Transcript Language Development: Preschoolers
Language Development: Preschoolers & Early School Age
EDU 280 Fall 2014
Characteristics
Young preschoolers:
2-3 years old
Older preschoolers:
4-5 year olds
Characteristics
Young Preschoolers
Vocabularies range from between 250 to over 1,000 words.
An average of 50 new words enter the child’s vocabulary each month.
Characteristics
Verb forms regularization: a child’s speech behavior that indicates the formation and internalization of a language rule (regularity) Sequence in formed rules for past tense verb usage: Uses irregular tense endings correctly: ran, came, drank Forms an internal rule when discovering that “ed” expressed past events: danced, called, played Overregularizes: adds “ed” to all regular and irregular verbs that were formerly spoken correctly: “camed,” “dided,” “wented,” “breaked” Learns that both regular and irregular verbs express past tense and uses both
Characteristics
Plurals
In using plural noun forms the following sequence is common: Remembers and uses singular forms of nouns correctly: ball, dog, mouse, bird Uses irregular noun plurals correctly: men feet, mice Forms an internal rule that plurals have “s” or “z” sounds Applies rule to all nouns: balls, mens, dogs, feets, birds, mices, or ballsez, dogzes, feetsez Achieves flexible internal rules for plurals, memorizes irregular plural forms, and uses plurals correctly.
Characteristics
Key Word Sentences Sentences are about 4 words long Pronouns often used incorrectly Me finish all milk Questions “Wh” questions appear Overlapping concepts Overextension Underextension
Characteristics
Running Commentaries Repetition Lack of clarity About one in every 4 words of the young preschooler is not readily understandable Young preschoolers are only 40-80% correct in articulation
Typically articulation of all English speech sounds is not accomplished until age 7 or 8
Older Preschoolers
Vocabulary of over 1500-2000 words Sentences of 5 or 6 (or more) words Exploring the Conventions of Conversation Relational Words Impact Words Sound Words Reality and Nonsense
Older Preschoolers
Articulation of letter sounds still developing About 75% of the English letter sounds are made correctly Omissions and substitutions are still present
Myths Concerning Speech and Intelligence
A large and mature vocabulary at this age is not necessarily an indicator of intelligence.
5 Year Olds
Can use many descriptive words spontaneously both adjectives and adverbs Knows common opposites: big-little, hard-soft, heavy-light, etc Has number concepts of 4 or more Can count to ten Speech should be completely intelligible, in spite of articulation problems Should have all vowels and the consonants, m,p,b,h,w,k,g,t,d,n,ng,y (yellow)
5 Year Olds
Should be able to repeat sentences as long as nine words Should be able to define common objects in terms of use (hat, shoe, chair) Should be able to follow three commands given without interruptions Should know his/her age Should have simple time concepts: morning, afternoon, night, day, later, after while tomorrow, yesterday, today Should be using fairly long sentences and should use some compound and some complex sentences Speech on the whole should be grammatically correct
6 Year Olds
In addition to the above consonants these should be mastered: f, v, sh, zh, th, l Speech should be completely intelligible and socially useful Should be able to tell one a rather connected story about a picture, seeing relationships between objects and happenings By this age a child understands 13,000 words
7 Year Olds
Should have mastered the consonants s-z, r, voiceless th, ch, wh, and the soft g as in George Should handle opposite analogies easily: girl-boy, man-woman, flies-swims, blunt-sharp short-long, sweet-sour, etc Understands such terms as: alike, different, beginning, end, etc Should be able to do simple reading and to write or print many words can now understand 20,000-26,000 words,
8 Year Olds
Can relate rather involved accounts of events, many of which occurred at some time in the past Complex and compound sentences should be used easily Should be few lapses in grammatical constructions-tense, pronouns, plurals All speech sounds, including consonant blends should be established Should be reading with considerable ease and now writing simple compositions
8 Year Olds
Social amenities should be present in his speech in appropriate situations Control of rate, pitch, and volume are generally well and appropriately established Can carry on conversation at rather adult level Follows fairly complex directions with little repetition Has well developed time and number concepts