Contents

1. What is language
2. Language - the early stages
3. What will help my child learn to talk?
4. Towards a perfect sentence
5. Good ideas for language learning

2. Language - The Early Stages Towards the First Word

Non-verbal communication

in which no sound is made, but there is a clear attempt being made to get an idea across using body language, facial expression and gesture. A toddler’s outstretched arms, raised eyebrows and fixed gaze on the biscuit tin is an easy piece of non-verbal language to understand! This may be the communication from a newly diagnosed deaf child who has yet to learn about sound.

Pre-verbal communication

used to convey a message without words because no words have been learned yet. For example, babies start to use a form of language as soon as they are born. A crying baby has a message to give, and the sooner his parents learn how to understand what that message might he, the happier everyone will feel!

Spoken communication

where words or sounds which are recognisable as attempts at words are used, one at a time at first, and then in groups, often in topsy-turvy order to begin with and gradually, over four years or so filling out to become language. For the deaf child, this development is dependent on the child enjoying lots of talk from their parents as a matter of routine.

Language development in an average normally hearing child.

The ages mentioned below apply to children with no hearing loss, who have been listening and hearing from the moment of birth. In using these milestones for children wearing hearing aids, it is important to remember that they have only been hearing since the time that hearing aids came into full time use. Many deaf children will take longer than a normally hearing child to progress from one stage to the next, but would go through the same stages.

A child’s path towards being able to speak starts from the time of birth, with the first cry. The earliest sounds a baby makes are accidental, often happening at the same time as the baby moves. These first sounds are usually harsh, and strident, rather squawk-like and short.

Even at the earliest stage the baby begins to learn how to communicate. A baby’s smile in response to mother’s voice or smile is pre-verbal communication. Babies can take turns in communication at a very early stage, although these early ‘turns’ will be largely silent, for example, arm waving, leg kicking or smiling.

Baby slowly learns to produce voice when he means to. He starts to make pleasanter sounds though harsh noises continue for a long time. Early sounds are almost all vowel type made with the mouth open.

By 7-8 months some consonants are appearing, particularly ‘m’ and ‘b’, but they are not used all the time. The first signs of rhythm also appear.

Up to 10-11 months, the baby uses her voice more and more. She can make noises with rhythm, and he can also use high and low sounds (intonation). This is an important stage known as ‘babbling’. She seems to find her own voice pleasant as she makes ‘baba’ noises, sometimes one at a time, or sometimes in long strings. It doesn’t sound like talking and it does not mean anything yet.

Between 10-12 months, baby starts to show some understanding of a few familiar words:

• ‘Daddy’ will look at daddy
• ‘Teddy’ look or point to teddy
• ‘Bath-time’ will show excitement.

Around 12 months a first word will appear — usually one which carries a lot of meaning for the child e.g. ‘gone’, ‘teddy’, ‘milk.’ He will not say these first words at all clearly and as he begins to use them more, they will still probably be recognisable only to his parents.

Slowly, more single words appear. The first 50 words are very slow to develop and these early words often have multiple meanings, e.g. ‘doggy’ might mean any animal with four legs — cows, cats, horses and disappointingly, ‘daddy’ might for some time mean any man!

The child begins to mix odd words with jargon. Jargon is vocalisation which sounds speech-like, but contains no recognisable words. Children often carry on conversations with themselves using jargon, and may talk to their parents in the same way.

During this time the child’s understanding of language is growing quickly, and she will be able to carry out little tasks like ‘put it in the bin’ and point out pictures in a book.

Around 18 months, two word utterances appear, which are the first sign that the child is beginning to understand how to put words together. Words are usually in the order expected in adult language. Examples are:

These two word sentences are linked by intonation. Two words used with a pause between them is an earlier stage, not showing the beginnings of sentence making.

The words children learn are the ones that are most important to them — that affect their lives. They will include names of people and toys, of places they visit, of things they do. The family routines are a big influence on their early language — washing, getting dressed, going in the car, on the bus and shopping.

Later as the child grows in confidence, he will become more ambitious, trying to say things which he cannot at this stage manage very easily. For example, ‘I’s taking mine’s boots off’ and ‘She’s always be’s crying up bedtime’. This is the stage where it becomes so important not to correct, so that your child can move happily and easily on.

next: 3. What will help my child learn to talk?