Praxis SLP Licensure Exam

At what developmental stage do a variety of word classes and sentence types typically emerge?

1. Infancy

2. Toddlerhood

3. Preschool

4. School age

The correct answer is: Preschool

The emergence of a variety of word classes and sentence types typically occurs during the preschool stage of development. This is a critical period for language acquisition, where children expand their vocabulary and begin to experiment with different grammatical structures. During preschool, children acquire the ability to use not only nouns and verbs but also adjectives, adverbs, and various sentence types, including compound and complex sentences. This stage is marked by significant cognitive development, which supports more sophisticated language use. Children start engaging in more complex conversational exchanges and their ability to narrate events or express thoughts improves substantially. Moreover, this period allows for greater social interaction, which further enhances their linguistic skills. While toddlers begin to form simple words and phrases, their vocabulary and sentence structures are limited compared to what is developed during the preschool years. Similarly, school age brings further refinement and sophistication in language use but is characterized more by the application of already learned linguistic concepts rather than the initial emergence of diverse word classes and sentence types. Thus, preschool is the stage where this linguistic diversity truly begins to flourish.