Bilet 2 Reading Sınav Örneği
Bilgi Bilet 2 Sınav örneği WOLA tarafından özel olarak hazırlanmıştır.Bilet 2 Reading sınavı hakkında öğrencilerin fikir sahibi olmaları içindir.
Investigating Children’s Language
A )
For over 200 years, there has been an interest in the way children learn to speak and
understand their first language. Scholars carried out several small-scale studies, especially
towards the end of the 19th century, using data they recorded in parental diaries. But the detailed,
systematic investigation did not begin until the middle decades of the 20th century when the
tape recorder came into routine use. This made it possible to keep a permanent record of
samples of child speech so that analysts could listen repeatedly to obscure extracts, and thus
produce a detailed and accurate description. Since then, the subject has attracted enormous
multi-disciplinary interest, notably from linguists and psychologists, who have used a variety of
observational and experimental techniques to study the process of language acquisition in
depth.
B)
Central to the success of this rapidly emerging field lies the ability of researchers to devise
satisfactory methods for eliciting linguistic data from children. The problems that have to be
faced are quite different from those encountered when working with adults. Many of the
linguist’s routine techniques of inquiry cannot be used with children. It is not possible to carry
out certain kinds of experiments because aspects of children’s cognitive development – such as
their ability to pay attention or to remember instructions – may not be sufficiently advanced.
Nor is it easy to get children to make systematic judgments about language, a task that is
virtually impossible below the age of three. And anyone who has tried to obtain even the most
basic kind of data – a tape recording of a representative sample of a child’s speech – knows
how frustrating this can be. Some children, it seems, are innately programmed to switch off as
soon as they notice a tape recorder being switched on.
C)
Since the 1960s, however, several sophisticated recording techniques and experimental
designs have been devised. Children can be observed and recorded through one-way-vision
windows or using radio microphones, so that the effects of having an investigator in the same
room as the child can be eliminated. Large-scale sampling programs have been carried out,
with children sometimes being recorded for several years. Particular attention has been paid to
devising experimental techniques that fall well within a child’s intellectual level and social
experience. Even pre-linguistic infants have been brought into the research: acoustic
techniques are used to analyze their vocalizations, and their ability to perceive the world
around them is monitored using special recording equipment. The result has been a growing
body of reliable data on the stages of language acquisition from birth until puberty.
D )
There is no single way of studying children’s language. Linguistics and psychology have each
brought their own approach to the subject, and many variations have been introduced to cope
with the variety of activities in which children engage, and the great age range that they
present. Two main research paradigms are found.
E)
One of these is known as ‘naturalistic sampling’. A sample of a child’s spontaneous use of
language is recorded in familiar and comfortable surroundings. One of the best places to make
the recording is in the child’s own home, but it is not always easy to maintain good acoustic
quality, and the presence of the researcher or the recording equipment can be a distraction
(especially if the proceedings are being filmed). Alternatively, the recording can be made in a
research center, where the child is allowed to play freely with toys while talking to parents or
other children, and the observers and their equipment are unobtrusive.
F)
A good quality, a representative, naturalistic sample is generally considered an ideal datum for
child language study. However, the method has several limitations. These samples are
informative about speech production, but they give little guidance about children’s
comprehension of what they hear around them. Moreover, samples cannot contain everything,
and they can easily miss some important features of a child’s linguistic ability. They may also
not provide enough instances of a developing feature to enable the analyst to make a decision
about the way the child is learning. For such reasons, the description of samples of child speech
has to be supplemented by other methods.
G)
The other main approach is through experimentation, and the methods of experimental
psychology have been widely applied to child language research. The investigator formulates a
specific hypothesis about children’s ability to use or understand an aspect of language and
devises a relevant task for a group of subjects to undertake. Statistical analysis is made of the
subject’s behavior, and the results provide evidence that supports or falsifies the original
hypothesis.
H)
Using this approach, as well as other methods of controlled observation, researchers have
come up with many detailed findings of the production and comprehension of groups of
children. However, it is not easy to generalize the findings of these studies. What may obtain in
a carefully controlled setting may not apply in the rush of daily interaction. Different kinds of
subjects, experimental situations, and statistical procedures may produce different results or
interpretations. Experimental research is therefore a slow, painstaking business; it may take
years before researchers are convinced that all variables have been considered and a finding is
genuine.
Bilet 2 Reading Sınav Örneği
Part A: Fill in the blanks in the following sentences with information from the text.
1. Attempts to elicit very young children’s opinions about language are likely to fail because
.
.
Part B: Complete the following summary.
Ways of investigating children’s language
One method of carrying out research is to record children’s spontaneous language use. This can
be done in their homes, where, however, it may be difficult to ensure that the recording is acceptable (3) .———– Another venue that is often used is a
(4) ——————, where the researcher can avoid distracting the child. A drawback of
this method is that it does not allow children to demonstrate their comprehension.
An alternative approach is to use methodology from the field of (5) .————
In this case, a number of children are asked to carry out a (6)—————, and the
results are subjected to a (7) .————
Part C: Answer the following questions according to the information in the text.
8. What do the researchers do in order to keep the children from noticing their recording
equipment?
9. Which of the following is NOT mentioned in the passage as a reason why confirming the results
of these studies is not simple?
a. Real-life situations and controlled environments are not comparable.
b. Naturalistic sampling and experimental psychology do not complement each other.
c. Different statistical procedures may vary in interpretation.
d. Different subjects and situations may have different results.
10. According to paragraphs A & B, what made this research more difficult to carry out?
a. Not having enough parental diaries.
b. Children’s underdeveloped cognitive abilities.
c. Children going silent when seeing a recorder.
d. The invention of the tape recorder.
Bilet 2 Reading Sınav Örneği
Answer Key
Part A: Fill in the blanks in the following sentences with information from the text.
1. Attempts to elicit very young children’s opinions about language are likely to fail because they
have yet to develop cognitive senses such as the ability to pay attention and to remember
instructions.
2. Using the “naturalistic sampling” alone in the study is not efficient enough because it gives little
guidance about children’s comprehension, it cannot contain everything, and it can easily miss
some important features of a child’s linguistic ability.
Bilet 2 Reading Sınav Örneği
Part B: Complete the following summary.
Ways of investigating children’s language
One method of carrying out research is to record children’s spontaneous language use. This can
be done in their homes, where, however, it may be difficult to ensure that the recording is of
acceptable (3) acoustic quality. Another venue that is often used is a (4) research center,
where the researcher can avoid distracting the child. A drawback of this method is that it does
not allow children to demonstrate their comprehension.
An alternative approach is to use methodology from the field of (5) experimental psychology. In
In this case, a number of children are asked to carry out a (6) (relevant) task, and the results are
subjected to a (7) statistical analysis.
Bilet 2 Reading Sınav Örneği
Part C: Answer the following questions according to the information in the text.
8. What do the researchers do in order to keep the children from noticing their recording
equipment? They bring them into research centers where they can play with toys or with other
children and talk with parents.
9. Which of the following is NOT mentioned in the passage as a reason why confirming the results
of these studies is not simple?
a. Real-life situations and controlled environments are not comparable.
b. Naturalistic sampling and experimental psychology do not complement each other.
c. Different statistical procedures may vary in interpretation.
d. Different subjects and situations may have different results.
10. According to paragraphs A & B, what made this research more difficult to carry out?
a. Not having enough parental diaries.
b. Children’s underdeveloped cognitive abilities.
c. Children going silent when seeing a recorder.
d. The invention of the tape recorder.
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