How Children Acquire and Produce Language (BBC, 2001)

Interesting video helps adults understand how a child's language develops

Read this article on language development and please share your thoughts =)

focus on the bolded section. How do you think teachers can facilitate language development in the classroom as they may have students at diverse levels of language development?


Language Development in Children
By Celia Genishi
Educational Resource Information Center (U.S. Department of Education)

The development of oral language is one of the child's most natural--and impressive--accomplishments. This digest presents an overview of the process and mechanics of language development, along with implications for practice.

When and How Language is Learned
Almost all children learn the rules of their language at an early age through use, and over time, without formal instruction. Thus one source for learning must be genetic. Humans beings are born to speak; they have an innate gift for figuring out the rules of the language used in their environment. The environment itself is also a significant factor. Children learn the specific variety of language (dialect) that the important people around them speak.

Children do not, however, learn only by imitating those around them. We know that children work through linguistic rules on their own because they use forms that adults never use, such as "I goed there before" or "I see your feets." Children eventually learn the conventional forms, "went" and "feet", as they sort out for themselves the exceptions to the rules of English syntax. As with learning to walk, learning to talk requires time for development and practice in everyday situations. Constant correction of a child's speech is usually unproductive.

Children seem born not just to speak, but also to interact socially. Even before they use words, they use cries and gestures to convey meaning; they often understand the meanings that others convey. The point of learning language and interacting socially, then, is not to master rules, but to make connections with other people and to make sense of experiences (Wells, 1986). In summary, language occurs through an interaction among genes (which hold innate tendencies to communicate and be sociable), environment, and the child's own thinking abilities.

When children develop abilities is always a difficult question to answer. In general, children say their first words between 12 and 18 months of age. They begin to use complex sentences by the age of 4 to 4 1/2 years. By the time they start kindergarten, children know most of the fundamentals of their language, so that they are able to converse easily with someone who speaks as they do (that is, in their dialect). As with other aspects of development, language acquisition is not predictable. One child may say her first word at 10 months, another at 20 months. One child may use complex sentences at 5 1/2 years, another at 3 years

http://www.education.com/reference/article/Ref_Young_Childrens_Oral/

Read this article and share your thoughts? Reflect on how environmental factors influence language development..

Language Delays Seen in Kids in Institutions Beyond Age 2
FRIDAY, June 17 (HealthDay News) -- Foster care boosts language development in young children who lived in institutions, new study findings show.

Researchers looked at more than 100 children who had lived in institutions in Romania. About half of the children were placed in foster homes when they were about 22 months old, while the other half continued living in institutions. These two groups were compared to about 60 young children who lived in the same community with their biological parents.


Children from institutions who were placed in foster care before they were 2 had greater language skills by the time they were 3½ years old than those who remained in institutions, according to the study in the current issue of the journal Child Development.

The researchers also found that the language skills of children who were placed in foster care before they were 15 months old were similar to those of children raised by their biological parents. But children who were placed in foster care after they were 2 years old had the same major language delays as those who remained in institutions.

"This shows that not only is the change to high-quality foster care beneficial for these children, but the timing of the change appears to be important," lead author Jennifer Windsor, a professor of speech-language-hearing sciences at the University of Minnesota, said in a news release from the Society of Research in Child Development.

The findings underline the importance of early efforts to help young children develop language, and also offer insight for American parents who adopt babies from other nations.

"Many infants and toddlers who are adopted from other countries and come to the United States develop language quickly," Windsor said. "However, older children who have been living in poor care environments may be at high risk for language delays."

More information

The U.S. National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders has more about speech and language development.

Copyright © 2011 HealthDay. All rights reserved.


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Language Development Milestones

When you viewed the language development chart did anything appear familiar to you? In your experience, do the language development milestones agree with your experiences with children and watching their language development?

Personally, I have observed the language development of my 2 and 3 year old niece and nephew. The milestones from the chart have definitely appeared in their language development. Both my niece and nephew are able to name animals, objects in their surroundings, say the alphabet, as well as say numbers and colors.

What Were Your First Words?

Hey All! Let's share what our first words were and when we said them. Also, if you have children please share what your child's first words were.

According to my mother my first words were da da and I was about 8months old.  =)

Language Development in Children

Age of Child	Typical Language Development
12 month	Uses one or more words with meaning (this may be a fragment of a word)        Understands simple instructions, especially if vocal or physical cues are given        Practices inflection        Is aware of the social value of speech
1 year	Can name a number of objects common to his surroundings        Is able to use at least two prepositions, usually chosen from the following: in, on, under        Combines words into a short sentence-largely noun-verb combinations (mean) length of sentences is given as 1.2 words        Approximately 2/3 of what child says should be intelligible Vocabulary of approximately 150-300 words
3years	Knows names of familiar animals        Can use at least four prepositions or can demonstrate his understanding of their meaning when given commands        Names common objects in picture books or magazines        Knows one or more colors        Can repeat 4 digits when they are given slowly
4years	Can use many descriptive words spontaneously-both adjectives and adverbs        Knows common opposites: big-little, hard-soft, heave-light, etc        Has number concepts of 4 or more        Can count to ten        Speech should be completely intelligible, in spite of articulation problems        Should have all vowels and the consonants, m,p,b,h,w,k,g,t,d,n,ng,y
6years	In addition to the above consonants these should be mastered: f, v, sh, zh, th,1        He should have concepts of 7        Speech should be completely intelligible and socially useful        Should be able to tell one a rather connected story about a picture, seeing relationships        Between objects and happenings
8years	Can relate rather involved accounts of events, many of which occurred at some time in the past        Complex and compound sentences should be used easily        Should be few lapses in grammatical constrictions-tense, pronouns, plurals        All speech sounds, including consonant blends should be established