Describe at least one limitation that elementary school students may have in each one of the following aspects of language, and illustrate each limitation with a concrete example:

Question

a. Vocabulary
b. Syntax
c. Listening comprehension
d. Oral communication

Answer 1

Elementary school students may have limitations such as these (the response should include at least one bulleted item in each of the four areas below, with each item being illustrated with a concrete example):
a. Vocabulary:
• Limited number of words known and understood
• Not completely accurate understanding of some words
b. Syntax:
• Incomplete mastery of irregular forms (e.g., goed instead of went, gooder instead of better)
• Limited understanding of complex syntactical structures (e.g., passive sentences, sentences with two or more clauses)
c. Listening comprehension:
• Belief that good listening means sitting still and being quiet rather than understanding what is being said
• Belief that it is inappropriate to ask for clarification when a message isn't understood
• Literal interpretations of messages
• Limited ability to understand figurative language
d. Oral communication:
• Pronunciation difficulties
• Difficulty taking the knowledge of the listener into account
• Limited pragmatic skills