Essay Quiz


1		Thinking you’ll learn something new about language development in children, you decide to attend a talk at the student union. When you come in, though, you notice a wild scene where people are shouting at each other and the speaker is trying to shout over the audience members to clarify their argument. What you surmise after a couple of minutes is that they are “debating” something, but it’s too noisy to determine exactly what. The speaker spots you, knows you are taking this class, and decides it’s a good time to exit, so he calls you up to the microphone to moderate between the two factions. Because most of the people attending the talk know you, respect you, and know you are taking this class in life-span development, they quiet down and ask for your opinion as the speaker sneaks out the back. Having calmed them down, you ask that they clearly state their argument. It appears that there are two: (1) which is a better way to teach reading, the whole-language approach or the basic-skills-and-phonetics approach; and (2) does bilingual education help children or hurt them? What do you tell them?



2		Your 15-month-old nephew has started using two-word sentences. His father is overjoyed with what a genius his son is, and he shares his delight with you every time the two of you speak. While he constantly lets you know that this is clearly a matter of genetics, he also wants to know what he can do to encourage his child’s language development. Explain the process of language development to him, including the stages of language development and explanations of the biological and behavioral theories involved, and discuss with him the research on the influence of both genetics and environment with regard to language development as well as the suggestions provided in the text for facilitating language development. On the basis of what you know, do you agree with the boy’s father that his language skills are advanced? Or do you believe they are either normal or delayed? Give your reasons.

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