Assessment and Analysis Guide of Language Development- Oral Language

Articulation: Ability to pronounce words and to understand speech sounds.

Watch for: pronunciation and enunciation; deletion of sounds (nana for banana); substitution of sounds (dis for this).

Most children:

• May repeat initial consonant vowel in multisyllabic words (gege for cookie); delete unstressed syllables (nana for banana); replace fricatives’ hissing sounds with stop consonants (tea for sea, tay for say); replace liquid sounds (l and r) with glides (w or j)—(wed for red, yewwo for yellow, jap for lap); reduce consonant clusters (pay for play, tain for train); pronounce vowel sounds and p (pin), b (big), m (mama), w (want), h (house) correctly. (2–3 yrs.)
• Have few mispronunciations; still replace liquid sounds; pronounce d (dog), k (cat), g (gone), f (feet), n (no), ng (swing).
• Are 90% intelligible; have mastered most sounds, including sh (ship), s (sit), ch (chip), v (very), r (run), l (lamp).
• Are 100% intelligible; can pronounce z (zip), th (this, thin), j (jump), zh (sure). (7–8 yrs.)

Vocabulary: Understanding word and sentence meaning.

Watch for: use and understanding of words and sentences; literal versus abstract meanings; use of jokes and humor.

Receptive level/comprehension vocabulary much larger (for example, 3–4 years receptive = 1,500 words, expressive = 600–1,000 words).

Most children:

• Understand possessives, common verbs, adjectives; understand function of many common nouns (“What do you write with?”). (2–3 yrs.)
• Follow complex three-step commands; interpret words literally (“She’s a cold person,” meaning she feels cold).
• Understand polite forms (Would you like to sit down?).
• Understand indirect speech acts (“It’s cold outside,” meaning it’s cold next to the window); words less literally (“She’s a cold person,” meaning she does not express affection); jokes based on phonological ambiguity—play on sounds (“What do you call a cow that eats grass? A lawn-moo-er”).
• Appreciate jokes based on puns or double meanings of words—lexical ambiguity (“What did the grape say when the elephant stepped on it? It just let out a little ‘wine’ ”); understand the difference between promise and tell, ask and tell. (6–7 yrs.)

Grammar: Ability to use the rules of grammar to produce sentences.

Watch for: number of words used in an utterance; types of words used (nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs); verb tenses used (present, present progressive, simple past, complex past, future); use of negatives (not, -n’t); types of questions asked (simple: “What are you doing?”; tag questions: “This is yours, isn’t it?”); coordinating conjunctions such as and to join two sentences (“The car was red and it made a lot of noise.”); verb phrases (“He wanted to eat dinner.”); embedded clauses (“I know he went home.”); indirect object–direct object constructions (“Taylor gave me the toy.”); passive voice (“The gingerbread man was eaten by the fox.”); infinitive phrases (“Marcia is easy to please.”); pronoun and referent (“When he liked you, he was nice.”)

Most children:

• Use present progressive tense (-ing); prepositions (on, in); plural nouns (dogs); verb “be” with adjective (“He is fun”); prepositions (in, for, from, with, to); noun phrases (“The book of dogs”); articles (a, an, the); regular past tense (walked); third-person regular present tense (he reads it); irregular present tense (has, does); contractions with “be” (He’s tall); overregularizations, such as wented, fellded, footes, mens, and mouses. Some children use negations (-n’t, not); questions (“What he doing?” “Where she going?”). (2–3 yrs.)
• Can use complex sentences with and and wh clauses (what, who, why, where, or when) (“I don’t know where it is.”). Most children use question forms with inverted auxiliary verb (“What are you doing?”), negations (-n’t, not).
• Use three- to four-syllable words; more adjectives, adverbs, and conjunctions; four- to six-word sentences. Ask meaning of words.
• Use long complex sentences (more than six words); clauses (“The man who lived next door.”); pronouns with referent (“After he ate, Bill went home.”); passive voice with more than one attribute (“This is taller and thinner.”); indirect requests (“Can I interest you in some cake?”); a variety of semantic structures to express the same idea; use grammar consciously and can describe why something is or is not correct (metalinguistic awareness). (5 yrs. and older)

Conversational skills: Ability to engage in effective and appropriate conversations with others.

Watch for: the number of times child takes turns talking; appropriate turn-taking (doesn’t interrupt, distract); sensitivity to listener’s needs (clarification of unclear utterances); adjustments in speech with context (peers, teacher, younger children, or when playing different roles); manner of introducing new conversation topics (gradually or abruptly); ability to understand humor, irony, and sarcasm; use of different forms of speech, such as polite forms (“May I please have some?”), indirect forms (“Would you mind if I looked at it?”), and current slang.

Most children:

• Can sustain conversations for two turns (respond to previous utterances); change tone of voice when playing “baby”; use language as a tool (i.e., make a request, get attention of others, assert rights). (2–3 yrs.)
• Sustain conversations for three to four turns; understand intent of indirect requests for action; revise speech when asked (primarily by pointing); ask others to clarify ambiguous sentences; change speech used when playing stereotypic roles (doctor, mother, father); use some slang; more adept at using language as a tool; use polite forms; monitor conversations and make comments; project beyond present and create images for play.
• Carry on complex conversations (six turns or more); change conversation by modifying topic gradually; use slang with peers; use deference when making requests from adults; use subtle cues in speech to adjust to, convey, and maintain social status; adjust speech depending on need of listener (can judge when to add more detail); are sophisticated at using language as a tool. (5 yrs. and older)