COMPREHENSION OF LANGUAGE
(RECEPTIVE LANGUAGE)
0-5 year olds
WHAT IS RECEPTIVE LANGUAGE?
Receptive language is the ability to understand spoken and written language i.e. process
and interpret the words we hear (and read).
Understanding spoken and written language is fundamental to learning, problem solving
and accessing the curriculum. Most teaching is language based and children spend a
large part of their time listening to ‘teacher talk’, instructions and reminders. These are
often given verbally and at pace. In the early years children will listen to adults read them
stories and will be expected to make sense of the words used in order to understand the
story.
Children who have difficulty understanding spoken language find it hard to fully access the
curriculum and to learn new subject related information and skills. Interaction with peers
can also become increasingly challenging.
WHY DO CHILDREN HAVE DIFFICULTIES UNDERSTANDING LANGUAGE?
There are many reasons why a child may have difficulties understanding language. These
include; poor attention and listening skills, poor auditory memory (i.e. the ability to
remember what has been said to you), poor understanding of vocabulary and concepts,
poor understanding of complex grammatical structures, difficulties sequencing language,
poor verbal reasoning skills and a limited general knowledge or limited life experiences.
HOW DO I KNOW IF A CHILD IS HAVING DIFFICULTIES UNDERSTANDING
LANGUAGE?
The following behaviours can be indicative of comprehension difficulties. Often children will
display difficulty within many areas:
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They may have difficulty listening and/or concentrating and are likely to ‘switch off’ from
verbal information when they do not understand
Is unable to follow simple instructions or only responds to part of an instruction. The
student may be regarded as forgetful (see information carrying words below*)
Often misunderstands what is said
Difficulty processing and understanding vocabulary, especially when it is unfamiliar
Shows a lack of interest in activities which include a lot of spoken language
More focused when activities are presented visually or kinaesthetically (practical,
hands on learning)
Does not start an activity or begins after everyone else, waiting to see what they will do
Can frequently use visual and contextual cues to support their understanding e.g.
following non-verbal cues, copying others. This can mask their true level of
understanding
Answers questions inappropriately
October 2012
RL Intro 2
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Has difficulty answering indirect or open questions
Finds it difficult to join in discussions/conversations and may produce
inappropriate/inaccurate responses.
Finds it hard to pick up on implicit or implied information
Misunderstands idioms and words that have more than one meaning, usually
understanding the most literal meaning e.g. “Pull your socks up”  The child literally
does so!
Makes use of avoidance behaviours e.g. frequently asking to go to the toilet.
Shows frustration and/or demonstrates inappropriate/challenging behaviour.
WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS COMPREHENSION DIFFICULTIES?
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Difficulty remembering information (long or short)
Not being able to extract important information from spoken and written information
Difficulty organising self and following directions
Perceived challenging behaviour caused by mis-understanding of instructions and the
language used in social situations
Helping children who have comprehension difficulties is partly about considering the way
we present information and also giving the children strategies to cope with the language
demands of the classroom.
INFORMATION CARRYING WORDS
An instruction or command can contain lots of words, but a child only needs to understand
the IMPORTANT words in order to follow that instruction. These ‘important’ words are
called INFORMATION CARRYING WORDS. It is possible to find out exactly how many of
the information carrying words (ICW) the child understands in a given sentence.
For example:
 Equipment: Teddy
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Instruction: “Show me Teddy” [ 0 Information Carrying Words – there is no choice to
be made]
BUT, if you add another object and therefore another choice, the child has to understand
the word ‘Teddy’ in order to carry out the instruction correctly.
 Equipment: Teddy, Dolly
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Instruction: “Show me Teddy” [1 ICW]
Adding yet more objects will increase the number of Information Carrying Words that the
child must understand:
 Equipment: Teddy, Dolly, cup, biscuit
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Instruction:
October 2012
“Give Teddy a drink” [2 ICW]
“Give Dolly a biscuit” [2 ICW]
RL Intro 2