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Understanding language
Understanding spoken language helps children follow instructions, answer questions, understand stories and identify objects and pictures. A child’s understanding of language is usually ahead of their ability to use language.
Learning to communicate
Understanding language is also known as ‘receptive language’. It is how people understand and interpret spoken and written words. Understanding spoken language helps children follow instructions, answer questions, understand stories and identify objects and pictures.
A child’s understanding of language is usually ahead of their ability to use language. Children need to learn to understand the language and words they’re hearing before they can use them to talk with other people.
Children take an interest in sounds and words long before they are able to say them for themselves. This means that you are helping your child learn to speak by talking to them as soon as they are born.
The ages should be treated as a rough guide, as each child is unique and will develop at their own pace. It is often unhelpful to compare a child to their siblings or other children.
You can help your child at all ages by:
Speaking clearly.
Being face to face. Getting down to child’s level by lying down or crouching. It makes it easier for them to see what you are saying. It also shows your child you are interested and helps them listen to you.
Stop, Look and Listen. Do not rush in and take over when they are speaking. Give your child a chance to communicate first. Even if you know what your child wants to say, do not rush in. Watch your child and look for the cues your child gives you before talking or acting. If you find this hard, try to count to ten in your head.
Setting some special time aside to play or talk with your child. This helps build the relationship between you and your child. When they are younger you can play with toys and picture books. When they get older you can talk to them about their day or about their interests.
Understanding language milestones and activities
By 1 year old, babies will usually:
- recognise and show excitement when they hear familiar voices
- understand familiar routine activities
- look at you when you talk to them
- understand simple words such as ‘bye-bye’, particularly when you use an action/gesture as you say the word
- understand the names of familiar people and objects, such as ‘mummy’, ‘daddy’ and ‘juice’
You can help your baby by:
- talking to your baby from the moment they are born. This will encourage them to listen to language, even though they don’t understand the words
- naming familiar objects during your daily routine so that your baby learns what they are called
- keeping your language clear and simple, try using shorter sentences
- using gestures to add meaning to words like using a drinking gesture when talking about cups
Activities you can do with your baby to improve their understanding of language:
Using a sing-song voice to get your baby interested in what you are saying
Talking to your baby about they different activities they do during the day such as eating or having a bath
Using actions and gestures when you speak to your baby for example pretend to drive when talking about a car or waving when saying “bye-bye!”
Singing action songs and rhymes with your child, such as ‘Wind the bobbin up’ and ‘The wheels on the bus’.
By 2 years old, toddlers will usually:
- know and understand 200-500 words
- understand a range of simple instructions, such as “get your shoes”
- understand simple questions, such as “Where’s your ball?”
- enjoy and remember action songs/rhymes
You can help your toddler by:
- ensuring your toddler is looking at you when you talk to them
- naming familiar objects during your everyday routine so your toddler learns what they are called
- using gestures to add meaning to words like using a drinking gesture when you say “Get your cup” instead of pointing to it
- watching and listening to what your toddler is doing and saying so you can comment on it
- using gestures and objects to support what you are saying and help your toddler understand the language they are hearing
- giving your toddler choices from two or three items, such as “Do you want a banana or an apple?”
Activities you can do with your toddler to improve their understanding of language:
Talking about everyday activities such as making dinner as this will help your toddler to link the language you are using with the world around them.
Looking at books together and describing what you can see. Reading interactive books such as ‘Life-the-flap’ books are great for this age group. You also don’t have to stick to just reading the books word for word.
Singing action songs and rhymes with your toddler, such as ‘Wind the bobbin up’ and ‘The wheels on the bus’. This will help them learn about the rhythm of language.
Playing with your toddler and letting them take the lead. Comment on what they are doing, ensuring your giving lots of pauses. This will give your toddler time to respond or start a conversation themselves.
By 3 years old, toddlers will usually:
- understand instructions and questions relating to the present tense (here and now)
- understand longer instruction with two key words or ideas such as “get your cup and plate” or “make dolly sit”
- understand simple what, who and where questions like “who is that?” or “where are mummy’s shoes?”
- follow and remember simple stories
You can help your toddler by:
- ensuring your child is looking at you when you talk to them
- naming familiar objects during your everyday routine so your child learns what they are called
Activities you can do with your child to improve their understanding of language:
Letting your child help with chores and jobs around the home. Talk about what you can see and what you are doing together.
Looking at books together. Talk to your child about what they can see or what the characters are doing. Encourage your child to join in with actions or words and phrases from the story.
Reading the same stories to your child regularly. The repetition helps your child to understand and hear the language that they hear.
Singing action songs and rhymes with your child, such as ‘Wind the bobbin up’ and ‘The wheels on the bus’. This will help them learn about the rhythm of language.
Talking with your child about things that are in the ‘here and now’. This is things that they can see and hear. Remember to leave lots pauses. This gives your child time to respond or start a conversation themselves.
By 4 years old, toddlers will usually:
- understand words relating to the position, colour, size and number of an object, for example “on the table”, “the big red ball” and “2 bananas”
- understanding questions that relating to the here and now such as “who is sitting on the chair”, “which one is green?” and “what do we cut paper with?”
- understand simple instructions
- understand instructions with 3 key words or ideas
- show an interest and amusement from simple jokes
You can help your toddler by:
- ensuring your child is looking at you when you talk to them
- naming familiar objects during your everyday routine so your child learns what they are called
- giving your child longer instructions for them to follow
- using more comments than questions with your child, try to make 4 comments to every 1 question
Activities you can do with your child to improve their understanding of language:
Playing games that involve using words for the position (in, on, under), size (big, small), number and colour of objects.
Playing with your child and letting them take the lead. Comment on what they are doing, ensuring your giving lots of pauses. This will give your child time to respond or start a conversation themselves. Remember to make 4 comments for every 1 question.
Describe characters from a familiar story and see if your child can tell you who you are talking about.
Talking with your child about things that are in the ‘here and now’. This will be “Who?”, “what?” and “where?” questions. Remember to leave lots pauses. This gives your child time to respond or start a conversation themselves.
By 5 years old, children will usually:
- follow 2-part instructions and follow instructions with 4 to 5 key words
- answer ‘wh’ questions like who, where, what and when
- understand sequencing and order words such as first, after and last
- predict simple actions like what will happen next
- understand simple humour
- categorise items and pick the odd one out
- understand more complex describing words and position words like above, below, between
You can help your child by:
- breaking down instructions into shorter chunks to avoid presenting too much information at once
- give your child more time to respond and pausing between instructions
- repeating instructions or questions once, if your child still doesn’t understand try making them simpler and give extra support like gestures or visuals
- repeating instructions directly to your child to check if they have understood what they need to do
Activities you can do with your child to improve their understanding of language:
Talking as you walk or travel. As you’re travelling, you can take some time to look around and comment on what you see and hear. For example ‘Wow, here comes a big bus. It’s full of people. Lots of mummies and daddies…’. Make sure you’re excited as you talk!
By 7 years old, children will usually:
- confidently follow classroom instructions
- answer who, what, when, where, why, how questions appropriately
- easily learn new words
- understand early concepts
You can help your child by:
- breaking down instructions into shorter chunks to avoid presenting too much information at once
- give your child more time to respond and pausing between instructions
- repeating instructions or questions once, if your child still doesn’t understand try making them simpler and give extra support like gestures or visuals
- repeating instructions directly to your child to check if they have understood what they need to do
- supporting your child’s ability to problem solve, justify and come to conclusions
Activities you can do with your child to improve their understanding of language:
Playing ‘Simon Says’. Whoever is ‘Simon’ gives out instructions such as “Simon says... touch your toes!”. The children must only perform the action if the sentence has “Simon says” at the start. For example, if you say, “Touch your nose!” they should stand still and not touch their nose. This will encourage your child to focus and listen to the words before moving.
Playing “Bring me…”. This is where you ask your child to bring you things by either describing the way they look, where you’d find the object or what you would do with the object. You could ask your child to bring you items based on a topic they are studying at school (e.g. minibeasts – bring me something that can fly, bring me something you’d find under a rock) If you cannot collect object, you can use pictures.
Between 7 to 11 years old, children will usually:
- confidently follow classroom instructions
- answer who, what, when, where, why, how questions appropriately
- easily learn new words
- answer questions that require reasoning, problem solving and prediction like “What would you do if…”
- develop abstract understanding for example understanding humour, metaphors, and idioms
- ‘read between the lines’ or understand that information is being implied but not stated, this is also known as inferential skills
You can help your child by:
- breaking down instruction into shorter chunks to avoid presenting too much information at once
- give your child more time to respond and pausing between instructions
- repeating instructions or questions once, if your child still doesn’t understand try making them simpler and give extra support like gestures or visuals
- repeating instructions directly to your child to check if they have understood what they need to do
- encouraging your child’s attempt at wanting clarification
- encouraging your child to use strategies that help them process the language they have heard, such as repeating back or identifying important words in an instruction
Activities you can do with your child to improve their understanding of language:
Using a task planner. A task plan is a visual representation of what they child needs to do in a specific activity. Use the task planner before starting the activity, this will help you check how much your child has understood. Explain each step of the task and write a list as you explain to your child. You can use symbols or drawings if needed.
Between 11 and 19 years old, young people and teenagers will usually:
- have flexible attention which can be maintained for long periods
- be choosy about what they listen to and can combine listening with other tasks
- be able to easily combine visual and audio information for example looking at diagrams or pictures whilst listening to a speaker about a wider topic
- be able to listen without looking at the source or speaker for example finishing an activity while listening for the next instruction
- be able to be taught in a group
- be able to pick out key pieces of information from long spoken instructions
Activities you can do with your young person or teenager to improve their understanding of language:
Using a task planner. A task plan is a visual representation of what they child needs to do in a specific activity. Use the task planner before starting the activity, this will help you check how much your child has understood. Explain each step of the task and write a list as you explain to your child. You can use symbols or drawings if needed
How to help your young person or teenager
If you have concerns about your young person or teenager's use of language, get in touch with their school or education setting. They will be able to help with your young person or teenager and, if necessary, refer your young person or teenager onto the Cambridgeshire Children's Speech and Language team.
Last reviewed: 1 November, 2023
Who can help
If you have concerns about your child’s language development you may want to discuss this with:
- your health visitor if your child is under 5 years old
- the staff at your child’s school if your child is in school.
They may have helpful suggestions to improve your child’s understanding.
You can Call Us on 0300 029 50 50 or Text Us on 07520 649887 to start a conversation.
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