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What is language development?
Language development is the process through which children acquire the ability to process speech and communicate. During this process, a child may slowly understand basic linguistic patterns and expand their vocabulary gradually before achieving fluency. Although the stages of language development are universal, the rate at which each child progresses can vary. Certain factors can influence a child's language learning capabilities, including motivation, environment, gender and physical development.

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Why is language development important?
As a teacher, child care provider or speech-language pathologist, your understanding of the stages of language development helps you promote a child’s healthy development. You can create goals for them and intervene if they haven’t achieved the proper milestones for their age. Here are some other reasons why language development is important:

Promote social interaction

Language development plays a key role in how well a child is able to interact with friends, family and other members of society. Well-developed language can improve a child's ability to engage in social interactions, meaning that their social and interpersonal skills can also develop as they learn how to use language effectively. It's important to pay attention to how well children develop language to ensure they can function effectively in a social setting.

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Improve cognitive development
Learning a new language aids in brain development and increases intelligence and creativity in children. Children who have more developed language skills often have less risk of cognitive impairment and may find it easier to understand basic concepts, which can help them in school when learning how to read and write. Because of this, encouraging healthy language development is important to promote a child's ability to learn.

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Aid self-expression
Language development allows children to express themselves and communicate with siblings, parents and babysitters daily. Outside of the home, kids benefit from language skills to express themselves while playing with friends or while participating in class and interacting with teachers at school. When kids can express themselves through language, social interactions and everyday life can become easier for them.

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Enhance literacy
Proper language development is necessary for a child's literacy skills so that they can comprehend books and school assignments. It's also important for children to understand instructions from teachers and subject material in class. For example, a student can only understand how to perform basic mathematical problems if they can identify and follow the directions. If you're a special needs teacher, knowing how to help students with language development issues can improve their learning abilities and enhance their academic performance.

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Improve self-esteem
Well-developed language skills can help improve self-esteem. When children find they can use their language skills effectively, they may have more motivation to interact with others. It can also help them have more confidence in their schoolwork. If a child can communicate with their peers, they are likely to have higher self-esteem because they can make friends more easily and may also be more successful at getting jobs in the future. If you're a child psychologist, for example, your work might involve helping children with language development issues to improve their self-confidence.

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What are the stages of language development?
Here are the main stages of language development in children:

1. Pre-linguistic stage

Also known as the pre-linguistic stage, the first stage of language development often occurs between zero and six months. Children in this phase don't have developed language skills, so they communicate with sounds. They cry, make cooing sounds and utter nasal murmurs as their vocal tracts develop. Infants can also recognize voices and sounds in addition to facial expressions and voice tones.

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2. Babbling stage
The second stage of a child's language development happens between the ages of 6 and 9 months. Children begin to babble, making noises and syllables that aren’t yet words. Mouth muscles and teeth grow to prepare children for more advanced talking.

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3. Holophrastic stage
The third phase of language development, also known as the holophrastic stage, usually happens between the ages of 9 and 18 months. During this time, their language skills usually have increased enough for them to say single words that describe objects or identify their basic needs. For instance, a child in this stage might say "dada" as a way of getting their dad's attention.

4. Two-word stage

During this stage, the child can speak two-word sentences that usually have some meaning. They group words together that they learned during the holophrastic stage. Some examples may include:

Saying "more food" at the table

Saying "doggy small" to describe a dog
Saying "thank mom!" to show appreciation
5. Telegraphic stage
The telegraphic stage occurs between the ages of 24 and 30 months. Children can speak phrases that are not only longer but also have more than two elements. For instance, a child might say “The cat stand up on the table.” Correct grammar still isn’t prevalent in this stage, but the sentence conveys that the cat is standing up in addition to being on the table. The child also develops the ability to understand basic instructions, including two-part orders like "go to your table and get your books."

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6. Multi-word stage
Beyond 30 months, children enter the multi-word stage. They build increasingly complex sentences that allow them to better communicate their ideas. They also start to incorporate morphemes to make more semantically sound phrases. For instance, they know to use the word “dogs” instead of “dog” when referring to more than one dog. The telegraphic stage occurs between the ages of 24 and 30 months. Language acquisition is a key educational goal of any English language learner (ELL). In order to ensure ELLs are on track, it’s crucial that parents and teachers understand the stages of language acquisition for ELLs and how they differ from the stages of first language acquisition. Let’s take a deeper look at the stages as well as techniques for teaching at every step of the way.

Stages of First Language Acquisition

When we talk about ELL stages of language acquisition, a common point of reference is the stages of first language acquisition that nearly all babies go through. While the two processes differ significantly, having an understanding of how children learn a language is key to ELL success.

Pre-Talking

This stage takes place from birth to around six months of age. During this time, the child does not speak but is beginning to understand short words and phrases that are central to their needs and interests.

Babbling
The babbling phase occurs from around six to eight months old. In this phase, the infant begins to “babble” and makes noises and syllables that are not yet words. Physically, teeth begin to appear and the muscles in the mouth required for speech begin to develop.

Holophrastic

The holophrastic stage is significantly longer, occurring between nine and eighteen months old. During this phase, the infant begins to learn and speak single words. In the beginning, these words are strongly centered around basic needs and interests as well as names or identifiers like “mama” and “dada.”

Two-Word
This stage takes place from eighteen to twenty-four months old. Once children have developed single-word speech, they begin to pair groups of words together into mini-sentences and phrases like “I want” or “give me.”

Telegraphic

The telegraphic stage takes place from two to three years old. Over time, children begin to expand their two-word phrases into short sentences. They also begin to utilize lexical morphemes to make the words they use fit the sentence. For example, they understand to use the plural form of “boys” instead of “boy” when referring to a group of boys.

Multiword

Past the age of three, most children fall into the multiword stage. In this final stage of language acquisition, children now learn to use functional morphemes to change the meaning of the words they use. Examples include the words but, in, the, and that.