By :
Mirzatus Solikhah (120221414998)
The
moment hearing your baby’s first word would be exciting. Child language development is an incredible journey. As time goes by, that first word will grow
up into a sentence and then
finally it will become such a conversation. There are eight typical-language-skill
steps from 0 month until 6 years old. Firstly, at the age of 0 to 6 months,
crying in different ways to say that they hurt, wet, hungry, or lonely. They will make noises to voice displeasure or satisfaction. For instance, they
babble through laughing and cooing. That sound will be heard such as ah, ah, ah. In this
step, they start
to recognize and look for familiar voices and sounds. Those voices might be
from the parents’ voice, any instrument, etc. Secondly, at the age of 6 to 12
months, they will respond to name. They are able to understand some of familiar objects. For
example, ball, book, and chair. Then they
show interest in picture book and pay attention to the conversation. They
might be able to say his first word in this step. Maybe they
say “Ma-ma”
or “Da-da”. Thirdly, at the age of 12 to 18 months, they
will be able to identify family members and familiar objects. They
might recognize his mother, father, brother(s) or sister(s). They shall point to few body parts such as nose, ears, and
eyes. They will imitate familiar noises like cars, planes, birds
and repeat a few words they know. They
will look at the person talking and ask for something by pointing or using one
word. If reminded, they will say “Hi” or “Bye”. Moreover, they
start to be able to identify an object in a picture book. Fourthly, at the age
of 18 months to 2 years, they say about 50 words, though they
could understand much more. They use two to three word sentences like “Daddy bye-bye,” “All gone”. In addition, they use the words “Bye,”Hi,” “Please,” and “Thank you” if prompted. They
hum or try to sing simple
songs and listen to short rhymes or finger plays. It is also the step when they
often echo single words which are spoken by someone else. They
will talk to self and jabber expressively. Fifthly, at the age of 2 to 3 years,
they
could identify up to 10 pictures in a book when objects are named. They
repeat words are spoken by someone else. They
use some simple phrases and sentence. Furthermore, they
start to say plural and past tense words. They
also respond when called by name and respond to simple directions. In this
step, their vocabularies expand up to 500 words. They
enjoy with stories, rhymes, and songs. They
enjoy looking at books too. Sixthly, at the age of 3 to 4 years, they
will be able to talk so 75 to 80 percent of speech is understandable. For
instance, they could introduce themselves by saying their own first and last name. They understand the location like over, under, on, in together
with understanding now, soon and later. They could talk in complete sentences of 3 to 5 words:
“Mommy is drinking a juice.” “There is a big dog.” Additionally, they are able to identify common colours such as black, white,
yellow,
and green. Seventhly, at the age of 4
to 5 years, they recognize some letters if taught and may be able to
print own name. They speak in fairly complex sentences-“The baby ate the
cookie before I could put it on the table.” Further, they
adapt language to listener’s level of understanding. To baby sister: “Daddy go bye-bye.” To mother:
“Daddy went to the store.” They much learns talking and carrying on elaborate
conversation. Moreover, they love to tell jokes which may not make any sense to adults. Last, at the age of
5 to 6 years, they speak with correct grammar and word
form. They
express self in pretend play. Then they are able to write first
name, some letters, and number. They are also able to read simple words such as
ant, fish, frog. In conclusion, language is an awesome skill for children
to master, and it is a development that many parents really look forward to.
The best way to encourage your child’s speech and language development is to
talk together frequently and naturally.
Sources:
E-book :
Oesterreich, Lesia. 2004. Understanding Children: Language development, extension family life specialist. Lowa State University.