Answer:
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 “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.
