Test Bank
Chapter 9: Language Diversity
Multiple Choice
1. In the United States, adults speak directly to infants from birth using a speech register called
________________________________.
a. Infantese
b. Child-centered speech
c. Communicative accommodation
d. Infant-directed speech
2. If a child from African American or Samoan cultures, for example, uses an unintelligible
utterance, adults in those cultures would most likely:
a. Ask the child to repeat
b. Scaffold the child through the utterance
c. Ignore the utterance
d. Reformulate the utterance
3. _________________________________ are varieties of language that differ solely in
pronunciation.
a. Sociocultural dialects
b. Regional dialects
c. Accents
d. Vowel shifts
4. ________________________________ is the process whereby speakers of a language other
than English shape the pronunciation, grammar, and vocabulary of English in the
surrounding area.
a. Population movement
b. Expanding communication networks
c. Shifting cultural centers
d. Language contact
5. A distinctive phonological feature of northern dialects is:
a. Dropping postvocalic /r/ sounds
b. Use of a monophthong in place of a diphthong
c. Merging vowel sounds
d. Consonant cluster reduction
6. Fronted back vowels can be seen most often in:
a. Midwestern dialect
b. Southern dialect
c. Western dialect
d. Northern dialect
7. Speakers of which American English sociocultural dialect are most likely to delete the suffix
–s? a. African American Vernacular English
b. Jewish English
c. Miami dialect
d. Chicano English
8. Which American English sociocultural dialect has the following features: a hard /g/ sound,
overaspiration of /t/ sounds, and a fast rate of speech?
a. Puerto Rican English
b. Chicano English
c. Jewish English
d. African American Vernacular English
9. A _________________________________ is a simplified type of language that develops
when speakers who do not share a common language come into prolonged contact.
a. Dual language
b. Regional dialect
c. Pidgin
d. Accent
10. With _______________________________, a child acquires two or more languages from
birth.
a. Simultaneous bilingualism
b. Multilingualism
c. Sequential bilingualism
d. Multiculturalism
11. In _________________________________, speakers who have more than one language
alternate between the two languages.
a. Creoles
b. Sequential bilingualism
c. Transfer
d. Code switching
12. ___________________________________ is the influence of one’s L1 on his or her L2
development.
a. Transfer
b. Code switching
c. Stabilization
d. Instructed second language acquisition
13. Use of _________________________________ is a developmental process that occurs in
second language acquisition that describes a learner’s use of language routines or phrases
that exist as a unit rather than as individual pieces.
a. Overgeneralization
b. Formulaic language
c. Interlanguage
d. Transfer
14. The percentage of U.S. public school students who are English language learners was
approximately _____________ in the 2011-2012 school year.
a. 3%
b. 9%
c. 12%
d. 21%
15. In _______________________________, children, adolescents, and adults learn English in a
non-English-speaking country.
a. English as an extra language
b. English as an additional language
c. English as a second language
d. English as a foreign language
16. The ______________________________ posits that a learner will acquire language
structures easily when the structures are similar in the two languages.
a. Contrastive analysis hypothesis
b. Nature-inspired theory
c. Principle of universal grammar
d. Monitor model
17. What is the critical period for language acquisition?
a. Birth – early adulthood
b. School age – early adulthood
c. Toddlerhood – adolescence
d. Birth – puberty
18. In the monitor model of L2 acquisition, the _________________________ is the result of a
conscious process through which L2 learners gain knowledge of the rules of their L2.
a. Monitor hypothesis
b. Acquired system
c. Learned system
d. Innate system
19. To foster _____________________________ in L2 acquisition, teachers should avoid
overwhelming students with excess explicit attention to grammar, phonology, and discourse.
a. Intrinsic motivation
b. Strategic investment
c. Meaningful learning
d. Automaticity
Essay
1. What are the names of the two dialects that have the highest status in the United States and in
England?
2. Briefly describe two unique grammatical constructions used in Southern dialects.
3. Explain the Northern Cities Shift.
4. Give an example of syntactic inversion as it may be used in AAVE.
5. How can children who use a nonmainstream American English dialect be affected in school?
6. What is the difference between a majority ethnolinguistic community and a minority
ethnolinguistic community?
7. What are the three reasons that bilingual children might engage in code switching?
8. What four stages do children who have limited or no English proficiency and arrive in
English classrooms go through?
9. Give four examples of affective filters that can affect language acquisition.
10. What two types of instruction should EL students receive in school?
11. When should ELD instruction be discontinued?
ANSWER KEY
Chapter 9: Language Diversity
Multiple Choice
