Language Development

0-3 Month

Differentiated cries

eye-to-eye contact and expresses self with facial expressions and body movements

Makes sounds during kicking and feeding

Stills to noise

Smiles at parent

3-6 Month

Sounds vary, vowels predominate

Child gives clear signals of likes/dislikes

Anticipates food by opening mouth

Babbling begins

Watches adult’s lips

Turns to sounds and parent’s voice

Laughs, squeals, and annoyed screams

Excited limb motions as social response

6-9 Month

Lip and tongue sounds

Syllables (baba, da-da) with self-imitation

Actions anticipating being lifted

Uses voice to attract attention

Bounces on laps, showing pleasure and may indicate “more”

9-12 Month

Double syllables, first word

Uses gestures especially pointing

Waves goodbye

Turns to sounds that interest him instantaneously

Continues vocalizing to make personal contact

Imitates rhythmical sounds with movement

Playful turn-taking with familiar adults

13-18 Month

Uses expressive jargon

Recessive language greater than expressive

Shakes head “no”

19-24 Month

Understands multiword utterances, expresses complex thoughts “baby up” & “mommy go” etc

20-100+ vocabulary

Identifies pictures when named

25-36 Month

Rapid increase in language

Uses verb strategies to start a conversation

Uses two-part sentences “me go home”

Demands response from others

250+ vocab

3-3.5 yrs

Versatile in language use

Speaks more complete sentences

Distinguish graphics as writing versus picture graphics

Begins to overgeneralize rules creating verb tenses and plurals

Use adult syntax and grammer

3.5-4 yrs

Might use syllable hypothesis to create written words

Rereads favorite books with picture-governed strategies

Often uses scribble writing

4-4.5 yrs

Creates questions and negative sentences using correct word arrangement

Imitation of parents’ intonation pattern

Voice well modulated and firm

4.5-5 yrs

Often reverses letter when writing

Understands besides. between and back

Does not notice or grasp print conventions

5-6 yrs

Understands passive sentences

May begin to use invented spellings

5-8 yrs

Uses plurals, pronouns, tenses correctly

Recites or sings rhymes, TV commercials, songs etc

Interested in new words

2k-4k vocab

9-12 yrs

Increasing vocab and maturity of language skills

Adolescence

Speaks longer sentences, using principles of subordination

Understands metaphors, multiple levels of meaning