Child Language Acquisition

Language acquisition is the natural way children gradually develop speech and language. A young child’s brain is optimally receptive to acquiring language from birth.

Children the world over follow the same sequence regardless of language they use. Each sequence builds up on the one that came before. Children gradually build up unique features of language they hear around them, or languages if they are growing up bilingual.

All children follow the same sequence of language acquisition as they build up:

  • Sound patterns of language
  • Words and their meanings
  • Sentences and grammar of language
  • The art of conversation and communication.

Each step leads logically one into the other from the first babbling patterns of an infant to the descriptive and grammatical sentences of a chatty six-year-old.

All the language skills are in place, apart from reading and spelling, by the time children start school.

Acquisition of Language and Speech

Language acquisition is a term used by linguists to show that children gradually absorb language and speech in their first language in the early years of life.

We do not set out to teach children the way teachers educate learners at school and children do not consciously set out to speak.

Instead, children hear and experience language in situations where they are involved in communicating with parents, other children and all the adults who care for them.

Children, who have language-rich discourse in their daily interactions, absorb the skills and abilities that are important for learning to read when they start school.

Language skills extend to children’s cognitive, emotional and social development. They are key to children’s all-round learning, math, science, reading, writing and success in life.

‘The biggest predictor of success, before the age of 18, is the quality and quantity of dialogue in a child’s home. It is four times more significant than any other factor.’ – John Abbot

Enhancing Language Acquisition

The best way to enhance acquisition of language is to talk, play, read and communicate with children in everyday situations in the course of each joyful, balanced day:

Progression of Language Acquisition

As children grow and develop their speech and language acquisition is simply breathtaking! Every day brings something new, in:

  • Babies’ language development, as our tiny tots progress from coos and babbles to first words
  • Toddlers’ language development as busy, ‘on-the-go’ little boys and girls begin to use their first one-word, then two-word utterances in speech and then gradually move on to using simple sentences to express their needs, wants and interests
  • Speech development from the ages of 3 through to age 6, as inquisitive, exuberant preschoolers enthrall us with their increasingly imaginative and creative sentences talking about all the topics they love.

Well-developed language and communication language skills give children the building blocks for early literacy to flourish.

The Art of Conversation and Communication

Conversations with parents and all the caring adults – talking about all the experiences, reading stories, learning rhymes and songs – help children to communicate, learn new words, develop speech and understanding of language.

The stronger children’s language and communication skills are by the age of six, the easier it is for them to:

  • Get along with adults and other children
  • Develop all the important reading readiness skills, which will optimise the ability to learn to read
  • Achieve academic success in the years to come.

Bowen, C. (1998). Ages and Stages Summary: Language Development 0-5 years.

Lathey, N., & Blake, T. (2013). Small Talk: Simple ways to boost your child’s speech and language development from birth. London, Macmillan Publishers Limited.