{"id":88,"date":"2021-01-21T04:12:10","date_gmt":"2021-01-21T04:12:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/child\/chapter\/language\/"},"modified":"2021-01-21T04:12:10","modified_gmt":"2021-01-21T04:12:10","slug":"language","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/child\/chapter\/language\/","title":{"raw":"Language Development","rendered":"Language Development"},"content":{"raw":"Given the remarkable complexity of a language, one might expect that mastering a language would be an especially arduous task; indeed, for those of us trying to learn a second language as adults, this might seem to be true. However, young children master language very quickly with relative ease. B. F. Skinner (1957) proposed that language is learned through reinforcement. Noam Chomsky (1965) criticized this behaviorist approach, asserting instead that the mechanisms underlying language acquisition are biologically determined. The use of language develops in the absence of formal instruction and appears to follow a very similar pattern in children from vastly different cultures and backgrounds. It would seem, therefore, that we are born with a biological predisposition to acquire a language (Chomsky, 1965; Fern\u00e1ndez & Cairns, 2011). Moreover, it appears that there is a critical period for language acquisition, such that this proficiency at acquiring language is maximal early in life; generally, as people age, the ease with which they acquire and master new languages diminishes (Johnson & Newport, 1989; Lenneberg, 1967; Singleton, 1995).\n\nChildren begin to learn about language from a very early age (Table 1). In fact, it appears that this is occurring even before we are born. Newborns show a preference for their mother\u2019s voice and appear to be able to discriminate between the language spoken by their mother and other languages. Babies are also attuned to the languages being used around them and show preferences for videos of faces that are moving in synchrony with the audio of spoken language versus videos that do not synchronize with the audio (Blossom & Morgan, 2006; Pickens, 1994; Spelke & Cortelyou, 1981).\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Table 2. Stages of Language and Communication Development<\/caption>\n
Stage<\/th>\nAge<\/th>\nDevelopmental Language and Communication<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
1<\/td>\n0\u20133 months<\/td>\nReflexive communication<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
2<\/td>\n3\u20138 months<\/td>\nReflexive communication; interest in others<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
3<\/td>\n8\u201312 months<\/td>\nIntentional communication; sociability<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
4<\/td>\n12\u201318 months<\/td>\nFirst words<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
5<\/td>\n18\u201324 months<\/td>\nSimple sentences of two words<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
6<\/td>\n2\u20133 years<\/td>\nSentences of three or more words<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
7<\/td>\n3\u20135 years<\/td>\nComplex sentences; has conversations<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\nEach language has its own set of phonemes<\/strong> that are used to generate morphemes<\/strong>, words, and so on. Babies can discriminate among the sounds that make up a language (for example, they can tell the difference between the \u201cs\u201d in vision and the \u201css\u201d in fission); early on, they can differentiate between the sounds of all human languages, even those that do not occur in the languages that are used in their environments. However, by the time that they are about 1 year old, they can only discriminate among those phonemes that are used in the language or languages in their environments (Jensen, 2011; Werker & Lalonde, 1988; Werker & Tees, 1984).\n
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Watch It<\/h3>\nThis video explains some of the research surrounding language acquisition in babies, particularly those learning a second language.\n\nhttps:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?time_continue=157&v=Me_v82q0ins\n\n \n\n<\/div>\n

Newborn Communication<\/h3>\n[caption id=\"attachment_788\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"300\"]\"Wide-eyed Figure 2<\/strong>. Before they develop language, infants communicate using facial expressions.[\/caption]\n\nDo newborns communicate?\u00a0Certainly, they do.\u00a0They do not, however, communicate with the use of language.\u00a0Instead, they communicate their thoughts and needs with body posture (being relaxed or still), gestures, cries, and facial expressions.\u00a0A person who spends adequate time with an infant can learn which cries indicate pain and which ones indicate hunger, discomfort, or frustration.\n

Intentional Vocalizations<\/strong><\/h4>\nInfants begin to vocalize and repeat vocalizations within the first couple of months of life.\u00a0That gurgling, musical vocalization called cooing can serve as a source of entertainment to an infant who has been laid down for a nap or seated in a carrier on a car ride.\u00a0Cooing serves as practice for vocalization. It also allows the infant to hear the sound of their own voice and try to repeat sounds that are entertaining.\u00a0Infants also begin to learn the pace and pause of conversation as they alternate their vocalization with that of someone else and then take their turn again when the other person\u2019s vocalization has stopped.\u00a0Cooing initially involves making vowel sounds like \u201coooo.\u201d Later, as the baby moves into babbling (see below), consonants are added to vocalizations such as \u201cnananananana.\u201d\n

Babbling and Gesturing<\/strong><\/h4>\nBetween 6 and 9 months, infants begin making even more elaborate vocalizations that include the sounds required for any language.\u00a0Guttural sounds, clicks, consonants, and vowel sounds stand ready to equip the child with the ability to repeat whatever sounds are characteristic of the language heard. These babies repeat certain syllables (ma-ma-ma, da-da-da, ba-ba-ba), a vocalization called babbling<\/strong> because of the way it sounds.\u00a0Eventually, these sounds will no longer be used as the infant grows more accustomed to a particular language.\u00a0Deaf babies also use gestures to communicate wants, reactions, and feelings.\u00a0Because gesturing seems to be easier than vocalization for some toddlers, sign language is sometimes taught to enhance one\u2019s ability to communicate by making use of the ease of gesturing.\u00a0The\u00a0rhythm and pattern of language are used when deaf babies sign just as when hearing babies babble.\n\nAt around ten months of age, infants can understand more than they can say.\u00a0You may have experienced this phenomenon as well if you have ever tried to learn a second language.\u00a0You may have been able to follow a conversation more easily than to contribute to it.\n
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Try It<\/h3>\nhttps:\/\/assessments.lumenlearning.com\/assessments\/16559\n\n<\/div>\n

Holophrasic Speech<\/strong><\/h4>\nChildren begin using their first words at about 12 or 13 months of age and may use partial words to convey thoughts at even younger ages.\u00a0These\u00a0one-word expressions are referred to as holophrasic speech (holophrase<\/strong>). For example, the child may say \u201cju\u201d for the word \u201cjuice\u201d and use this sound when referring to a bottle.\u00a0The\u00a0listener must interpret the meaning of the holophrase. When this is someone who has spent time with the child, interpretation is not too difficult.\u00a0They know that \u201cju\u201d means \u201cjuice\u201d which means the baby wants some milk!\u00a0But, someone who has not been around the child will have trouble knowing what is meant.\u00a0Imagine the parent who exclaims to a friend, \u201cEzra\u2019s talking all the time now!\u201d\u00a0The friend hears only \u201cju da ga\u201d which, the parent explains, means \u201cI want some milk when I go with Daddy.\u201d\n

Underextension<\/strong><\/h4>\nA child who learns that a word stands for an object may initially think that the word can be used for only that particular object.\u00a0Only the family\u2019s Irish Setter is a \u201cdoggie.\u201d This\u00a0is referred to as underextension.\u00a0More often, however, a child may think that a label applies to all objects that are similar to the original object.\u00a0In overextension, all animals become \u201cdoggies,\u201d for example.\n

First words and cultural influences<\/strong><\/h4>\nFirst words for English-speaking children tend to be nouns.\u00a0The\u00a0child labels objects such as a cup or a ball.\u00a0In a verb-friendly language such as Chinese, however, children may learn more verbs.\u00a0This may also be due to the different emphasis given to objects based on culture.\u00a0Chinese children may be taught to notice action and relationship between objects while children from the United States may be taught to name an object and its qualities (color, texture, size, etc.).\u00a0These\u00a0differences can be seen when comparing interpretations of art by older students from China and the United States.\n

Vocabulary growth spurt<\/strong><\/h4>\nOne-year-olds typically have a vocabulary of about 50 words.\u00a0But by the time they become toddlers, they have a vocabulary of about 200 words and begin putting those words together in telegraphic speech (short phrases). This language growth spurt is called the\u00a0naming explosion<\/strong> because many early words are nouns (persons, places, or things).\n

Two-word sentences and telegraphic speech<\/strong><\/h4>\nWords are soon combined and 18-month-old toddlers can express themselves further by using phrases such as \u201cbaby bye-bye\u201d or \u201cdoggie pretty.\u201d Words needed to convey messages are used, but the articles and other parts of speech necessary for grammatical correctness are not yet included.\u00a0These\u00a0expressions sound like a telegraph (or perhaps a better analogy today would be that they read like a text message) where unnecessary words are not used.\u00a0\u201cGive baby ball\u201d is used rather than \u201cGive the baby the ball.\u201d\u00a0Or a text message of \u201cSend money now!\u201d rather than \u201cDear Mother. I really need some money to take care of my expenses.\" You get the idea.\n

Child-directed speech<\/strong><\/h4>\nWhy is a horse a \u201chorsie\u201d?\u00a0Have you ever wondered why adults tend to use \u201cbaby talk\u201d or that sing-song type of intonation and exaggeration used when talking to children?\u00a0This represents a universal tendency and is known as\u00a0child-directed speech\u00a0or motherese or parentese.\u00a0It involves exaggerating the vowel and consonant sounds, using a high-pitched voice, and delivering the phrase with great facial expression.\u00a0Why is this done?\u00a0It may be in order to clearly articulate the sounds of a word so that the child can hear the sounds involved.\u00a0Or it may be because when this type of speech is used, the infant pays more attention to the speaker and this sets up a pattern of interaction in which the speaker and listener are in tune with one another.\u00a0When I demonstrate this in class, the students certainly pay attention and look my way.\u00a0Amazing!\u00a0It also works in the college classroom!\n
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Watch It<\/h3>\nThis video examines new research on infant-directed speech.\n\nhttps:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=ClGQ-GXS4WQ\n\n<\/div>\n
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Try It<\/h3>\nhttps:\/\/assessments.lumenlearning.com\/assessments\/16560\n\n<\/div>\n

Theories of Language Development<\/h3>\nHow is language learned? Each major theory of language development emphasizes different aspects of language learning: that infants' brains are genetically attuned to language, that infants must be taught, and that infants' social impulses foster language learning.\u00a0The first two theories of language development represent two extremes in the level of interaction required for language to occur (Berk, 2007).\n

Chomsky and the language acquisition device<\/strong><\/h4>\nThis theory posits that infants teach themselves and that language learning is genetically programmed.\u00a0The view is known as nativism<\/em>\u00a0and was\u00a0advocated by Noam Chomsky, who suggested that infants are equipped with a neurological construct referred to as the language acquisition device (LAD)<\/strong>, which makes infants ready for language.\u00a0The LAD allows children, as their brains develop, to derive the rules of grammar quickly and effectively from the speech they hear every day. Therefore, language develops as long as the infant is exposed to it.\u00a0No teaching, training, or reinforcement is required for language to develop.\u00a0Instead, language learning comes from a particular gene, brain maturation, and the overall human impulse to imitate.\n

Skinner and reinforcement<\/strong><\/h4>\nThis theory is the opposite of Chomsky's theory because it suggests that infants need to be taught language. This idea arises from behaviorism.\u00a0Learning theorist, B. F. Skinner, suggested that language develops through the use of reinforcement.\u00a0Sounds, words, gestures, and phrases are encouraged by following the behavior with attention, words of praise, treats, or anything that increases the likelihood that the behavior will be repeated.\u00a0This repetition strengthens associations, so infants learn the language faster as parents speak to them often.\u00a0For example, when a baby says \"ma-ma,\" the mother smiles and repeats the sound while showing the baby attention. So, \"ma-ma\" is repeated due to this reinforcement.\n

Social pragmatics<\/strong><\/h4>\nAnother language theory emphasizes the child\u2019s active engagement in learning the language out of a need to communicate. Social impulses foster infant language because humans are social beings and we must communicate because we are dependent on each other for survival.\u00a0The\u00a0child seeks information, memorizes terms, imitates the speech heard from others, and learns to conceptualize using words as language is acquired. Tomasello &\u00a0 Herrmann (2010) argue that all human infants, as opposed to chimpanzees, seek to master words and grammar in order to join the social world\u00a0[footnote]Tomasello, M. & Hermann, E. (2010). Ape and human cognition. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 19(1), 3-8.[\/footnote] Many\u00a0would argue that all three of these theories (Chomsky's argument for nativism, conditioning, and social pragmatics) are important for fostering the acquisition of language (Berger, 2004).\n
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Try It<\/h3>\nhttps:\/\/assessments.lumenlearning.com\/assessments\/16561\n\n<\/div>\n

<\/h2>\n

Language Development<\/strong><\/h3>\n[caption id=\"attachment_3855\" align=\"alignright\" width=\"300\"]\"A<\/a> Figure 4.<\/strong>\u00a0Reading to young children helps them develop language skills by hearing and using new vocabulary words.[\/caption]\n\nA child\u2019s vocabulary expands between the ages of two to six from about 200 words to over 10,000 words through a process called\u00a0fast-mapping<\/strong>.\u00a0Words are easily learned by making connections between new words and concepts already known.\u00a0The parts of speech that are learned depend on the language and what is emphasized.\u00a0Children speaking verb-friendly languages such as Chinese and Japanese tend to learn verbs more readily, but those learning less verb-friendly languages such as English seem to need assistance in grammar to master the use of verbs (Imai, et als, 2008). Children are also very creative in creating their own words to use as labels such as a \u201ctake-care-of\u201d when referring to John, the character on the cartoon Garfield, who takes care of the cat.\n\nChildren can repeat words and phrases after having heard them only once or twice, but they do not always understand the meaning of the words or phrases.\u00a0This is especially true of expressions or figures of speech which are taken literally.\u00a0For example, two preschool-aged girls began to laugh loudly while listening to a tape-recording of Disney\u2019s \u201cSleeping Beauty\u201d when the narrator reports, \u201cPrince Phillip lost his head!\u201d\u00a0They imagine his head popping off and rolling down the hill as he runs and searches for it.\u00a0Or a classroom full of preschoolers hears the teacher say, \u201cWow!\u00a0That was a piece of cake!\u201d\u00a0The children began asking \u201cCake?\u00a0Where is my cake?\u00a0I want cake!\u201d\n

Overregularization<\/strong><\/h4>\nChildren learn the rules of grammar as they learn the language. Some of these rules are not taught explicitly, and others are. Often when learning language intuitively children apply rules inappropriately at first. But even after successfully navigating the rule for a while, at times, explicitly teaching a child a grammar rule may cause them to make mistakes they had previously not been making.\u00a0For instance, two- to three-year-old children may say \u201cI goed there\" or \"I doed that\u201d as they understand intuitively that adding \"ed\" to a word makes it mean \"something I did in the past.\" As the child hears the correct grammar rule applied by the people around them, they correctly begin to say \u201cI went there\" and \"I did that.\u201d It would seem that the child has solidly learned the grammar rule, but it is actually common for the developing child to revert back to their original mistake. This happens as they\u00a0overregulate<\/strong>\u00a0the rule. This can happen because they intuitively discover the rule and overgeneralize it or because they are explicitly taught to add \u201ced\u201d to the end of a word to indicate past tense in school. A child who had previously produced correct sentences may start to form incorrect sentences such as, \u201cI goed there.\u00a0I doed that.\u201d\u00a0These children are able to quickly re-learn the correct exceptions to the -ed rule.\n

Vygotsky and Language Development\u00a0<\/strong><\/h4>\nLev Vygotsky hypothesized that children had a zone of proximal development (ZPD)<\/strong>. The ZPD is the range of material that a child is ready to learn if proper support and guidance are given from either a peer who understands the material or by an adult. We can see the benefit of this sort of guidance when we think about the acquisition of language. Children can be assisted in learning language by others who listen attentively, model more accurate pronunciations and encourage elaboration. For example, if the child exclaims, \u201cI\u2019m goed there!\u201d then the adult responds, \u201cYou went there?\u201d\n\nChildren may be hard-wired for language development, as Noam Chomsky suggested in his theory of universal grammar, but active participation is also important for language development. The process of\u00a0scaffolding<\/strong>\u00a0is one in which the guide provides needed assistance to the child as a new skill is learned. Repeating what a child has said, but in a grammatically correct way, is scaffolding for a child who is struggling with the rules of language production.\n

Private Speech<\/strong><\/h4>\nDo you ever talk to yourself?\u00a0Why?\u00a0Chances are,\u00a0this occurs when you are struggling with a problem, trying to remember something or feel very emotional about a situation.\u00a0Children talk to themselves too.\u00a0Piaget interpreted this as\u00a0egocentric speech\u00a0or a practice engaged in because of a child\u2019s inability to see things from other points of\u00a0view.\u00a0Vygotsky, however, believed that children talk to themselves in order to solve problems or clarify thoughts.\u00a0As children learn to think in words, they do so aloud before eventually closing their lips and engaging in\u00a0private speech<\/strong>\u00a0or inner speech.\u00a0Thinking out loud eventually becomes thought accompanied by internal speech, and talking to oneself becomes a practice only engaged in when we are trying to learn something or remember something, etc. This inner speech is not as elaborate as the speech we use when communicating with others (Vygotsky, 1962).\n
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Vygotsky and education<\/h3>\n[caption id=\"attachment_2976\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"243\"]\"Target<\/a> Figure 5<\/strong>. Vygotsky's zone of proximal development represents what a student can learn with the proper support.[\/caption]\n\nVygotsky's theories do not just apply to language development but have been extremely influential for education in general. Although Vygotsky himself never mentioned the term scaffolding, it is often credited to him as a continuation of his ideas pertaining to the way adults or other children can use guidance in order for a child to work within their ZPD. (The term scaffolding was first developed by\u00a0Jerome Bruner, David Wood, and Gail Ross while applying Vygotsky's concept of ZPD to various educational contexts.)\n\nEducators often apply these concepts by assigning\u00a0tasks that students cannot do on their own, but which they can do with assistance; they should provide just enough assistance so that students learn to complete the tasks independently and then provide an environment that enables students to do harder tasks than would otherwise be possible.\u00a0<\/sup>Teachers can also allow students with more knowledge to assist students who need more guidance. Especially in the context of collaborative learning, group members who have higher levels of understanding can help the less advanced members learn within their zone of proximal development.\n\nThe following video shows how Vygotsky's theory applies to learning in early childhood:\n\n[embed]\/\/plugin.3playmedia.com\/show?mf=3935287&p3sdk_version=1.10.1&p=20361&pt=375&video_id=InzmZtHuZPY&video_target=tpm-plugin-eq65splf-InzmZtHuZPY[\/embed]\n\n<\/div>\n

30 Million Word Gap<\/h3>\nTo accomplish the tremendous rate of word learning that needs to occur during early childhood, it is important that children are learning new words each day. Research by Betty Hart and Todd Risley in the late 1990s and early 2000s indicated that children from less advantaged backgrounds are exposed to millions of fewer words in their first three years of life than children who come from more privileged socioeconomic backgrounds. In their research, families were classified by socioeconomic status, (SES) into \"high\" (professional), \"middle\" (working class), and \"low\" (welfare) SES. They found that the average child in a professional family hears 2,153 words per waking hour, the average child in a working-class family hears 1,251 words per hour, and an average child in a welfare family only 616 words per hour. Extrapolating, they stated that, \"in four years, an average child in a professional family would accumulate experience with almost 45 million words, an average child in a working-class family 26 million words, and an average child in a welfare family 13 million words.\" The line of thinking following their study is that children from more affluent households would enter school knowing more words, which would give them advantage in school.\n\nHart and Risley's research has been criticized by scholars. Critics theorize that the language and achievement gaps are not a result of the number of words a child is exposed to, but rather alternative theories suggest it could reflect the disconnect of linguistic practices between home and school. Thus, judging academic success and linguistic capabilities from socioeconomic status may ignore bigger societal issues.\u00a0A recent replication of Hart and Risley's study with more participants has found that the \"word gap\" may be closer to 4 million words,\u00a0not the oft-cited 30 million words previously proposed.\u00a0The ongoing word gap research is evidence of the importance of language development in early childhood.\n
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watch it<\/h3>\nWatch as Dr. John Gabrieli, from the MIT McGovern Institute for Brain Development explains how early language exposure affects language development. His research uses the current technology to correlate home language experiences with brain function. They determined that the number of conversational turns was more important to development in Broca's area (brain region linked to speech production) than the number of words heard or the family's socioeconomic status.\n\n[embed]https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=CNJQGbNbI-8[\/embed]\n\n<\/div>\n
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Try It<\/h3>\nhttps:\/\/assessments.lumenlearning.com\/assessments\/16581\n\n<\/div>\n
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Link to Learning<\/h3>\nRead this article to learn more about common linguistic mistakes that children make and what they mean:\u00a010 Language Mistakes Kids Make That Are Actually Pretty Smart<\/a>.\n\n<\/div>\n

Language Development<\/h2>\n

Vocabulary<\/h3>\nOne of the reasons that children can classify objects in so many ways is that they have acquired a vocabulary to do so. By 5th grade, a child's vocabulary has grown to 40,000 words. It grows at the rate of 20 words per day, a rate that exceeds that of preschoolers. This language explosion, however, differs from that of preschoolers because it is facilitated by being able to associate new words with those already known (fast-mapping) and because it is accompanied by a more sophisticated understanding of the meanings of a word.\n\nA child in middle childhood is also able to think of objects in less literal ways. For example, if asked for the first word that comes to mind when one hears the word \"pizza\", the preschooler is likely to say \"eat\" or some word that describes what is done with a pizza. However, the school-aged child is more likely to place pizza in the appropriate category and say \"food\" or \"carbohydrate\".\n\nThis sophistication of vocabulary is also evidenced in the fact that school-aged children are able to tell jokes and delight in doing do. They may use jokes that involve plays on words such as \"knock-knock\" jokes or jokes with punch lines. Preschoolers do not understand plays on words and rely on telling \"jokes\" that are literal or slapstick such as \"A man fell down in the mud! Isn't that funny?\"\n

Grammar and Flexibility<\/h3>\nSchool-aged children are also able to learn new rules of grammar with more flexibility. While preschoolers are likely to be reluctant to give up saying \"I goed there\", school-aged children will learn this rather quickly along with other rules of grammar.\n\nWhile the preschool years might be a good time to learn a second language (being able to understand and speak the language), the school years may be the best time to be taught a second language (the rules of grammar).\n
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Try It<\/h3>\nhttps:\/\/assessments.lumenlearning.com\/assessments\/16596\n\n<\/div>\n
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<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n \n\n ","rendered":"

Given the remarkable complexity of a language, one might expect that mastering a language would be an especially arduous task; indeed, for those of us trying to learn a second language as adults, this might seem to be true. However, young children master language very quickly with relative ease. B. F. Skinner (1957) proposed that language is learned through reinforcement. Noam Chomsky (1965) criticized this behaviorist approach, asserting instead that the mechanisms underlying language acquisition are biologically determined. The use of language develops in the absence of formal instruction and appears to follow a very similar pattern in children from vastly different cultures and backgrounds. It would seem, therefore, that we are born with a biological predisposition to acquire a language (Chomsky, 1965; Fern\u00e1ndez & Cairns, 2011). Moreover, it appears that there is a critical period for language acquisition, such that this proficiency at acquiring language is maximal early in life; generally, as people age, the ease with which they acquire and master new languages diminishes (Johnson & Newport, 1989; Lenneberg, 1967; Singleton, 1995).<\/p>\n

Children begin to learn about language from a very early age (Table 1). In fact, it appears that this is occurring even before we are born. Newborns show a preference for their mother\u2019s voice and appear to be able to discriminate between the language spoken by their mother and other languages. Babies are also attuned to the languages being used around them and show preferences for videos of faces that are moving in synchrony with the audio of spoken language versus videos that do not synchronize with the audio (Blossom & Morgan, 2006; Pickens, 1994; Spelke & Cortelyou, 1981).<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Table 2. Stages of Language and Communication Development<\/caption>\n
Stage<\/th>\nAge<\/th>\nDevelopmental Language and Communication<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
1<\/td>\n0\u20133 months<\/td>\nReflexive communication<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
2<\/td>\n3\u20138 months<\/td>\nReflexive communication; interest in others<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
3<\/td>\n8\u201312 months<\/td>\nIntentional communication; sociability<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
4<\/td>\n12\u201318 months<\/td>\nFirst words<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
5<\/td>\n18\u201324 months<\/td>\nSimple sentences of two words<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
6<\/td>\n2\u20133 years<\/td>\nSentences of three or more words<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
7<\/td>\n3\u20135 years<\/td>\nComplex sentences; has conversations<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Each language has its own set of phonemes<\/strong> that are used to generate morphemes<\/strong>, words, and so on. Babies can discriminate among the sounds that make up a language (for example, they can tell the difference between the \u201cs\u201d in vision and the \u201css\u201d in fission); early on, they can differentiate between the sounds of all human languages, even those that do not occur in the languages that are used in their environments. However, by the time that they are about 1 year old, they can only discriminate among those phonemes that are used in the language or languages in their environments (Jensen, 2011; Werker & Lalonde, 1988; Werker & Tees, 1984).<\/p>\n

\n

Watch It<\/h3>\n

This video explains some of the research surrounding language acquisition in babies, particularly those learning a second language.<\/p>\n