Chapter 2
Oral Language Development
Some researchers have
concluded that children’s
language and early literacy
development begins long before
children enter Kindergarten.
Early Language
•
Children begin to hear the sounds of language at about 24 weeks in
utero.
•
Children recognize and prefer the sounds of their native tongue(s) at
birth.
•
Universal Linguists - children are able to hear and make all the
sounds of all the world languages until about 6-7 months when they
become culture-bound language specialists.
•
If children hear multiple languages in their home/school, they will
become multi-lingual.
Birth to 3 Months
•
Majority of communication consists of crying, as larynx has
not yet descended
•
Turns head to the direction of family and caregivers voices
•
Is startled by loud or surprising sounds
By 6-12 Months
•
•
•
•
•
•
Attends to pictures
Recognizes familiar objects
Turn pages with help
Vocalizes
Pats pictures
Prefers pictures to faces
6-12 Months
•
Vocalization with intonation
•
Begins to say and repeat word-like sounds called
echolalia.
•
Exhibits vocables, conversation-like tones and
behaviors, such as turn-taking, eye contact, and
recognizable gestures.
•
Uses holophrastic words, where one word carried
the semantic burden for a whole sentence or
phrase.
Between 12-18 Months
• First words emerge (10-14 months)
• Carries and holds books
• Turns pages
• Points to and names objects
• Learns that words have meaning
• Correct book orientation
• ASKS for read alouds
12 to 18 Months
•
Understands simple instructions, especially if vocal or
physical cues are given
•
Is aware of the social value of speech
•
Has the ability to relate new words to preexisting
internalized concepts, then remember and use them after
only one exposure (fast mapping).
•
Uses two- and three-word sentences that contain only the
most necessary of words to convey meaning (telegraphic
speech)
Between 12-18 Months
•
First words emerge (10-14 months)
•
Carries and holds books
•
Turn pages
•
Points to and names objects
•
Learns that words have meaning
•
Correct book orientation
•
ASKS and read aloud
18-24 Months
• 20-100 words at 18 months
• Has vocabulary of approximately 5-20 words
• Vocabulary made up chiefly of nouns
• Some echolalia (repeating a word or phrase over and over)
• Much jargon with emotional content
• Is able to follow simple commands
• “Reads” aloud
• Recites familiar passages
• Learns that print is symbolic
• Attention span fluctuates
• Begins to scribble
18 to 36 months
•
Vocabulary will grow from 5–300 words, initially nouns
•
Is able to follow simple commands
•
Creates short sentence—largely noun-verb combinations
•
Approximately 2/3 of what child says should be
understandable
•
Rhythm, fluency often poor and volume, pitch of voice not
yet well controlled
•
Can use pronouns such as I, me, you, my and mine
34-36 Months
• Approximately 300 words at 24 months
• Idea of plot emerges
• Learns to turn paper pages
• Searches for favorite pictures
• "Reads" to self
• Coordinates text with picture
• Recites phrases and may recite stories
3-4 Years
• Plot becomes more
• important (age 4)
• Still enjoys same books repeatedly
• Listens to longer books
• Retells familiar stories
• Tracks text
• “Writes name
• Learns letter recognition
• Turns pages one at a time
• Spontaneously produces rhymes
3-4 Years Continued
• Interested in print on signs or labels and.
• May recognize several books by their
covers and know their titles,
• Understands books are read from front to
back, from left to right and by looking at
the print rather than just the pictures.
• May understand that one can use writing for
communication
• May learn to recognize some letters and
numbers
4-5 Years
Read Aloud
• Continues broadening skills acquired in the 3-4
year old stage
Print Awareness
• Continue to make progress in differentiating,
identifying and reproducing letters.
Writing and Spelling
• Learn to write their own names (usually 1st
word children learn to spell), type and to mix
scribble, some letters, and drawing in "writing"
notes and stories
• Between ages 4-7, begin trying to spell words
they hear and say
4-5 Years Continued
Expressive Vocabulary
• 1500 words at 4 years of age
• 2500 words at 5 years of age
Narrative Development
•
Unfocused chains develop
Rhyme
• Identifies rhymes
Phonological/Phonemic Awareness
• Segments syllables
• Counts syllables in words
Oral Language
• is the foundation for literacy development.
• involves speaking and listening.
• is essential for children to gain knowledge about the world
Importance of Oral Language
• Children who develop strong oral language skills during the preschool years
create an important foundation for their later achievements in reading,
especially reading comprehension (Storch & Whitehurst, 2002).
• Children who lag behind their peers in language development are at-risk for
later reading difficulties (Catts, Fey, Tomblin, & Zhang, 2002).
• Vocabulary knowledge is strongly related to reading proficiency and overall
academic success (Beck, McKeown,& Kucan, 2002)
Stages in Language Development
Birth to 1 year:
• First few months - babbling and cooing
• 8 months - repeated consonant and vowel sounds (i.e., da, da, or ma, ma)
• 8-12 months - first words spoken (i.e., Mommy)
From 1 to 2 years:
• One word utterances
• Use telegraphic speech
From 2 to 3 years:
• Continue to use telegraphic speech
• Sometimes use functional words
Stages in Language Development
From 3 to 4 years:
• Syntactic structures added include plurals and regular verbs
• Apply basic rules that govern language
• Talk about what they are doing while they are doing the activity
From 5 to 6 years:
• Their talk sounds like adult talk
• Knows that a word can have more than one meaning
• Creative in using language
Five Components of Oral Language
• Semantics- the shades of meaning that words convey
• Syntax (grammar)-the rules of ordering words into sentences
• Morphology-the meaning-bearing units of language, including words and affixes
• Phonology-the sounds that make up a language
• Pragmatics-the social rules that enable language to accomplish real-life purposes