Component 2 Full Walkthrough SPOKEN

 

Answering the Child Language Acquisition Question

Timing the Exam

The exam is short (1 hour 15 minutes), so time management is essential.

Recommended Timing

Task	Time
Reading + annotating	Max 15 minutes
Writing response	~1 hour

Avoid over-annotating — marks are gained in the writing.

Be Prepared for BOTH Strands

There are two possible strands:

• Spoken CLA
• Written CLA

Written is more likely, but students must be equally prepared for both.

Understanding the Question

Example Question

Read Texts A–D and discuss the ways in which Elsie uses spoken language in context to allow her to interact with her parents.

Key Words

• context
• uses spoken language
• communicate ideas

Everything must link back to these

Structure of a Written CLA Response

Introduction – Analytical paragraphs (aim for about 5-6 on different aspects of the transcript)  – brief conclusion

A strong introduction should:

• identify developmental stage
• suggest expected ability at that age
• comment on context (where the transcript is taking place)
• reference theory (optional but useful)
• link to question focus (development + communication)

 

 

Reminder of stages:

 

Babbling stage (6–12 months)

• Repeated sound patterns like “bababa”
• Practice of phonemes
• No stable meanings yet

Holophrastic stage (12–18 months)

• Single words used to express whole ideas
• e.g. “milk”, “up”, “mama”
• Meaning depends on context and intonation

Two-word stage (18–24 months)

• Simple word combinations
• e.g. “more juice”, “mummy go”
• Early syntax and word order emerge

Telegraphic stage (2–3 years)

• Short, content-word sentences
• e.g. “me want toy”, “daddy go work”
• Function words often missing

Post-telegraphic stage (3+ years)

• More complex, grammatically accurate sentences
• Use of function words, tense, and clauses
• Speech becomes increasingly adult-like and flexible

 

Example Introduction

Within the transcript, it is clear that Elsie – who is likely to be at the telegraphic stage of language acquisition – is able to communicate relatively effectively when she finds herself in the comfortable context of speaking to her parents at home. Elise shows numerous points of understanding in relation to phonology and morphology, demonstrating that she is making progress in these areas. She largely relies upon high-frequency monosyllabic lexis when talking, though some examples of polysyllabic lexis are present when she talks about areas of particular interest. Through a support network of caregivers, Elsie demonstrates areas of improvement and progress as the transcript progresses.

Why This Works

This introduction is strong because it:

• directly addresses the question
• establishes a clear argument
• uses theory appropriately
• links to context (AO3)
• shows progression

AO Breakdown

AO	Focus	Marks
AO1/AO2	Analysis + terminology	30
AO3	Context	15

AO1/AO2:

• accurate terminology
• clear argument
• language frameworks

AO3:

• home influence
• context
• developmental context

Analytical Paragraph Structure

Students should move through data systematically, always linking to:

development + communication effectiveness

Example Analytical Paragraph

Within the opening exchanges of the transcript, it is clear that Elsie is using language experimentally and imaginatively in order to interact with her parents. From a lexical point of view, Elsie seems to be reasonably comfortable in using regular examples of monosyllabic and bi-syllabic lexis, which is exactly what would be expected for a child in the telegraphic stage speaking to her parents, seen through repeated high-frequency dynamic verbs such as ‘sit’ ‘talk’ and ‘show’. Phonologically, Elsie does show some struggle with the pronunciation of consonant clusters such as the combination of ‘s’ and ‘k’ in the verb ‘ask’, yet her mother successfully recasts this verb by repeating ‘yes, you have to ask’, placing emphatic stress on the verb in line with what would be expected of a more knowledgeable other applying child directed speech (Bruner). After the recasting, Elsie then shows greater ability to pronounce this consonant cluster though the common noun ‘disk’, which her mum positively reinforces through the exclamation ‘well done’. This would be classed as an example of conditioning if following Skinner’s Operative Learning model of language acquisition. From a morphological perspective, it is clear that, whilst Elsie struggles with some aspects of tense, she is able to adjust some of her language to attempt to place things in the past tense, seen through the non-standard dynamic verb ‘hitted’ which erroneously adds the ‘ed’ morpheme to the verb ‘hit’. Chomsky would claim this as an example of a virtuous error, who would suggest the child had formed a hypothesis about the addition of the suffix, and applied it logically, whilst coming up with a non-standard word.

Why This Paragraph Is Effective

Clear Focus

• directly links to question and AO3

Strong AO1

• wide range of terminology
• multiple language levels

Embedded AO3

• parent influence
• correction strategies

Analytical Depth

• explains meaning, not just features

 

 

Applying Theory

Lev Vygotsky

• ZPD
• guided learning
• imitation of structures

B. F. Skinner

• reinforcement
• praise/correction shaping language

Noam Chomsky

• rule formation
• creative errors

Michael Tomasello

“Children learn language through interaction.”

Katherine Nelson

Social context and adult practices are vitally involved” in language development.

Continuing analysis – the next source

Later in the transcript, during the collaborative play sequence surrounding the toy animals, Elsie demonstrates a growing awareness of how language can be adapted to suit both social interaction and imaginative storytelling. Discourse features become increasingly important here, as Elsie is able to sustain longer adjacency pairs with her father through question-and-answer exchanges such as “where horse go?” and the responsive declarative “horse going farm”. Although the omission of the auxiliary verb “is” reflects the continuing influence of the telegraphic stage, the utterance still demonstrates semantic coherence and clear communicative intent. From a morphological perspective, Elsie continues to experiment with inflectional morphemes, shown through the partially accurate present progressive verb phrase “going”, suggesting she is beginning to internalise patterns of tense marking even if these are not yet consistently applied. Phonologically, Elsie still simplifies certain sounds, particularly through consonant cluster reduction in words such as “pane” for “plane”, yet these utterances remain intelligible due to the immediate contextual support provided by the shared play environment. Nelson would argue that this demonstrates how children acquire language most effectively through meaningful social contexts, as Elsie’s lexical choices are directly tied to the physical objects and imaginative scenario surrounding her. Pragmatically, Elsie also appears increasingly aware of turn-taking conventions, waiting for parental feedback before extending her narrative with declaratives such as “he sleep now”, suggesting developing conversational competence.

 

Notice – how the analysis stays extremely focused with systematic reference to features but then EXPLAINING 1. How this reflects the CONTEXT Elsie is in and 2. How PROGRESS is shown.

AO3 Contextual Understanding

• Strong focus on parent-child interaction and play context:
• “interact with her parents”
• “shared play environment”
• Theories applied to contextual moments:
• Bruner → recasting “ask”
• Skinner → praise “well done”
• Nelson → learning through “meaningful social contexts”
• References multiple frameworks:
• phonology, morphology, discourse, pragmatics

Progress Over Time

• Explicit developmental phrasing:
• “Later in the transcript”
• “growing awareness”
• “developing conversational competence”
• Tracks improvement:
• “ask” → improved consonant cluster in “disk”
• isolated verbs → “longer adjacency pairs”
• Shows gradual grammatical development:
• “hitted” → partially accurate “going”

 

 

Tracking Progress

Focus on:

• improvement across texts
• increased accuracy/control
• genre awareness
• cohesion and structure

Also note:

• regressions
• complexity overload
• reduced support

Always explain:

WHY changes happen (context matters)

 

Final Advice

DO:

• use terminology precisely
• link everything to the question
• track development
• embed AO3 naturally
• compare across texts

DON’T:

• just feature spot
• ignore progression
• over-explain theory without application
• forget context