Difficulty: Hard

Average Score: 38%

Which of the following represents the most likely possible sequence of language development of a hearing child, beginning with the earliest step?

Rationale

Phoneme discrimination, babbling, holophrastic speech.

Language development in hearing children typically begins with phoneme discrimination, where infants start recognizing distinct sounds. This is followed by babbling, where they experiment with producing sounds, and culminates in holophrastic speech, where single words convey whole ideas.

A (Holophrastic speech, babbling, phoneme discrimination) YOUR ANSWER

This sequence incorrectly suggests that children first use holophrastic speech, which involves using single words to express whole ideas. In reality, before they can use single words, children must first discriminate between phonemes and engage in babbling to practice sound production.

B (Holophrastic speech, phoneme discrimination, babbling) YOUR ANSWER

Similar to choice A, this option starts with holophrastic speech as the initial stage, which is not accurate. Phoneme discrimination occurs much earlier as infants learn to identify the sounds of their language, followed by the babbling phase where they begin to produce those sounds.

C (Babbling, holophrastic speech, phoneme discrimination) YOUR ANSWER

This sequence incorrectly positions holophrastic speech before phoneme discrimination. While babbling does follow phoneme discrimination, holophrastic speech emerges later as children begin to use single words meaningfully after they have developed a foundation in sound recognition and production.

D (Phoneme discrimination, babbling, holophrastic speech) CORRECT

This is the correct sequence, as it accurately reflects the stages of language development in hearing children. First, infants discriminate between sounds, then they babble to practice those sounds, and finally, they begin to use words to convey meaning.

E (Phoneme discrimination, holophrastic speech, babbling) YOUR ANSWER

While this option correctly starts with phoneme discrimination, it incorrectly places holophrastic speech before babbling. Babbling is a crucial step following phoneme discrimination, where children begin to experiment with sound production before they can use words.

Conclusion

Understanding the correct sequence of language development stages in hearing children is essential for recognizing how they acquire language. The sequence starts with phoneme discrimination, followed by babbling, and culminates in holophrastic speech. Recognizing these stages can help caregivers and educators support language acquisition effectively.

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