Essay Questions
1. Songs, rhymes, stories and television were all discussed in your textbook in regard to the way their use may or
may not contribute to a child’s language development. Select two of these items and discuss whether they should
or should not be used to support language development in children 24 months old or younger, and why or why
not.
2. Discuss the types of factors associated with poverty. Why are children who are raised in impoverished
circumstances at risk for language and learning difficulties?
3. Madilyn and Matilda are identical twins that were separated at birth and raised by two different families in the
United States. The families are unrelated and never encounter each other. Read the descriptions of Madilyn and
Matilda’s family situations below then compare and contrast their SES, factors related to SES and different
forms of capital. Be sure to relate how these factors could positively or negatively affect the language and
literacy learning of the two girls.
• Madilyn’s family unit consists of 1 other sibling and 2 parents, one of whom has a bachelor’s degree
and works as a financial planner, and the other who has a master’s degree and works as a nurse
anesthetist. Their income places them in the middle class, they live a comfortable lifestyle and they
have financial support from their extended family if needed. They own their own home in the suburbs.
Madilyn’s parents are involved in the community and PTA, and have many connections in their
community.
• Matilda’s family unit consists of 3 siblings, a single mother and their grandmother who also lives in the
home. Matilda’s mother works as a cashier in a gas station during the day and waits tables in the
evening. She did not graduate high school and no one in her family has a college degree. She is
frequently stressed out about how she is going to pay their bills every month and doesn’t feel she has
anyone to call for financial help if needed. They live in an overcrowded apartment building in the city
in a neighborhood their grandmother describes as “unsafe.” Matilda’s mom would like to be involved in
the PTA and community organizations, but doesn’t have the time.
4. The following is a language sample from a 24-month-old girl as she converses with an adult (adult’s portion of
conversation not shown). Determine the MLU, list all free and bound morphemes and state which stage of
syntactic development this child is in. From this very limited language sample, are you concerned about this
child’s language development for any reason or do you feel like her expressive language is developing typically?
Justify your answer.
C: yeah
C: comb
C: no comb
C: look
C: look at that
C: ok baby
C: where’s baby
C: what’s that
C: head
C: your head
C: baby all ready
C: shoes
C: no
C: good mommy
C: good
C: yeah
C: baby walking
C: baby go right here
C: baby too little
C: mom