Infant Toddler Learning & Development Foundations

Foundation: Expressive Language
The developing ability to produce the sounds of language
and use vocabulary and increasingly complex utterances
8 months 18 months 36 months
At around eight months of
age, children experiment
with sounds, practice making
sounds, and use sounds or gestures
to communicate needs,
wants, or interests.
For example, the child may:
• Vocalize to get the infant care
teacher’s attention. (6.5–8
mos.; Parks 2004)
• Repeat sounds when babbling,
such as “da da da
da” or “ba ba ba ba.” (By 7
mos.; American Academy
of Pediatrics 2004, 209; 6–7
mos.; Hulit and Howard 2006,
122; scaled score of 10 for
7:16–8:15 on Bayley 2006,
106; 4–6.5 mos.; Parks 2004;
6 mos.; Locke 1993)
• Wave to the infant care
teacher when he waves and
says, “bye-bye” as he leaves
for his break. (6–9 mos.; Parks
2004, 121)
• Lift arms to the infant care
teacher to communicate a
desire to be held. (7–9 mos.;
Coplan 1993, 3; 5–9 mos.;
Parks 2004, 121)
Chart continues on next page.
At around 18 months of age, children
say a few words and use conventional
gestures to tell others about
their needs, wants, and interests. (By
15 to 18 mos.; American Academy of
Pediatrics 2004 270; Coplan 1993, 1;
Hulit and Howard 2006, 142)
For example, the child may:
• Look at a plate of crackers, then at
the infant care teacher, and communicate
“more.” (Scaled score of
10 for 16:16–17:15; Bayley 2006;
14–20 mos.; Parks 2004)
• Point to an airplane in the sky and
look at the infant care teacher.
(17.5–18.5 mos.; Parks 2004, 123)
• Use the same word to refer to
similar things, such as “milk” while
indicating the pitcher, even though
it is filled with juice. (18 mos.;
Meisels and others 2003, p. 37)
• Use two words together, such as
“Daddy give.” (18 mos.; National
Research Council and Institute of
Medicine 2000, 127)
• Shake head “no” when offered
more food. (18 mos.; Meisels and
others 2003, 37)
• Jabber a string of sounds into the
toy telephone. (18 mos.; Meisels
and others 2003, 37)
• Gesture “all gone” by twisting
wrists to turn hands up and down
when finished eating lunch. (12–19
mos.; Parks 2004, 122)
• Use made-up “words” to refer to
objects or experiences that only
familiar adults will know the meaning
of; for example “wo-wo” when
wanting to go next door to visit
the puppy. (12–22 mos.; Hulit and
Howard 2006, p. 130)
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At around 36 months of age,
children communicate in a way
that is understandable to most
adults who speak the same language
they do. Children combine
words into simple sentences and
demonstrate the ability to follow
some grammatical rules of the
home language. (By 36 mos.;
American Academy of Pediatrics
2004, 307; 30–36 mos.; Parks
2004; 24–36 mos.; Lerner and
Ciervo 2003; by 36 mos.; Hart
and Risley 1999, 67)
For example, the child may:
• Use the past tense, though not
always correctly; for example,
“Daddy goed to work,” “She
falled down.” (27–30 mos.;
Hulit and Howard 2006, 182;
30–36 mos.; Parks 2004;
28 mos.; Hart and Risley 1999,
95 and 129–30)
• Use the possessive, though
not always correctly; for
example, “That’s you car” or
“Her Megan.” (Scaled score
of 10 for 34:16–35:15; Bayley
2006)
• Use a few prepositions, such
as “on” the table. (33-35.5
mos.; Parks 2004, p. 116)
• Talk about what she will do in
the future, such as “I gonna
get a kitty.” (33–36 mos.; Hart
and Risley 1999, 131)
• Use 300–1000 words. (35+
mos.; Parks 2004, 116)
• Use the plural form of nouns,
though not always correctly;
for example, “mans,” and
“mouses.” (By 36 mos.; American
Academy of Pediatrics
2004, 307; 28 mos.; Hart and
Risley 1999, 95)
• Express, “Uncle is coming to
pick me up.” (36 mos.; Hoff
2005)
LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT