c
A
education
f
b
D
Language Development
How does a child develop language skills? May Henderson explains
C
ommunication skills begin
to develop in the womb and
continue to change at a rapid
rate from birth. Before babies
are born they respond to noises, like
their parents’ voices, and once the baby
enters the world, they build connections
and attachments to significant care
givers. All of these experiences form the
basis of language.
Language development is often
thought of as ‘talking’, and whilst this is
a huge part of language, there are other
pieces of the puzzle. Communication
is made up of the following areas:
Attention and Listening, Play, Social
Interaction, Understanding of Language,
and Use of Language and Speech.
These components work together to
help us communicate with others.
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Attention and Listening: This is a
child’s ability to focus on the environment
around them, the words they hear and
the experiences they have. A child needs
to hear thousands of hours of talking
before they begin to talk. Babies start
to develop this skill by focusing on a
caregiver’s face and distinguishing that
from the environment around them.
Social Interaction: This is established
when babies look at an adult’s face and
share small moments with them. Early
interactions can be an indication of a
growing child’s social skills. Spending
time playing with your baby and sharing
moments of enjoyment, from pulling faces
to sharing excitement and interest in a toy
your child has chosen, helps develop this
aspect of communication development.
Play: Play is the basis of learning for
children and provides them with the
opportunity to explore and experiment.
Playing with your children allows you
to share new vocabulary in a fun and
interesting way. Playing also allows for
the development of a child’s imagination
and storytelling abilities.
Understanding of Language:
Children can usually understand more
than they can express. Understanding
begins with following routines and
familiar instructions and develops into
understanding new words and more
complex instructions. This involves the
processing of words, facial expressions
and tone of voice.
Use of Language: This is what we
think of as ‘talking’; the words a child
uses and the progression to phrases
and sentences. Children begin talking
p