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speech and language milestones, ages 3 to 5 years

overview

speech and language development milestones relate to two areas:

  • receptive language. this is the ability to understand words and sounds.
  • expressive language. this is the ability to use speech and gestures to communicate meaning.

a child's speech and language development becomes more advanced starting around age 3 through age 5. receptive language skills during this period become more sophisticated. a child learns to make subtle distinctions between objects and relationships. also, the child can understand multi-step requests. most children also gradually speak more fluently and use proper grammar more consistently.

speech and language milestones

age

receptive language

expressive language

3-year-olds:

  • follow two-part requests, such as "put your pyjamas in the hamper and your slippers in the closet."
  • learn new words quickly; know most common object names.
  • understand the concept of "two."
  • understand gender differences.
  • know their own full name.
  • start to correctly use plurals, pronouns, and prepositions more consistently.
  • often ask "why" and "what."
  • often use complete sentences of 3 to 4 words.

4-year-olds:

  • know the names of colours.
  • understand the difference between things that are the same and things that are different, such as the difference between children and grown-ups.
  • can follow three-step instructions, such as "go to the sink, wash your hands, and dry them on the towel."
  • use the past tense of words.
  • use sentences of 5 to 6 words.
  • can describe something that has happened to them or tell a short story.
  • can speak clearly enough to be intelligible to strangers almost all of the time.

5-year-olds:

  • understand relationships between objects, such as "the girl who is playing ball" and "the boy who is jumping rope."
  • usually can carry on a conversation with another person.
  • often call people (or objects) by their relationship to others, such as "bobby's mom" instead of "mrs. smith."
  • can define words such as "spoon" and "cat."

credits

current as of: october 24, 2023

author: healthwise staff
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