Which method involves repeating sentences to assess language ability?

Which method involves repeating sentences to assess language ability?

• A. Repeat sentences
• B. Judgments about grammar
• C. Recording and transcribing what children say
• D. Showing pictures with names

Answer: (A)

Repeating sentences directly involves the child listening to and then reproducing exact sentence forms, which makes it a targeted way to assess language production, especially syntax and morphological accuracy. Because the task requires reproducing the structure, effort is focused on how well the child uses correct grammar, word order, and inflections, providing a clear window into their ability to produce well-formed sentences and manage linguistic form under cognitive load. This approach is more specific to producing sentence-level language than simply judging grammar by rules (a metalinguistic task), collecting spontaneous speech (recording and transcription), or naming pictures (which primarily taps vocabulary and retrieval). Repetition gives a controlled stimulus and a direct production measure, making it the most effective method among the options for evaluating sentence-level language ability.

Repeating sentences directly involves the child listening to and then reproducing exact sentence forms, which makes it a targeted way to assess language production, especially syntax and morphological accuracy. Because the task requires reproducing the structure, effort is focused on how well the child uses correct grammar, word order, and inflections, providing a clear window into their ability to produce well-formed sentences and manage linguistic form under cognitive load.

This approach is more specific to producing sentence-level language than simply judging grammar by rules (a metalinguistic task), collecting spontaneous speech (recording and transcription), or naming pictures (which primarily taps vocabulary and retrieval). Repetition gives a controlled stimulus and a direct production measure, making it the most effective method among the options for evaluating sentence-level language ability.