner and a Vygotsky)

Answer 39

The support provided by caregivers through modelling how speech ought to take place, in order to help the child's language development

Question 40

Sensorimotor stage (Piaget)

Answer 40

0-2 years old A child begins to interact with their environment, using their senses and physical movement to do so. During this stage a child remains egocentric and an understanding of object permanence appears

Question 41

Pre-operational stage (Piaget)

Answer 41

2-6/7 years old Characterised by a child's learning to speak and developing their imaginative focus. In play they become able to represent the world symbolically, A child remains egocentric in this stage and struggles to understand things from points of view other than their own.

Question 42

Concrete operational stage (Piaget)

Answer 42

6/7-11/12 years A child stops being egocentric at this stage and begins to be able to understand the points of view of others> They become more capable of logical thought

Question 43

Formal operational stage (Piaget)

Answer 43

11-16+ | There will no longer be a problem with logical thought and thinking becomes increasingly abstract

Question 44

Preposition

Answer 44

A word or group of words used before a noun, pronoun, or noun phrase to show direction, time, place, location, spatial relationships, or to introduce an object.

Question 45

More knowledgeable other (MOT- Vygotsky)

Answer 45

The older participant in an interaction who might offer support to a child so that they can further their own development or learning

Question 46

Zone of proximal development (ZPD- Vygotsky)

Answer 46

Describes the area between what a child can already do and that which is beyond their reach. It is the area into which a caregiver might enable the child to progress by offering the necessary support or scaffolding to facilitate learning

Question 47

Usage based linguistics (Tomasello)

Answer 47

A model that emphasises that language structure emerges from use in the linguistic patterns are formed and become what we know as grammatical constructions

Question 48

Pattern forming ability

Answer 48

Describes cognitive process that matches information from a stimulus with information retrieved from memory.

Question 49

Child directed speech (CDS)

Answer 49

The various ways in which a caregiver (unconsciously) adapts their speech in order to help aid a child in their language development

Question 50

Expansion

Answer 50

When a caregiver might develop a child's utterances to make it more grammatically complete

Question 51

Recast

Answer 51

The grammatically incorrect utterances of a child if spoken back to the child but in the correct form

Question 52

Mitigated imperatives

Answer 52

An instruction given in such a way that it does not appear to be a command but a more gentle suggestion

Question 53

IRF structures- initiation, response, feedback

Answer 53

Three-part conversational exchange in which a speaker starts the conversation, a second speaker responses and then feedback is provided to what the second speaker said

Question 54

Instrumental stage (Halliday)

Answer 54

Child is trying to fulfil need e.g. asking for food or drink

Question 55

Regulatory stage (Halliday)

Answer 55

Used to control the behaviour of someone: persuading, commanding, requesting e.g. telling a caregiver where to sit

Question 56

Interactional stage (Halliday)

Answer 56

Used to develop relationships with others e.g. telling a sibling you love them

Question 57

Personal stage (Halliday)

Answer 57

Used to express views and preferences e.g. me no like it

Question 58

Heuristic stage (Halliday)

Answer 58

Language used to explore, learn and discover e.g. what are you doing mummy?

Question 59

Imaginative stage (Halliday)

Answer 59

Used to explore something creatively or during play

Question 60

Representational stage (Halliday)

Answer 60

Language that is used to request or receive information