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Year 13: English Language Revision quiz on Acquisition

English Language A Level Revision Quiz – key theories

Explain what these terms mean which Michael Halliday uses for his taxonomy:

Instrumental use of language
Regulatory
Interactional
Personal
Representational
Heuristic
Imaginative

What were John Dore’s complaints about Halliday’s taxonomy? He replaced them with:
Labelling, repeating, answering, requesting action, calling, greeting, protesting, practising

Why is very important to consider the SOCIAL function of language when analysing children’s speech? What is the difference between interactional and transactional uses of language?
What is overextension? What is underextension?
What is overgeneralisation?
The different stages: fill in the following chart

For each of these ages, make notes on the following: Pragmatics/ Syntax/Morphology/Lexis/Semantics/Phonology:

 
0-9months

9-18 months

18 months-2 years

2-2 and a half years

2 and a half to 3 years
3-3 and a half

3 and a half to 4 years

4 and a half onwards

6. What are the main arguments of the different theorists? Noam Chomsky, B.F Skinner, Piaget, and Vygotski

Related reading

  • Revision questions for Language Acquisition Unit 6

    1. What are the Assessment Objectives for this subject? Summarise them briefly, and highlight the AO with the most marks.2. What aspects of the systematic framework do you have to use in this exam? Write out a list and say why they are important. 3. Why is it important to study Child Language Acquisition? 4. […]

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    Several attempts have been made to catalogue the different functions of language, and to chart child language development in terms of the increasing range of these functions to be found in the growing child’s repertoire. Michael Halliday’s taxonomy is documented below:- Instrumental: Language used to fulfil a need on the part of the speaker. Directly […]

  • Year 13: Useful websites for Child Language Acquisition

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  • Year 13: Exam question on Language Acquisition

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