Question One

According to the writer, the ability of a child to absorb any human language is implanted in them naturally, and many are born with it. The author asserts that every child has embedded language acquisition device (LAD) that captures the fundamental concepts of human language. Accordingly, the writer argues that the presence of the LAD explains the ability of children to acquire innately a language and explains the reason no explicit teaching is required for a child to adopt a language.

Question Two

Primarily, the Critical Period Hypothesis submits that the initial years of life are the most critical time for a person to acquire a first language. It asserts that outside this period, grasping the basics of a human language becomes difficult.

Question Three

In essence, it was when Genie’s mother sought financial assistance from the welfare department that a social worker noticed that Genie looked frail. Upon interrogation, it became apparent that Genie had been held in solitary confinement since she was two years old. During her captivity, nobody ever spoke to Genie, and the result of this was that Genie had not acquired the human language because she was past the critical period for language acquisition.

Question Four

At the time of her discovery, Genie’s lack of language acquisition was evidenced by her lack of language comprehension. In fact, she understood only a few negative words, which she is what she had learnt from her captor father.

Question Five

Ultimately, the forbidden experiment mentioned in the film was an experiment based on Victor, boy discovered in Southern France. Victors’ behaviors and character, which resulted from his living in the forest for many years, was one that did not correspond with that of a normal human being. In essence, Victor gave the Parisian Scientists a chance to see a human being stripped off human culture, a situation that no one would set to create on purpose.

Question Six

Over the years, Genie showed tremendous improvement in her language. Interestingly, she learnt and used words that are not ordinarily used by first time language learners. However, with time, her capability to expand her vocabulary slowed down arising from the fact that she had already passed her critical period.

Question Seven

Admittedly, several ethical issues arise from the studies conducted on Genie and Victor. First, the fact that in both the cases the participants could not comprehend what was going on means they could not consent participate in the studies. However, there was confidentiality in the studies as the researchers used a pseudo name to protect her real identity. Again, although their identities were not revealed, their cases were exposed to the world. Despite these issues arising from the research, it was imperative that the researchers conduct the studies for the sake of future such cases.