- Language development begins at birth with crying and progresses through babbling, first words, two-word phrases, and eventually adult-like speech between ages 3-5.
- Key milestones include responding to sounds at 6 months, first words at 12 months, 5-20 word vocabulary at 18 months, and 2-3 word sentences by 24 months.
- By age 3 children can use plurals and past tenses, have a 900-1000 word vocabulary, and understand simple questions. Adult-like speech is achieved by age 5-6.
- Theories of language development include biological, cognitive, social-cultural, and behavioral influences. Piaget saw thought preceding language, while Vygot
2.
Language is the tool humans use to communi-
cate and share thoughts, ideas, and emotions.
Language may also be expressed through
writing or things like signing.
The most intensive period of speech and
language development for humans is during the
first three years of life, a period when the brain is
developing and maturing.
An infant's first ability to express his needs
begins with crying during the first days of life.
Concept of Language Development
3.
Six months :
Vocalise with intonation.
Respond to her name.
Responds to human voices without visual cues by
turning her head and eyes.
12 months :
Uses one or more words with meaning - often mama
or dada.
Understands simple instructions, such as bye-bye or
bed.
Is aware of the social value of speech.
Language Skills in
Childhood development
4. 18 months
May have a vocabulary of between five to 20 words
May repeat a word over and over again, often called echolalia
Is able to follow simple commands
24 months
Can name familiar objects.
Combines words into a short sentence.
The majority of what they say will be intelligible and the vocabulary
might be 150-300 words.
Rhythm and fluency of speech won't be great - neither will their volume
and pitch.
Can use pronouns correctly - I, me, you, although me and I are often
confused.
language skills in
childhood development
5.
Three years
Is using some plurals and past tenses.
Knows chief parts of body and should be able to indicate
these if not name.
Handles three word sentences easily.
Has a vocabulary of 900-1000 words.
About 90% of what child says should be intelligible.
Verbs begin to dominate the speech.
Understands most simple questions dealing with his
environment and activities.
Should be able to state her sex, name, age.
Should not be expected to answer all questions even
though she understands.
language skills in
childhood development
6.
By 5 years
Can use many descriptive words spontaneously - both
adjectives and adverbs.
Knows common opposites: big-little, hard-soft, heave-light, etc.
Has number concepts of four or more.
Can count to ten.
Speech should be completely intelligible, in spite of articulation
problems.
Should know his age.
Should have simple time concepts: morning, afternoon, night,
day, later, after, while.
Should be using fairly long sentences and should use some
compound and some complex sentences.
Speech on the whole should be grammatically correct.
language skills in
childhood development
7. By six years :
She will have mastered tricky consonants such as: f, v, sh, zh, th, l.
Speech should be completely intelligible and socially useful.
Should be able to tell one a rather connected story about a picture, seeing
relationships.
Between objects and happenings.
By seven years
Should have mastered consonants like s-z, r, voiceless th, ch, wh, and the
soft g - as in George.
Should understand complex opposites like: girl-boy, man-woman, flies-
swims, blunt-sharp short-long, sweet-sour.
Understands such terms as: alike, different, beginning, end, etc.
Should be able to tell time to the quarter hour.
Should be able to do simple reading and to write or print many words.
language skills in
childhood development
8.
By eight years
Can relate rather involved accounts of events,
many of which occurred at some time in the past.
Complex and compound sentences should be
used easily.
Should be few lapses in grammatical
constrictions.
All speech sounds, including consonant blends
should be established.
language skills in
childhood development
9.
Stages of Language Development
Adult-like speech:
phrase, sentences
Telgraphic speech: ½-2 years
two or three-word speech
Holophrases :
one-word speech
First word: 1 year
speech sounds
Babbling: 3 months
speech-like words
signal sound: birth-3 months
cry, smile, frown
10. Phonemes : smallest unit of sound in language. ex. g.
Morphemes : the most basic units of meaning in
language. ex. book, books…
Syntax : ways in which words are organized to
produce meaningful sentence. ex. Davy ate apple.
Semantics: the system of meaning of words within a
context. ex. dog, hotdog,
Pragmatics: the relationship of language to the
situation in which it is used. ex. IDEAL approach..
Components of
Language
11. Biological basis : the structure of the brain play a
role in the development of language
Cognitive basis : language acquisition depends
on cognitive growth, operational thought.
Socio-cultural basis : language is mainly
acquired as a result of communication with
adult.
Behavioral basis : language is acquired as a
result of connecting responses to stimuli.
Theories to Language Acquisition
12. Thought precedes language, and language is a by-
product of cognitive development. Jean Piaget
Language is a social bridge to connect a mentor’s
advanced development with a novice’s immature
development, and language creates cognitive
development. Lev Vygotsky
Some ideas on
Linguistic Dev