Speech
Language
Hearing
English Language Learners
Miscellaneous
100
The speech of typical 3-year-old children should be able to be understood 90% of the time.
What is false. It's 75-80%.
100
The length of a typical 3-year-old child's spoken sentences should be 3 words long with age appropriate grammatical forms.
What is true. Typical 3-year-old sentences: "I want milk." "Baby is sleeping." "I like cars."
100
A child's ability to hearing well is important in developing typical speech and language.
What is true. Normal hearing ability allows children to hear the speech and language around them and to hear themselves as they try to replicate the sounds and words.
100
Once ELLs can converse socially in English, they are then capable of succeeding academically.
What is false. While ELLs may acquire social language within three years, it may take up to seven years for an ELL to achieve academic proficiency in English.
100
A preschool child (ages 3-6) needs to demonstrate a 40% delay to qualify as having a speech or language delay in Vermont (if they have no other delays in any other developmental areas)
What is true. They must be delayed 40% as compared to same age peers.
200
Typical 3-year-old children will have these sounds in their speech: v, j, th.
What is false. These sounds don't usually develop until 4 years or older.
200
Many 3-year-old children incorrectly use irregular past tense verbs in their spoken sentences (Examples: "Yesterday I dranked juice." "They writed a letter.")
What is true. Irregular past tense is learned more by the age of 4 years and up.
200
Ear infections are the most common cause of temporary hearing loss in young children.
What is true. Seventy-five percent of children experience at least one episode of otitis media by their third birthday. Almost one-half of these children will have three or more ear infections during their first 3 years of life
200
If children are exposed to English at school and their native language at home, it leads to language disorders and delays
What is false. It is very important that parents speak the language in which they are most fluent to their children. The human brain has an extensive capacity to learn multiple languages simultaneously. In fact, acquiring two languages at an early age strengthens cognitive abilities.
200
Autism can be reliably diagnosed around 2 years of age.
What is true. However, parents often notice symptoms before then. In fact, analysis of videotapes from children’s first-birthday parties shows that signs of autism are already present for many children at that age, even when parents don’t become concerned until months or years later
300
Children with speech delays are at risk for slower development of literacy (reading and writing) skills.
What is true. Children who don't develop age appropriate speech sounds by Kindergarten often are slower to learn to read and write.
300
Auditory comprehension of language means almost the same thing as receptive language.
What is true. Receptive language (what you hear and understand) involves understanding vocabulary, grammar and spoken/written sentences.
300
If a child is born with a permanent hearing loss, then they are considered deaf in both ears.
What is false. Permanent hearing loss can be mild, moderate, or severe and it can affect one or both ears to different degrees.
300
Socioeconomic status (SES) is the strongest predictor of success in second language acquisition.
What is false. The strongest predictor of success of second language learners is use of L1 at home.
300
Having good phonological awareness skills means that a child is able to sing.
What is false. Good phonological awareness skills means that a child is able to manipulate sounds and words, or “play” with sounds and words. By engaging in word play, children learn to recognize patterns among words and use this knowledge to learn to read and build words.
400
Occasional whole-word or short phrase repetitions are considered developmentally typical for preschoolers and are not signs of stuttering (Examples: "Then, then I ran fast!" "I want a, I want a blue crayon.")
What is true. Part-word repetitions (Example: "wh-wh-what is that?") sound elongations (Example: "She ha-a-a-as to go h-h-home now.") and blocks (attempts to speak but no sound is emitted) are signs of stuttering.
400
Expressive language skills include visually recognizing the meaning other people's facial expressions and body gestures.
What is false. Expressive language skills include the formulation of spoken (and eventually written) language that contains age appropriate vocabulary, grammar and sentence of expected complexity and length.
400
Once a child passes their Universal Newborn Hearing Screening at the hospital, then they are considered to always have adequate hearing.
What is false. Any hearing screening is a snap-shot in time. A child's hearing ability can change over time due to ear infections.
400
Oral language and literacy should be developed simultaneously.
What is true. Children do not need to acquire an oral language base before developing early literacy skills.
400
Lip and tongue exercises are an important part of speech therapy that helps build strong speech muscles for speaking.
What is false. Oral-motor exercises in isolation, once thought to be useful, have been found to be ineffective in improving speech. Articulator placement and speech movements must be done within the context of vocalizations to establish good speech motor planning patterns.
500
"Yeyo packpack," for "Yellow backpack" and "Goggie" for "Doggie" are both examples of stopping the airflow of the consonant sound.
What is false. This is consonant harmony. The child changes all the consonants in the word to the same sound to "harmonize" the sounds.
500
A typical 4-year-old child would not be expected to understand and answer "How" and "Wh-" questions (questions that begin with "what, where, who, when, why")
What is false. Understanding and answering questions is an expected receptive and expressive language skill for this age.
500
"Cerumen" is the medical term for "ear drum"
What is false. "tympanic membrane" is the medical term for "ear drum"
500
Schools should allow conversations and thinking in L1 in class and not encourage the use of English (L2) at home if English is not the primary/dominant language.
What is true. More exposure to English (or L2) does not accelerate acquisition. Native language is the best medium for cognitive development.
500
Auditory feedback and auditory discrimination are important parts of speech therapy.
What is true. The use of a "Toobaloo" provides useful auditory feedback during speech practice. Auditory discrimination tasks (external and internal) are important in developing self-awareness and self-monitoring skills to produce speech targets and more intelligible speech.
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