Speech and Language Development in the Preschool Years

by Victoria Severns, MS, CCC-SLP

Between the ages of three and five a child's language expands rapidly. During this period his vocabulary increases and he works toward mastering the rules of his language. Preschool children develop the ability to tell stories by relating events sequentially, to talk about the past and future using the past and future tenses of verbs, as well as to express temporal and causal relationships. These achievements are the result of small pieces of the language puzzle coming together to form a cohesive whole.

Language acquisition during the preschool years is facilitated when parents imitate, expand, rephrase, and clarify their child's statements. Reading story books together should continue throughout this period as a means of stimulating listening and reasoning abilities. Listening to the details of a story can be encouraged by asking open-ended questions which involve more than merely labeling pictures. The resultant expanded interpretations of pictures and discussions regarding motivation and causality have been shown to produce increased vocabulary and better reading comprehension in school.

While parental involvement plays an integral part in language acquisition, a child's most elaborate language is usually produced while playing with his peers. As preschoolers engage in make believe play with friends they have to use language to assign roles, redefine or transform objects (blocks become fire trucks), and agree on a central theme for play.

The important aspects of language that develop during the preschool years have been described in this article. The chart below lists some of the specific milestones that are achieved during this important time in a child's life. It is hoped that this information will assist in the identification and referral of children exhibiting communication delays so that therapy can be initiated before they enter the primary grades.

SPEECH/LANGUAGE CHECKLIST (3-5 YEARS)

3 TO 4 YEARS

• engages in long conversations
• has speech that is 90% intelligible
• understands object functions
• understands 1200-2000 or more words
• says 800-1500 or more words
• recognizes sex differences in pronouns
• uses language to express emotion
• identifies 4 colors
• produces simple verbal analogies
• improves sentence grammar, although some errors still persist
• uses 4-6 words in sentences
• follows 2- and 3-part commands
• asks and answers simple who, what, where and why questions
• tells 2 events in chronological order
• repeats 6- to 13-syllable sentences accurately
• uses language to manipulate adults and peers
• uses "is, are" and "am" appropriately
• consistently uses regular plurals, possessives, and simple past tense verbs
• uses some contractions, irregular plurals, future tense verbs and conjunctions
• understands differences in meanings (stop-go, in-on, big-little)
• uses nouns and verbs most frequently
• begins to learn from listening
• traces a square, copies a circle and imitates horizontal lines

4 TO 5 YEARS

• tells a story with sequential events
• follows 2 to 3 complex commands
• understands dependent clauses: "if", "because", "when", "why"
• pays attention to a story and answers simple questions about it
• answers complex 2-part questions
• imitatively counts to 5
• counts to 10 by rote
• understands number concepts up to 3
• tells own address
• answers questions about function
• understands 2800 or more words
• says 900-2000 or more words
• asks what words mean
• uses language that is fairly complete in structure and form
• accurately relates a long story
• uses sentences of 6-8 words
• defines words in terms of use rather than physical characteristics
• is able to use all the consonant sounds in some context, with the exception of the "th"
• enjoys playing with rhyming words and nonsense syllables
• talks about experiences at school, at friends' homes, etc.
• uses some irregular plurals, possessive and reflexive pronouns, future tense verbs, and comparative morphemes in sentences
• understands spatial concepts
• draws circles, crosses and diamonds

If you have questions or need more information you can contact us at:

Overton Speech & Language Center, Inc.
4763 Barwick Drive, Suite 103
Fort Worth, TX 76132
(817) 294-8408

info@overtonspeech.net

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Last revised: February 03, 2001