Communications Week 4

language development

the components of language develop at different rates

children acquire language in similar stages across the world

the rate of development differs among individual children

infants and toddlers (birth - 24 months) sounds and phonemes

crying (birth) infants with change their cry to convey their needs

cooing (2-4 months) vowel like production

vocal play (4-6 months) start moving articulators in a new way (squeal and raspberry)

jargon (8-12 months) takes on same intonation as adults but doesn’t represent actual words (becomes more elaborate, non-verbal communication)

first words (10-14 months)

speech is 50% intelligible by age 24 months

infants and toddlers (birth - 24 months) words and short phrases

greater receptive vocabulary than expressive vocabulary

receptive vocab grows faster than expressive

12 months- expressive vocab 0, receptive vocab around 25

24 months- expressive vocab 50, receptive vocab around 200

produce two-word phrases (16-20 moths) e.g. “more juice”

early word combos set the stage for morphological and syntactical development

preschool years (2 - 5 years) phonemes and intelligibility

typical development where children begin to tell and understand stories

most consonants and vowels are produced or emerging by age 5

2 years about 50 % of intelligibility

3 years about 75% of intelligibility

4 years about 100% intelligibility

preschool years (2 - 5 years) words and sentences

receptive vocabulary is higher than expressive

simple sentences -ing and plural -s (ages 2-3)

more bound morphemes by age 4

pragmatics plays a major role in story telling/narrative skills

tells stories (by age 4)

critical period

a biologically determined period during which language acquisition must occur for language to be fully learned

absolutely critical for children to have social interactions when they’re young (if not then they won’t develop language)

Genie didn’t get taught before this critical period

she could not form grammatical sentences

school age years

mastery of grammatical morphemes

vocabulary > 2000 words (ages 5-6)

vocabulary continues to grow up to 3,000 words a year (ages 7+)

produces and understands more complex sentences (ages 5+)

conversational skills and narratives (story telling) continue to develop (ages 5+)

humor, sarcasm, presentations, interviews

adulthood (21+ years)

vocabulary continues to expand in early adulthood (e.g. vocation specific words)

continue to refine conversational skills

older adults

declines in language occur late in life

vocabulary (e.g. more word finding difficulties)

language comprehension

speech and language production skills (including written)

not due to a specific disease or disorder (just due to age)

what age do children typically stop producing phonological errors?

around 8 years old

what age should children learn speech sounds by

age 5

some sounds like /r/ may lag until age 8 or 9

what happens when children fall below benchmarks

they will be evaluated for an assessment

if there is a disorder then they may begin treatment