| A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | |
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1 | Adapted from: https://childdevelopment.com.au/resources/child-development-charts/stages-of-language-development-chart/ | ||||||||
2 | Age | Listening | Vocabulary | Sentences | Verbal grammar | Concepts | Questions | Possible implications if milestones not achieved | |
3 | 4-5 years | Follows the meaning of others’ conversations | Continuing to expand Can generally understand colour and shape words (e.g. red, square) Can sort objects into simple categories (e.g. animals, food) | Minimum of 4-5 word sentences | Talks about past and future events Pronouns ‘his, hers, theirs’ – e.g. “It is his/hers/theirs“ Comparative –er and Superlative -est: e.g. big, bigger, biggest Use of ‘is’ vs ‘are‘ – e.g. “The monkey is eating a banana” vs “The monkeys are eating the bananas”) Past Tense “to be” – e.g. “I was running” and “They were running” Connector ‘because‘ –e.g. The boy was crying because he fell over and hurt his knee” Adverb –ly – e.g. quickly, slowly, quietly Irregular Plurals – e.g. mice, men | Mid-late 4 years: Position: middle; around; away from; between; through; next to/beside; last Size: short (length); short (height); tall; fat Quantity: 4; most; few Late 4-5 years: Position: in front; in a line; corner; middle Size: thin Quantity: 5 (emerging); pair Other: same; different (size); different (function) | Understands How questions Asks meanings of words | May have difficulties socialising May struggle to copy and learn from others due to poor understanding and attention May have difficulties following instructions at home, kindergarten May have difficulties being understood by peers May have difficulties being understood by unfamiliar people May have difficulties expressing wants, needs, thoughts and ideas May have difficulties responding appropriately to questions Word finding difficulties causing disfluent speech | |
4 | 5-6 years | Follows the meaning of others’ conversations Follows multi-step instructions Vocabulary comprehension increases | Vocabulary comprehension increases | Uses more complex sentences Uses imaginative language in play – likes to pretend and act out stories Tells several attributes about an object | Irregular past tense – e.g. fell, broke, ate | Time: yesterday, tomorrow, morning, afternoon, later | Uses How and Where questions | May have difficulties socialising May have poor attention and concentration May have difficulties following instructions at home, school May have difficulties retelling events May have difficulties following routines May have difficulties being understood by unfamiliar people May have difficulties expressing thoughts and ideas verbally and in written form May have difficulties responding appropriately to questions Word finding difficulties causing disfluent speech | |
5 | 6-7 years | Ideas are shared Follows multi-step instructions | Can classify objects according to more specific traits (e.g. form, colour, use or composition-what it is made of) | Gives short oral reports Uses language at a higher level to make jokes, tease, engage in sarcasm, argue point of view, explain complex situations, talk about movies or past events in detail Develops written language skills and ability to write descriptive paragraphs and stories | Grammar is mature | Position: left; right Other: same; different; season; time of day Can understand the difference between reality and fantasy | Able to make predictions, justify decisions, provide solutions and give explanations | May have difficulties socialising May have poor attention and concentration May have difficulties following instructions at home, school May have difficulties retelling events May have difficulties being understood by unfamiliar people May have difficulties expressing thoughts and ideas verbally and in written form May have difficulties responding appropriately to questions Word finding difficulties causing disfluent speech May have difficulties with reading fluency and comprehension | |
6 | 7-8 years | Can listen for a sustained period of time (e.g. attend to a guest speaker at school) | No specific milestones | Can express their opinion Can retell both imaginary and real events | Uses appropriate grammar in their speech and written work | Can problem solve | Will ask questions to clarify information | May have difficulties socialising May have poor attention and concentration May have difficulties following instructions at home, school May have difficulties retelling events Mayhave difficulties problem solving May have difficulties expressing thoughts and ideas verbally and in written form May have difficulties responding appropriately to questions Word finding difficulties causing disfluent speech May have difficulties with reading fluency and comprehension | |
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