The document discusses language development in preschool-aged children. It covers topics like vocabulary growth, grammar skills, speech patterns, play, and social interactions for both younger (ages 2-3) and older (ages 3-5) preschoolers. The document also provides advice for caregivers on supporting language development and outlines typical language milestones during the preschool years.

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Chapter 3
Preschool Years

2. Chapter Highlights
 Preschool Years
 A. Young Preschoolers – Twos and Threes
1. Fast growing language abilities
2. Miscellaneous vocal sounds
3. Receptive and expressive vocabulary
4. Learning more complex forms of grammar
5. Speech errors
6. Self-focused speech
7. Symbolic and dramatic play
8. Attempts to make sense of experiences
9. Verb problems
10. Key word sentences
Copyright 2016 Wadsworth Cengage Learning.
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3. Chapter Highlights (cont.)
 11. Question asking
 12. Overextension of concepts
 13. Running commentaries & self-talk
 14. Lack of speech clarity
B. Advice For Families and Care Providers
1. Expect uneven speech and stammering.
2. Relaxed acceptance of child efforts
3. Search for meaning of illogical speech
4. Name objects and actions
5. Help child see details and relationships
6. Check for hearing loss
Copyright 2016 Wadsworth Cengage Learning.
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4. Chapter Highlights (cont.)
 7. Frequent colds can hamper hearing and speech.
 8. Introduce appropriate books.
C. Older Preschoolers 4-5 year olds
1. Longer sentences used
2. More correct verb forms
3. Changes in question forms
4. Better articulation
5. Adult-like speech
6. Play with ‘fun’ words and language
7. Holds social conversations
Copyright 2016 Wadsworth Cengage Learning.
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5. Chapter Highlights (cont.)
 8. Somewhat stable friendships
 9. Group play
 10. Inner speech
 11. More relational words, uses comparisons and
categories
 12. Sensory awareness
 13. Impact and created words
 14. Reality and nonsense
 15. Rhyming
 16. Vocabulary growth
Copyright 2016 Wadsworth Cengage Learning.
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6. Chapter Highlights (cont.)
 17. Wide range of differences considered normal
 18. Metalinguistic awareness
 19. Brain restructuring
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Younger Preschoolers
Ages 2-3 (1 of 2)
 Communicate through speech and action
 Acquire 6 to 10 new words each day
 Acquire more grammatical forms
Creative mistakes
 “My daddy fixed the chair.”
Most often use nouns and short possessives
 Brief conversational exchanges

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Younger Preschoolers
Ages 2-3 (2 of 2)
 Receptive vocabulary
Vocabulary that can be comprehended
Hear word and react appropriately
 Expressive vocabulary
Vocabulary that can be produced
Speaks word at appropriate time and place

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Landmarks of Early Language (1 of 3)
 Formation of internal rules for language
Regularization
 Expected sequence in formation of past tense
 Expected sequence in formation of plurals

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Landmarks of Early Language (2 of 3)
 Expected sequence in formation of past
tense
 Uses irregular tense endings correctly (ran, came,
drank)
 Discovers “–ed” expresses past events (danced,
played)
 Over-regularizes (camed, breaked)
 Recognizes regular and irregular verbs express past
tense

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Landmarks of Early Language (3 of 3)
 Formation of questions
Focus on why, how, when
Probes for purposes and intentions
Realizes things exist for a purpose
Realizes things and people relate to them

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Categories of Thinking (1 of 2)
 Overlapping concepts
Overextension
 Example: qualities of dog extended to other large
animals
 Running commentaries
Actions accompanied by commentaries
Developmental reasons for self-talk

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Categories of Thinking (2 of 2)
 Repetition
 Lack of clarity
Consonant blends not mastered until age 7
Basic feature of phonological system present
Articulation only 40-80% accurate
Omission of sounds
Substitution of sounds

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Older Preschoolers (Ages 3-5)
(1 of 2)
 Language attainments
Longer sentences
More word endings
Better use of verb tenses
Better use of negatives
Better use of question format
Speech approaches adult-like form

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Older Preschoolers (Ages 3-5)
(2 of 2)
 Social speech attainments
Eye contact and attention getters
Pausing and listening
Self-correcting
Maintaining attention
Turn-taking talking

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Importance of Play and Language
 Increased language increases social
interchange in play.
 Child can take on different roles.
 Child can talk “in character.”
 Development of inner speech makes
planning possible.

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Common Speech Patterns
 Enjoy rhymes
 Still make some grammatical errors
Verb tenses
Time words
Negatives
 Vocabulary of up to 1,500 words
 May still stutter or clutter at times

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Metalinguistic Awareness
 The knowledge of the nature of language as
an object
Notices words as objects
Will lead to later ability to manipulate words
Contributes to learning to read
Ability to use word play

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Brain Growth of Four-Year Olds
 Between 4 and 12:
Brain seeks information from senses
Room for unlimited number of memories
Connections not reinforced by stimuli
disappear
 As a result, researchers recommend
emphasizing language, music, math, and
problem solving in early childhood.