Expressive language refers to your child's ability to communicate his or her thoughts, feelings, wants, and ideas effectively. Expressive language typically refers to verbal language but also can include nonverbal communication such as pointing, gesturing, body language, and sign language. Skills that demonstrate strong expressive language skills include: naming a variety of familiar items, using concepts to describe or tell locations (ex: under, on top, next to), describing the function of items (ex: You write with a pencil, you sleep in a bed, etc), and asking questions to obtain more information from a communicative partner. In addition, children are expected to use a variety of word combinations. The table below summarizes utterance length expectations based on age:
Source:
Compiled form Brown (1973)
At home, work on expressive language can be easily incorporated into your day:
Stage
|
Length of Utterance
|
Approximate Age (in months)
|
I
|
1.0-2.0
|
12-26
|
II
|
2.0-2.5
|
27-30
|
III
|
2.5-3.0
|
31-34
|
IV
|
3.0-3.75
|
35-40
|
V
|
3.75-4.5
|
41-46
|
V+
|
4.5+
|
47+
|
- Pause after speaking. The additional pause time provides your child an opportunity to contribute to the conversational by repeating something you said, producing his/her thoughts independently, or asking questions.
- When reading to your child allow chances for him/her to ask questions, name/describe items in pictures and predict what happens next. Use books with repetitive phrasing and pause to let your child fill in the missing words.
- Music is a great tool for encouraging language production. Sometimes children who are just beginning to develop expressive language might be able to imitate sounds before words. Many children's songs incorporate sound play within the lyrics.
- Expand upon your child's productions in order to model language. For example, if your child says "cat" you can say "Yes, a little, black cat." Provide these models for your child in a natural, conversational manner, without expecting him/her to repeat you.
- Use open-ended questions in order to encourage your child to use expanded language. For example, instead of saying "Did you have fun at school today?" ask "What toys did you play with at school?" or "What did your teacher read about today?"
- Provide frequent opportunities for your child to become exposed to new vocabulary and new examples of familiar vocabulary. For example, if you have a dog at home, point out different dogs in the neighborhood highlighting similarities and differences (ex: Our dog is big, this one is little).
- Practice categorizing with your child's toys. For example, you can sort animals, vehicles, and foods. Explain why things do/do not belong in a particular category (ex: "The apple doesn't go with the animals because it is something you eat.")
Here are some links which include additional home activities, ideas and resources for addressing expressive language skills at home:
