The world of preschoolers is full of wonder, excitement, and lots of conversation. This era of childhood can be marked by the neverending question of “why?” Why do I have a belly button? Why do we eat food? Why does the sun go away at night? A child’s vocabulary expands between age 2 and age 6 from about 200 words to over 10,000 words through a process called fast-mapping. Words are easily learned by making connections between new words and concepts already known. This can be explained by the rapid growth of the brain and connection between the two halves.

Culture and specific language factors continue to play a part in the way children learn and use language. The parts of speech that are learned depend on the language and what is emphasized. For example, children speaking verb-friendly languages, such as Chinese and Japanese, tend to learn nouns more readily. In contrast, those learning less verb-friendly languages such as English, seem to need assistance in grammar to master the use of verbs (Imai et al., 2008).

Children can repeat words and phrases after having heard them only once or twice, but they do not always understand the meaning of the words or phrases. This is especially true of expressions or figures of speech, which children tend to take literally. For example, if a classroom full of preschoolers hears the teacher say, “Wow! That was a piece of cake,” the children are likely to respond, “Cake? Where is my cake? I want cake!”

Children learn the rules of grammar as they learn language, but they may apply these rules too generally. This process is known as overregulation. For instance, after learning to add “ed” to the end of a word to indicate past tense, a child may form a sentence such as “I goed there. I doed that.” This is typical at ages two and three and is a sign of increasing intelligence. Children will soon learn new words, such as “went” and “did,” to be used in those situations.

As proposed by Vygotsky’s zone of proximal development, children can be assisted in learning language by others who listen attentively, model more accurate pronunciations, and encourage elaboration. For example, if a child exclaims, “I’m goed there!” an adult could respond, “You went there? Say, ‘I went there.’ Where did you go?” Children may be ripe for language, as Chomsky suggests, but active participation in helping them learn is also important for language development.

Multilingualism

Hearing two or more languages at home is commonplace around the world. It is estimated that around 67.8 million people speak a language other than English within the United States alone, and that this number is increasing, particularly in Spanish and Chinese speakers (Dietrich & Hernandez, 2022). Children who learn and speak in two or more languages experience distinct impacts on brain development, such as increased activity of executive functions, as compared to monolingual speakers (I-LABS, 2016). This increase in function can be explained by the child switching back and forth between languages, which requires them to pay close attention, ignore irrelevant information, and practice working memory (I-LABS, 2016; Gross et al., 2014).

In Chapter 4, we discussed that the ability to learn in multiple languages begins in the womb. Prenatal babies can distinguish distinct sounds and tones and are drawn to those that align with their mother’s native language. Studies show that monolingual babies demonstrate decreased perception of sound at around 11 months of age, which means that they cannot discriminate foreign language sounds as easily as when they were younger (I-LABS, 2016). Children, and adults, are capable of learning other languages, but early exposure results in faster language acquisition, as well as the ability to sound like a native speaker.

It is important to note that speaking more than one language has social and cultural advantages as well. Being able to communicate with family members who can only speak one language is vital to strengthening family bonds and retaining cultural heritage. Also, being multilingual means that one can connect to a larger number of people, such as through travel or within the workplace. Unfortunately, there are many factors that can impact a child’s ability to successfully learn and communicate in more than one language. Going back to Bronfenbrenner’s systems theory, multilingual language development is subject to the larger forces in society, such as social attitudes, policies, and practices.

Global research demonstrates that a bilingual child’s language and academic success are impacted by how the language is supported in school (Winsler et al., 1999). Despite the obvious benefits to multilingualism, bilingual education continues to be a controversial subject in the United States. Attitudes and beliefs around immigration and national identity may limit bilingual educational opportunities or add stress to families who seek to retain their native language (Rowe & Weisleder, 2020). A study of Spanish-speaking immigrant parents in the United States found that social influences and the political discourse around bilingual learning often undermined their efforts to retain the home language (Surrain 2018). Furthermore, children may avoid using their native language in favor of English (Hoff, 2018).

Race and ethnicity are additional factors that can impact multilingual learning. For example, White children who are English speaking may be celebrated for learning a second language. They may have access to better quality bilingual education in their schools, as well as more support. Research by Flores and Rosa (2015) notes that racial and ethnic identity plays a role in how language abilities are evaluated. Immigrant children with similar or higher levels of bilingualism to White children may be viewed as a challenge within the educational system, while their White counterparts are viewed more favorably (Flores & Rosa, 2015).

Language and Communication Milestones

Preschoolers are achieving major advancements in their ability to use language thanks to their growing cognitive skills and social interactions. They are becoming great conversationalists and can easily communicate with others during this time of their lives. Figure 7.5 shows common language milestones for children 3–6 years old. It is important to note that each child develops language skills in their own way and may not follow the progression outlined in the following table.

Licenses and Attributions for Language Development

“Language Development” from Lifespan Development – A Psychological Perspective by Martha Lally and Suzanne Valentine-French is licensed under CC BY 4.0; minor edits; added introduction.

“Multilingualism” by Christina Belli is licensed under CC BY 4.0.

“Language and Communication Milestones” by Christina Belli is licensed under CC BY 4.0.

Figure 7.5. Developmental Milestones by the CDC, 2022 is in the public domain.