Language Acquisition Article

Look who’s talking too

Communication begins from birth, or even before as your baby can hear from inside the womb. The development of language is a fascinating process and as parents, you play the most important part in your child’s development.
Especially for You and Your Baby, Alice Walker looks at the milestones of a child’s language acquisition and what you can do to give your child the best start.

The more you interact with your baby, the better he will learn.
This is a universally accepted fact! Although language is believed by some to be an “innate capacity”, a child has no chance of harnessing this capacity without having been exposed it.
Even at 12 weeks old, babies are capable of turn taking behaviour. This occurs when your baby responds to being spoken to, normally by cooing after you have finished talking.

By about 6 months old, your child will be starting to make constant and vowel sounds. He will not comprehend their meaning yet, but will be gaining confidence in using his mouth and trying to make words. The best way to reward such behaviour is to respond to the sounds he makes with a big smile on your face (as if you could hold back a smile anyway!)

At about 1 year old, your child will be able to associate words, such as “mama” and “dada”, to the right people. Your child will also be able to understand some command words, such as “come here” and “no”, although whether he will always oblige is another matter!

When your child is around 18 months old, he will be able to associate some nouns, such as ball and dog, with the correct items. This is a very exciting time for parents, as your child’s vocabulary will very quickly increase.

At 2 years old, children begin to combine words and are able to produce simple sentences like, “mummy play”. This will continue as your child’s language capacity increases. At 3 years old, a child’s language as increased greatly in variety and complexity. It is fascinating to watch your child interact with other children at this stage and to appreciate just how far they have come!



Top tips for talking to your baby

1. Frequently ask your child questions and give them a chance to respond. Depending on their age, they may be starting to speak and respond in single words or still be using noises to reply. Whichever stage of development they are at, keep them engaged in conversation.
2. Use exaggerated and heightened pitch and tone when talking, this will help them to distinguish between the different sounds.
3. Simplify your vocabulary, it is highly unlikely that your child’s first word will be antidisestablishmentarianism, so don’t worry about including it in your conversations.
4. Simplify your word forms and sounds, this will help your child pick up on the different sounds in language and will encourage them to try and mimic them.
5. Repetition! Repeat, repeat and repeat again. The best way for your child to learn to communicate is through regular exposure. Include your child in your normal daily conversations and he will soon be engaged in language.

Finally, it is never too early to start reading to your child. Reading encourages listening skills and is essential for successful communication. Even if your baby doesn’t understand what the story is about, he will enjoy hearing your voice reading to him and this will encourage him to try to use his own voice too.