Typical Development of Toddlers (12 - 35 months) Flashcards
(37 cards)
Language – Content
6 points
• From 12 months – 18 months children typically acquire 50 words in their spoken lexicon
- Children’s receptive language and vocabulary precedes their expressive language and vocabulary in the initial lexicon
• Many of the earliest words spoken by children during this period are nouns
• Between ages of 1 1⁄2 years and 6 years, estimated that child adds approx. 5 words to their lexicon everyday
• Children invent new words when a gap exists in their vocabularies [either because they’ve
forgotten or haven’t learnt word]:
- Example: “I’m spooning [stirring] my Milo.”
• Repetition is expected in early language development
- 1 to 3 years - expect repetition of words, phrases, intonation, songs
(peaks at around 2 1⁄2 years)
- Want to see a reduction in imitation by approximately 3 years
among a child’s first ten words
animals (e.g., doggie, kitty)
food (e.g., cookie)
toys (e.g., ball)
among a child’s first ten words
animals (e.g., doggie, kitty)
food (e.g., cookie)
toys (e.g., ball)
Fast mapping / “quick incidental learning” – QUIL
“Quick, sketchy, and tentative formation of a link between a referent and a new name that enables a child to have access to and use the word in an immediate, although somewhat limited way. Gradually the meaning of the referent widens as the word is freed from aspects of the initial context.”
QUIL - Underextentions:
- “Process in which a child applies a word meaning to fewer exemplars than an adult would. The child’s definition is too restrictive and more limited than in adult usage.”
- Example cup= only child’s cup
QUIL - Overextensions:
“Process in which a child applies a word meaning to more exemplars than an adult would. The child’s definition is too broad and thus beyond acceptable adult usage.” (Owens, 2012, p 439)
Example: doggy= all animals
Overextensions common among toddlers in all languages
Overextensions typical in children’s language between the ages of 1 and 2 1⁄2 years of age (Weiten, 2007)
As many as one-third of a child’s first 75 words may be overextended (Owens, 2012, p 208)
Expressive vocabulary:
12 months: produces 5 or more words (i.e., starting to use first words)
18 months: 10 - 20 words (hoping to see approx. 50 to begin two word combinations)
24 months: 50 – 200 words
36 months: 900 – 1200 words
•Two word combinations
- Begin at about 18 months
- Children start combining words when they have approximately 50 words
- First two-word combinations often contain a combination of a noun and a verb
Typical, monolingual English speaking toddler: 43 verbs at 2 years (Hadley, Rispoli, & Hsu, 2016)
Early Multiword Combinations
Not yet ‘true’ two word combinations:
→ All-gone
→ Go-bye
→ Go-potty
•Comprehend multiword utterances before they use
•Initially no regard for word order go potty / potty go; eat cookie / cookie eat (Owens, 2012)
Typical language development: Semantics
The appearance of word combinations, often feature the combination of verb (i.e., action) and a noun (i.e., object): ® “eat cookie”
red flag - No verbs at 2 years of age
When children begin to combine two words the combinations result in meanings that are not present in the meaning of the either of the words alone, e.g.,
→ nothing in the word ‘doggy’ that means “possession”
→ nothing in the word ‘bed’ that means “possession”
→ combine the two words ‘doggy bed’”conveys a meaning of “possession” (i.e., it’s the doggy’s bed)
Semantic relations
- Semantic relations are “a combination of two or more individual semantic roles …;
- typically semantic relations express meanings in addition to the meanings expressed by individual words.”
- 18 to 36 month age range.
- Progressing to multi-word combinations requires an ability for the child to use the same vocabulary to express a variety of meanings e.g.,
- mummy hit → mummy = agent
- hit mummy → mummy = object
- mummy hat → mummy = possessor
Understanding & Understanding interrogatives
Understanding interrogatives:
2-0 years: “What?”
2-6 years: “Where?”
3-0 years: “Who?” “Whose?” “Why?” “How many?” (Nb: respond with number, but may not be correct)
Using interrogatives:
20 – 24 months: “Me go?” with rising intonation
3-0 years: “What?” “Where?” “Who?”
Development of prepositions & Pronouns
Development of prepositions: • 24 months: in, on (locational) • 36 months: under (locational) Development of pronouns • 12 – 26 months: I, it • 27 – 30 months: my, me, mine, you • 31 – 34 months: your, she, he, yours, we • 35 – 40 months: they, us, hers, him, them her The general order is: • Reference to self • Reference to another person/proximity
Language – Use - 15-24 months
15 months:
• Calling
• Exclaiming
18 – 24 months:
• ^ word use over non-verbal communication
• Requesting answers / information
• Answering
• 18 months: 2 instances of intentional communication per minute
• 24 months >5 instances of intentional communication per minute (Chapman, 2000)
Language – Use - Summary
- 12 – 18 months: gestures are combined with word-like vocalisations containing consonants
- 15 months: gesture should be paired with eye gaze
- 16 months: gesture and words for object names
- 20 months: words predominate for object names
- 18 – 24 months: conventional words or word combinations are used with increasing frequency to express a range of intentions
Language Use– Narrative Development 2 – 3 years
Heap stories
• No central theme or organisation i.e., primarily labels and descriptions of events or actions
• One sentence added to another – simple declarative sentences
Receptive & Expressive Language Summary - 18 months
Receptive
• responds to some questions e.g., “What doing?” “Where…”? (18 – 24 month)
• follows one stage commands with two linguistic elements e.g., “Throw the car”
• identifies three body parts
• understands up to 50 words
Expressive
• produces 10 – 20 words
• beginning to combine words into two-word utterances
• uses jargon
• imitates 2 and 3 word sentences
• names one picture in book & some body parts
Receptive & Expressive Language Summary - 24 months
Receptive
• responds to some questions e.g., “What doing?” “Where…”? (18 – 24 month)
• follows one stage commands with three linguistic elements e.g., “Give me the car and the spoon.”
• identifies at least four body parts
• understands prepositions in, on
Expressive
• uses 50 - 200 words
• uses two and three word combinations to express a variety of semantic relations
• says “no”
• uses some pronouns (but not necessarily correctly)
• approx. 65% intelligible to unfamiliar listeners
Receptive & Expressive Language Summary - 3 years
Receptive
• follows two stage commands containing four linguistic elements e.g., “Give me the spoon and push the car.”
• understands some simple wh- questions
• understands concepts same and different
• starting to categorise in basic groups
• recognises basic colours
Expressive
• produces 900 – 1, 200 words
• uses multi-word utterances [3 words +]
• asks what, where and who questions
• over regularises past tense (e.g., “goed”)
• [approx. 75% intelligible to unfamiliar listeners]
Simultaneous bilingual
A simultaneous bilingual child with typically developing language skills should:
• still begin talking within the typical age range (Meisel, 2004).
• Reach typical ‘monolingual’ language milestones in at least one language
Both/all languages typically do not develop in perfect synchrony:
Dominant language (stronger language):
The language in which bilingual children appear to have greater proficiency.
Nondominant language (weaker language):
The language in which bilingual children appear to have less proficiency. Dominance is closely linked to:
The amount of input the child receives in each language (rarely equal).
Sequential bilingualism
Features of ‘sequential bilingualism’ typically observed as a young child acquires another language:
1. Child may go through a “silent” or “nonverbal” period when first exposed to a second language (for weeks to several months)
(Tabors, 2008)
2. L1 development may vary when L2 introduced
3. L1 may interfere with L2. Example: children from Asian backgrounds learning English are likely to have difficulty with morphemes
4. Code mixing / switching:
“Code-mixing is the use of elements from two languages in the same utterance or in the same stretch of conversation.”
Note: this typically occurs in all bilingual speakers i.e., not unique only to sequential bilinguals
• Bilingual code mixing (BCM) is typical among bilingual children
• Most BCM is grammatical
Literacy Expectations – 1 to 2 years
- Enjoys looking at picture books and being read to
- “Requests” to be read to by gesture/ handing adult a book
- Points to and identifies some familiar items in books with adult support
Literacy Expectations – 2 to 3 years
- Routinely shares books with adults
- Asks for favourite stories
- Looks through book alone and pretends to read
- Recognises pictures in books are symbols for real items
- Matches an object to a picture of the book
- Names familiar items in a picture book
- Completes rhymes or sentences in familiar books
- Starts to pay attention to specific print, i.e., letters of their name
Linguistic Period of Vocal Development
12-18 months
- Babbling decreases and word production increases
- Early speech patterns include phonotactic errors such as reduplication (doggie>/gogi/) and final consonant deletion which are almost absent by 3yrs of age
- Individual sounds are produced variably even within same word
