LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT

Infant & Toddler Development

Language is an irrepressible
human activity...

Stages...
Crying

first form of
communication
generally thought of as
a reflex
infants learn to cry
differently for different
things

Stages...
Cooing

vowel sounds
produced when
infant is feeling
content
take turns in a
conversation

Stages...
Babbling

Repetitious experimentation with sounds

Repeat same sounds - consonant + vowel
Babies start off producing sounds from all
languages but by eighth month those sounds
not in own language drop out
Deaf children coo and babble - starts to decline
during their sixth month

Stages...
One Word - 1st Year

first word usually

occurs at one year
learn nouns first
holophrases: one word
sentences (more)
babies use gestures,
context, facial and
vocal expressions to
help convey meaning

1st Year...
Expressive jargon:
pretend speech
18-24 months: learning
new words at a very rapid
rate
Underextensions:
common from 12-18
months
Overextensions: common
at 18 months

Two years - Two words...

Telegraphic speech: all but essentials are
left out
Receptive language: about 1000 words
Productive language: 200-300 words
Uses pronouns, prepositions and verbs
Errors in pronunciation common

3 Years - Three word sentences...

Speech can be
intelligible to strangers
900 word vocabulary
Overgeneralization of
grammatical rules
Disfluency
(stuttering/stammering
common)

Four years and up...

Child is very verbal
Is able to express feelings
Productive language: 1500 words by age
four - 2500 by age six
Receptive language:14,000 by age six
By 5 years language is complete in structure
and form

Language is learned through...

Imitation
Problem-solving
Thinking; actively
constructing form and
structure mentally
Conditioning/reinforce
ment

Language development depends

on...
Intelligence
Good speech models
Motivation to
communicate and
express oneself verbally
Stimulating
environment
Hearing

Parentese...
Short simple sentences
Pauses between
sentences
Clear enunciation
Repeat childs thought
back in corrected or
expanded form
Focus on present

Content is concrete, not

abstract
Substitute words which
are easier to say
Imitate infant sounds
Have conversations
with infants
Reinforce sounds and
words from infant