| Course | PAC 201 Child Development |
|---|---|
| Module | Module 5 |
| Paper type | Language development paper |
| Length | About 1,078 words, 6 pages |
| Format | APA 7 student paper |
| School | Aspen University |
| Program | Psychology and Addiction Studies |
| Updated | October 2026 |
Free sample paper for PAC 201 Module 5
Two Languages, One Toddler: What Language Research Says About Camila, Her Teacher's English-Only Idea and Her Parents' Worry
Student Name
Psychology and Addiction Studies Program, Aspen University
PAC 201: Child Development
Instructor Name
Month Day, Year
Two Languages, One Toddler: What Language Research Says About Camila, Her Teacher's English-Only Idea and Her Parents' Worry
Camila is two and a half years old. At home in Tucson she speaks Spanish with her parents and grandmother, who moved from Sonora before she was born. At Desert Sprouts, the invented early learning center where she spends weekdays, she hears English. Her teacher counted about forty English words in Camila's speech, mostly nouns, and noted that she rarely talks in group time. Her parents, who are learning English, worry that she is behind, and they have asked whether they should speak only English at home. Her teacher has suggested the same. This paper examines what language development research says about Camila. Camila, her family and Desert Sprouts are composites written for teaching, and the cited research is real.
Early Milestones
Language develops in a broadly predictable sequence. Infants coo in the first months and babble by about six months, gradually producing the sounds of the languages around them. First words typically appear around the first birthday. Vocabulary grows slowly at first and often faster in the second year, and children begin combining words around eighteen months to two years. By two and a half, many children use hundreds of words and short sentences. There is wide normal variation, and for children learning two languages, words are spread across both.
Learning Through Interaction
Kuhl et al. (2003) showed how much early language learning depends on social interaction. Infants are born able to distinguish speech sounds from many languages, but by the end of the first year they become specialized in the sounds of their own language. The researchers exposed nine-month-old American infants from English-speaking homes to Mandarin in twelve short sessions. Some infants played and read with live Mandarin speakers; others watched the same speakers on video or heard them on audio recordings. Only the infants exposed to live speakers learned to distinguish a Mandarin sound contrast; those who watched videos or heard audio showed no learning. Early language learning, the authors concluded, is strongly gated by social interaction.
Bilingual Development
Hoff et al. (2012) compared toddlers from homes where two languages were spoken with toddlers from monolingual English homes. The bilingual toddlers, on average, knew fewer words in each language than the monolingual toddlers knew in English, and their grammar in each language developed somewhat more slowly. But when vocabulary in both languages was combined, the bilingual toddlers' total vocabularies were similar to those of the monolingual toddlers. How much each child heard of each language predicted their development in that language. The authors concluded that bilingual development is not delayed overall but is distributed across two languages.
The Word Gap and Its Critics
Hart and Risley (1995) recorded the speech of forty-two families with young children and reported large differences in how many words children heard, with children in professional families hearing many more words than children in families receiving welfare. Projected over years, the difference became the widely cited thirty million word gap, and it inspired programs encouraging parents to talk more.
Later research has refined and challenged this picture. Romeo et al. (2018) recorded the language environments of children aged four to six and scanned their brains while they listened to stories. The number of conversational turns, back-and-forth exchanges between child and adult, predicted activity in a brain region involved in language and predicted children's language skills, more than the number of adult words children heard. Conversational turns also helped explain the relationship between family socioeconomic status and language skills. Sperry et al. (2019) went further, recording children in several communities of different socioeconomic backgrounds and counting speech from all caregivers and from conversations children overheard, not only from primary caregivers. Many children in low-income communities heard as much or more speech than children in middle-class families. They argued that the word gap reflected narrow measurement and risked stigmatizing families.
What the Research Means for Camila
When her teacher and the center's family liaison, who speaks Spanish, asked Camila's parents to list the words she uses at home, they listed more than two hundred Spanish words and several short sentences. Combined with her English words, her vocabulary is well within the typical range for her age.
| Concern | Finding | What it means for Camila |
|---|---|---|
| She knows only forty English words | Hoff and colleagues: bilingual toddlers' totals match when both languages count | Count her Spanish words too; she may be on track |
| She should hear only English | Hoff and colleagues: input in each language predicts growth in it | Dropping Spanish would cut her strongest language |
| More English words will help | Romeo and colleagues: conversation matters more than words heard | Conversation in either language builds language |
| Videos could teach her English | Kuhl and colleagues: live interaction, not video, drove learning | Talk with her rather than relying on screens |
| Her family's talk is insufficient | Sperry and colleagues: many families' language environments are rich | Value the Spanish conversation she already hears |
Guidance for the Center and Family
For the center, the research suggests building conversational turns in English: asking Camila open questions during play, waiting for her answers and expanding on her words. Learning a few Spanish words, labeling classroom items in both languages and inviting her parents to share songs or books in Spanish would signal that her home language is valued. Her quietness in group time is common among children learning a new language, many of whom go through a quiet period before speaking more.
For her parents, the guidance is to keep speaking Spanish, the language in which they speak richly and comfortably, and to keep talking, reading and singing with her. Their conversation in Spanish builds the language foundation she will draw on in English.
Both should watch for signs that would warrant a speech and language evaluation regardless of bilingualism, such as little progress in either language over several months, difficulty understanding simple requests in her home language or loss of words she once used. A bilingual evaluator would assess both languages.
Conclusion
Camila's forty English words told only half her story. Kuhl, Tsao and Liu show that language is learned through live interaction, Hoff and colleagues show that bilingual toddlers' vocabularies are spread across two languages and Romeo and colleagues and Sperry, Sperry and Miller show that conversation, not word counts alone, matters and that many families' language environments are richer than once assumed. The research supports conversation in both languages, not English only.
References
Hart, B., & Risley, T. R. (1995). Meaningful differences in the everyday experience of young American children. Paul H. Brookes.
Hoff, E., Core, C., Place, S., Rumiche, R., Señor, M., & Parra, M. (2012). Dual language exposure and early bilingual development. Journal of Child Language, 39(1), 1-27. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0305000910000759
Kuhl, P. K., Tsao, F.-M., & Liu, H.-M. (2003). Foreign-language experience in infancy: Effects of short-term exposure and social interaction on phonetic learning. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 100(15), 9096-9101. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1532872100
Romeo, R. R., Leonard, J. A., Robinson, S. T., West, M. R., Mackey, A. P., Rowe, M. L., & Gabrieli, J. D. E. (2018). Beyond the 30-million-word gap: Children's conversational exposure is associated with language-related brain function. Psychological Science, 29(5), 700-710. https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797617742725
Sperry, D. E., Sperry, L. L., & Miller, P. J. (2019). Reexamining the verbal environments of children from different socioeconomic backgrounds. Child Development, 90(4), 1303-1318. https://doi.org/10.1111/cdev.13072
PAC 201 Module 5 instructions, in plain terms
Language development is the fifth module of PAC 201, and a typical assignment asks you to describe how children acquire language and to apply the research to a child or a practical question, often involving diversity. Treat the Module 5 instructions in your Aspen course as final; the child is invented. Describe early milestones accurately. Explain what research shows about how language is learned, especially the role of interaction. Address bilingual development with evidence rather than assumptions. Present a debated finding with its critics. Apply the research to a specific child and give guidance a teacher or parent could use. Cite every study in APA 7 and respect the family's home language. Say how you counted the child's words.
Inside the PAC 201 Module 5 example
Camila uses about forty English words and many Spanish ones, combines words in Spanish and is quiet at the center. Her parents fear she is behind; her teacher suggests English only. Kuhl, Tsao and Liu's PNAS study shows learning through live interaction. Hoff and colleagues' Journal of Child Language study compares bilingual and monolingual toddlers. Hart and Risley's book and Romeo and colleagues' Psychological Science study show the importance of conversation, and Sperry, Sperry and Miller's Child Development reexamination challenges the word gap. A five-row table sets each finding beside the concerns. Guidance covers conversation at the center, Spanish at home and the signs that would call for a bilingual speech and language evaluation.
Where the marks sit in the PAC 201 Module 5 rubric
Language papers earn credit for accurate milestones, sound use of research and practical, respectful application. This example measures Camila's vocabulary across both languages, as Hoff and colleagues' findings require, which keeps the analysis from mistaking bilingualism for delay. It presents the word gap with its critics, showing awareness of a live debate. The research on interaction supports guidance that emphasizes conversation in both languages rather than English only. The table connects findings directly to the adults' concerns. Guidance on when to seek a speech and language evaluation shows the writer knows where reassurance ends and referral begins, and the language throughout respects the family's choice to raise her in Spanish. Each study is cited where it is used.
Common PAC 201 Module 5 mistakes, and how to avoid them
Students often assume that learning two languages confuses children or causes delay. Bilingual children may know fewer words in each language but similar totals across both; measure both. Another weakness is presenting the thirty million word gap as settled; include its critics. Emphasize conversation and interaction, which research links to language growth more than the sheer number of words. Avoid advising families to drop their home language. Distinguish typical bilingual patterns from signs that warrant evaluation, such as no words at all by about eighteen months. Use the family's language and culture as strengths, and keep your guidance practical enough for a teacher to try the following morning.
Write yours, or have the desk draft it
This paper is an original model document written by our desk, not a submitted student paper and not an official Aspen University document. Read it for the moves, then write your own to the instructions in your classroom. If you want one built to your exact prompt and rubric, the first custom sample is free and arrives in 24 to 48 hours.
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PAC 201 Module 5 questions, answered
What does PAC 201 Module 5 usually ask for?
Aspen's PAC 201 covers language development in this module, so explaining how language is learned and applying research to a child or practical question is typical. Consult your Module 5 prompt.
Do bilingual toddlers have smaller vocabularies?
Hoff and colleagues found they knew fewer words in each language than monolingual peers but a similar number across both languages combined.
Can babies learn language from videos?
Kuhl, Tsao and Liu found infants learned Mandarin speech sounds from a live speaker but not from the same speaker on video or audio.
Where can I find a free PAC 201 Module 5 sample paper?
The complete paper is above: language development research applied to a bilingual toddler, with a table and guidance for teacher and parents.
Is the thirty million word gap real?
It is debated. Romeo and colleagues found conversational turns mattered more than words heard, and Sperry, Sperry and Miller found many low-income children heard more speech than reported.