 All children acquire language in different ways and learn at different rates. These are the stages. Pre-verbal (0-11months) Babbling (7-11 months) Holophrastic (11-18months) Telographic ( years) Multi word stage(2.5 years onwards)

 The pre-verbal stage is in between the ages of 0 to 11 months. This stage could be often overlooked by parents because their child isn’t actually producing language, but if your a believer of the behaviourists approach, then you will agree that your child is learning and imitating your behaviour right throughout this stage. Linguists also believe that language acquisition starts well before the child actually speaks, they believe it begins from the moment the child is born. Some people believe that their child begins acquiring language when they produce there first words at about 12 months, but before this time, they are still learning and acquiring, so speaking and teaching your child names of object right through this stage is still very important.

 The babbling stage is the second stage that your child will go through. This stage usually happens between the ages of 7-11 months, this is stage overlaps with the preverbal stage, during this stage, children will begin making sounds and murmurs. Children learn that they need language to get food and other this of interest and also to alert caretakers and other people of discomfort or problems. Later in language acquisition language skills can be put into the following groups; to learn to speak a word a child must have an image of it in their mind They must realise that language is a tool to get what they want. The sound equipment in their throats must be developed. They need to learn the social context of language.

 This stage is also referred to as the “one word stage,” this usually happens between months. The words that the child will begin to produce in this stage are words such as mama, dada, teddy and juice, these words are common because they are what are used in everyday interactions. When a child says a word such as “juice” it can mean a range of things, for example, I want juice I dropped my juice I don’t want anymore juice I like juice I don’t like juice

 This stage can also be referred to as the “two word stage” this is when sentence have more development, it usually happens between 1.5 years and 2.5 years of age. During this stage, the child will being to build on one word phrases, and instead of saying “doggie,” they will add to it and say things like;  “Look doggie”  “Pat doggie”  “Walk doggie”  “Big doggie”

 When your child has reached the multi word stage, they are well on the way to developing a widened vocabulary. This stage develops from 2.5 years and onwards. Throughout this stage, the child will begin to add additional morphemes in between the words so they are forming fuller sentences. so from saying “Look Doggie,” they will progress to “look at the doggie.” Then after they have mastered simple sentences, they can move on to forming complex sentences and compound sentences.

 Many people carry concerns if there child isn’t explicitly learning and acquiring at this rate. Parents need to understand that these are only guide lines and all children acquire at different rates.

 Is the language acquisition process the same for all children? - yes, every child acquires language in the same way regardless of what language it is, for children, to acquire a language, it can be compared to playing a game, they know to know and obey the rules before they can play. To learn a language, it involves a gradual process and many mistakes. In the beginning, children will imitate their caretakers, but by the age of about 3, they will begin acting and speaking like their friends.  Do all children learn at the same rate? -No, children do not acquire at the same rates. In fact in it quite different within each child. Learning a language isn’t meant to be competitive, so don’t push your child they are only competing with themselves. If your child seems slower, then this might not mean that they aren’t acquiring language, it may just mean that they are acquiring it in a different way to other children.

 Where can you learn more about language acquisition? -David Crystal's book Listen to your Child: A Parent's Guide to Children's Language (Penguin, 1989) this book is entertaining in describing what children do with their own language learning. -Eve Clark's book First Language Acquisition (Cambridge University Press, 2003) is a more technical -- description child language development.

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