During critical stage, approximately how often are new words learned while awake?

• A. About every one or two hours
• B. Every 5 minutes
• C. Once per day
• D. Once per week

Answer: (A)

During the critical stage, the language-learning brain is highly receptive to new vocabulary and picks up words continually through everyday exposure. Because children are constantly hearing words in conversation, books, and daily activities, they form associations and expand their lexicon at a brisk pace. A rough estimate of one to two hours per new word captures this rapid, incidental learning that characterizes early language development: many distinct words can be encountered and learned across a waking day.

The other rates don’t fit how vocabulary grows in naturalistic learning. Learning a new word every five minutes would imply hundreds of words added in a single day, which is not consistent with typical developmental data. Conversely, one new word per day or per week is far too slow to describe the rapid accumulation seen during the critical period.