How do children learn to speak?
Between the ages of three and four, children begin to be able to have small conversations in an understandable way with adults. Don’t forget that talking is a game for them.
The human being is a social animal, and learning to speak comes out spontaneously in children when they try to learn better ways of relating and interacting with their parents . From the beginning, the baby tries to communicate with others: at first he can only do it with crying and smiling, but little by little he will acquire both the vocabulary and the reasoning faculty necessary to carry on conversations.
The process of learning to speak is different for each child , and may follow different guidelines. Below we offer you an indicative calendar and we offer you some tips and guidelines to help your child learn to speak and develop their communication skills in the best possible way.
Index
THE SPEECH LEARNING CALENDAR
Before three months
The child is not yet able to speak or communicate verbally except by crying, but he is capable of reacting to noises from the outside world . Thus, when he hears a sudden or loud noise, he reacts by startling or crying, makes noises such as chirps or cooing to express his feelings, smiles (the most primitive reaction of human sympathy) in response to the smiles and speech of the person speaking , and is able to vocalize.
FOR THEM, LEARNING TO SPEAK IS A GAME
Babies begin to make a greater variety of sounds to their environment . If someone talks near him or makes a loud noise, the child turns his head towards the place where the sound is coming from. He is also capable of laughing, with little laughs.
Between six and nine months
The child recognizes when we speak to him and turns to us. Although it may seem like no, pay attention when two adults talk near him. In addition, he begins to vocalize when you speak to him and to imitate small gestures (goodbyes, greetings).
Between nine months of the year
The children are able to understand and respond to simple commands ( “yes”, “no”, “dame”) and move his head. They imitate the sounds we make, giving them the intonation of words . They understand simple questions we ask them and shake their heads negatively. At this time they will learn their first words, although, as we have seen, it depends on each child.
Between a year and a year and a half
At this stage children, in addition to “papa” and “mama”, can learn to say a small number of different words . They are able to point to parts of their own body. In addition to asking for some things through words, they will be able to identify objects if they are named by an adult. At this stage, it is important to introduce vocabulary to him in this way and to speak to him continuously.
BY AGE TWO THEY USUALLY LEARN TO COMBINE WORDS AND ASK QUESTIONS
Babies begin to listen carefully to stories and stories, even if they do not fully understand them. With a more developed vocabulary, they begin to take two very important steps: combining words and asking questions .
Between two and three years
The child can begin to participate in simple conversations and give answers to questions (answering what he wants to eat, for example) . Although it does not use complete sentences, it does combine two words. He understands the language much better than he speaks it: he can follow instructions in two stages and relate objects to their use (if we say “What do you drink water with?” He can point to a glass).
Between three and four years
Most children begin to use words related to location in space, answer questions including where and who, and are able to vocalize and use words in their vocabulary in ways that are understandable to all adults . From here, they will increase the number of terms they know and will be able to participate in conversations.
HOW TO TEACH CHILDREN TO SPEAK
Children develop their language in a playful way: for them, learning to speak is a game , which does not mean that it does not take an effort. The first thing to do is show him that we are interested in what he is doing. Another point that we have to be clear about is that they learn by imitating us and copying what we say.
To positively reinforce his achievements in speech, the primary step is to communicate with him . Talk to your child as much as you can, and often. While you do, watch him carefully, let him know that you are focused on him; It will help him to see that you are trying to communicate with him as well as your voice. Show your interest when they answer you.
At least initially, we should not focus on whether you pronounce well or clearly . Pay attention to what he is trying to tell you. The child must feel safe and how to talk to you: he will do so more often. If he says something well, you must reinforce it: “yes, well, very well, this is a spoon”
FROM NINE MONTHS TO THE YEAR, CHILDREN ARE ABLE TO UNDERSTAND AND RESPOND TO SIMPLE COMMANDS (“YES”, “NO”, “GIVE ME”)
Another point that we must learn is that we must change our interventions when communicating with him, modifying our language to make you more accessible and understandable. The goal is to adapt to what you can understand . Use short, easily understandable sentences, and simplify your vocabulary when you ask questions. Also, reinforce keywords with your voice.
SOME ADDITIONAL TIPS FOR TEACHING YOUR CHILD TO SPEAK
In the early stages, repeat whatever vowel communication they make , even nonsense syllables. In this way, we will encourage them to say it again and begin to relate in a sound way.
If your child does not say the words clearly, repeat what he has said clearly, and lengthen the sentence so that the grammar and sentence construction is familiar . For example, he can say “filla” when he wants porridge: tell him “yes, you want porridge” and “here’s the porridge.” This “expands” your way of communicating, while constantly reinforcing you with the correct pronunciation of words.
Watch your tone so that you don’t accuse him in an aggressive or intimidating way when he mispronounces words or misuses terms. Just scold him by showing him how to do it right. It works much better to reinforce him positively when he does a good thing than to reproach him for doing the wrong thing, especially in the earlier stages.
When you want to talk to him, suppress background noises, such as the radio or television . Children have a harder time filtering out such sounds and distract their attention from you when you talk to them.
AT FIRST WE SHOULD NOT FOCUS ON WHETHER HE PRONOUNCES WELL OR CLEARLY
Respect turns speaking . This is valid advice even long before the child is able to communicate or answer questions. Even when he is only a baby, he knows that to communicate there is someone who transmits a message to him and he receives it to respond to him; two people cannot communicate simultaneously because they do not understand each other. Wait for the child to intervene to react to what he does, even if it is a smile or a gurgle.
A very interesting option is to use games . For example, playing “translator”. When the little one still does not know how to discriminate sounds, we can use recorded sounds, provoke them and relate them to the word that causes them. For example, ringing a bell and saying the word, making him hear the sound of rain or animals …
Dr. Tabriella Perivolaris, Sara's mother and fan of fashion, beauty, motherhood, among others, about the female universe. Since 2018 she has been working as a copywriter, always bringing to her articles a little of her experience and experience as a mother and woman.