Infant Toddler Learning & Development Foundations

LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT
50
Expressive Language
Behaviors leading up to
the foundation (4 to 7
months)
During this period, the child
may:
• Squeal when excited.
(5 mos.; Lerner and Ciervo
2003; by 7 mos.; American
Academy of Pediatrics
2004, 209)
• Make an angry noise when
another child takes a toy.
(5–6 mos.; Parks 2004)
• Make a face of disgust to
tell the infant care teacher
that she does not want
any more food. (6–9 mos.;
Lerner and Ciervo 2003)
Behaviors leading up to the
foundation (9 to 17 months)
During this period, the child may:
• Babble using the sounds of his
home language. (6–10 mos.;
Cheour and others 1998)
• Consistently use utterances to
refer to favorite objects or experiences
that only familiar adults
know the meaning of; for example,
“ba ba ba ba” for blanket. (9 mos.;
Bates, Camaioni, and Volterra
1975; 12 mos.; Coplan 1993, 3;
12 mos.; Davies 2004, 166; 9–10
mos.; Hulit and Howard 2006, 123)
• Express “Mama” or “Dada” when
the mother or father, respectively,
enters the room. (10 mos.; Coplan
1993, 1)
• Say a first word clearly enough
that the infant care teacher can
understand the word within the
context; for example, “gih” for
give, “see,” “dis” for this, “cookie,”
“doggie,” “uh oh” and “no.” (Mean
age 11 mos.; Hart and Risley
1999, 56)
• Name a few familiar favorite
objects. (Around 12 mos.; Coplan
1993, 3; mean age 13 mos., range
9–16 mos.; Hulit and Howard
2006, 132; between 10 and 15
mos.; National Research Council
and Institute of Medicine 2000,
127)
• Change tone when babbling, so
that the child’s babbles sound
more and more like adult speech.
(By 12 mos.; American Academy
of Pediatrics 2004; 7.5–12 mos.;
Parks, 2004; 7–8 mos.; Hulit and
Howard 2006, 123)
• Use expressions; for example,
“uh oh” when milk spills or when
something falls off the table.
(12.5–14.5 mos.; Parks 2004)
• Say “up” and lift arms to be picked
up by the infant care teacher.
(Scaled score of 9 for 16:16–17:15
mos.; Bayley 2006, 108; 12–14
mos.; Parks 2004, 132)
Behaviors leading up to the
foundation (19 to 35 months)
During this period, the child may:
• Tend to communicate about
objects, actions, and events that
are in the here and now. (12–22
mos.; Hulit and Howard 2006,
141)
• Use some words to refer to more
than one thing; for example,
“night-night” to refer to bedtime
or to describe darkness. (12–22
mos.; Hulit and Howard 2006,
132)
• Use many new words each day.
(18–20 mos.; Coplan, 1993, 1;
18–24 mos.; Hulit and Howard
2006, 137)
• Begin to combine a few words
into mini-sentences to express
wants, needs, or interests; for
example, “more milk,” “big
doggie,” “no night-night” or “go
bye-bye.” (18–20 mos.; Coplan
1993, 1; 24 mos.; Meisels and
others 2003, 47; by 24 mos.;
American Academy of Pediatrics
2004, 270; 18–24 mos.; Hulit and
Howard 2006, 143; scaled score
of 10 for 32:16–33:15; Bayley
2006, 114; 20.5–24 mos.; Parks
2004, 133)
• Have a vocabulary of about 80
words. (19 mos.; Hart and Risley
1999, 61)
• Start adding articles before
nouns, such as, “a book” or “the
cup.” (20 mos.; Hart and Risley
1999, 63)
• Use own name when referring to
self. (18-24 mos.; Parks 2004)
• Ask questions with raised intonations
at the end, such as “Doggy
go?” (22–26 mos.; Hulit and
Howard 2006, 144)
• Communicate using sentences
of three to five words, such as
“Daddy go store?” or “Want
more rice.” (30 mos.; Coplan
1993, 1; 25 mos.; Hart and Risley
1999, 63)