Arizona Educator Proficiency Assessments (AEPA) Early Childhood Education Practice Test

The correct choice is focused on the language sensitive period. At two years old, children are typically experiencing a heightened interest in vocal sounds and language acquisition. This period is crucial for developing communication skills, and it is characterized by toddlers mimicking sounds, words, and phrases they hear in their environment. During this time, children are particularly receptive to acquiring language skills, which includes both understanding and producing language. Enjoying being read to illustrates their burgeoning interest in language, vocabulary, and storytelling, as well as their ability to connect sounds with meanings. Engaging with books helps to promote their language development by exposing them to new words and concepts, which they are likely to mimic and integrate into their own speech. While the other sensitive periods—social, cognitive, and motor skills—are also important in early childhood development, they do not specifically address the behaviors of mimicking vocal sounds and enjoying storytime, which are indicative of the language sensitive period.