How to Understand How Children Learn Language

Recent theories point to social interaction as the primary condition that allows children to learn language. You don’t need to be a linguistics professor or a developmental psychologist to understand how children learn language. Just being a parent is enough to pick up on a lot of lessons. Here are some typical milestones to help you understand how children learn language.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Children
• Patience
• Time

1. Children learn from their parents and social interactions. Everything they see and hear is absorbed on some level.

2. Children learn language through practice, trial and error, and most of all through interpersonal communication. Speaking and interacting with children will further their language development immensely.

3. Once a child is one years old, parents should begin speaking to him/her in plain English instead of baby talk. Parents should begin simply, with the child’s name, parents' names and a few words which convey their needs.

4. Most children begin speaking simple words by age one and have a vocabulary of about ten words once they reach sixteen months.

5. A child that is eighteen months old typically learns one or two new words per day. Pre-schoolers will learn approximately ten words per day.

6. Children learn “no” very early on, usually no later than two years.

7. Most children can name body parts and have a conversation by age two or three.

8. Kids should have a thousand-word vocabulary by their third or fourth birthday.

9. Children start asking “why” around age four or five. Be sure to speak to them in adult language (but you don’t have to reply to them with adult answers).

Tips & Warnings

• Interact with your child to improve their language learning skills. Speak clearly and convey exactly what you mean.
• Talk to your children, even the youngest ones. They pick up more than you think.
• Read to your kids. This cannot be overemphasized. They will learn simple and complex sentence structure more quickly.
• Take the time to listen to your child. This will build confidence and trust.
• Do not swear around your children. They will absorb those words like a sponge.
• If a child is having difficulty with language, have them examined by a teacher, linguist or doctor. There may be a physical or social reason for their lack of language.