Language at One: A Snapshot
Kids grow up faster than a lot of us realise. By the time a child is 12 months of age, they typically achieve several communication milestones on the road to mastering English. They usually include:
Receptive Language (Understanding)
Understand about 10 spoken words.
Respond to their name when called.
Recognize basic greetings and gestures (e.g. "hi" and "bye-bye” waves).
Recognize a few familiar people and objects (e.g. mummy, daddy, car, ball).
Make basic levels of eye contact.
Points, waves, and shows or gives objects.
Imitates gestures to start social interaction or games, (e.g. blowing kisses, playing ‘peek-a-boo’).
Enjoys dancing.
Responds to simple words and phrases like “Go bye-bye” and “Look at Mommy.”
Expressive Language (Using/Speaking)
Start to use sounds, gestures, and say a few words.
Continue to babble/make approximate ‘proto-words’
Copies sounds and words you make and noises they hear around the house or out in the community.
Says one or two words (e.g. mama, dada, hi, and bye).
The above is great to keep in mind, but how do you actually promote language and encourage them to use it from day to day? Some tips to keep in mind are:
Tips & Tricks To Encourage Language
It's important to wait for the child to respond when talking to them, fostering their understanding and speaking abilities.
Try to get down on their level to encourage engagement.
Use their interests in play where you can.
Pay attention to your child’s hearing. Crying or ear pulling could mean ear problems or infections.
Respond to your child, look at them when they try to communicate with you.
Talk to them as you play. Copy their sounds.
Teach your baby to copy your actions (e.g. ‘peek-a-boo’, clapping, blowing kisses, and waving ‘bye-bye/hello’). This teaches turn-taking, using gestures, and facial expressions.
Talk about what is happening around you. Say things like “Dad is vacuuming.” and “You are eating a pear.”
Talk about basic WH-concepts (where, what, who) like “We are at the park.”, “That is a slide.” and “There is a kid sliding.”
Teach onomatopoeias (words that copy the sound they describe) like sheep go ‘baa’, hammer goes ‘bang’ on the nail.
Sing, dance, and read stories to your child every day.
Talk to your child in your most comfortable language (research shows that early exposure helps your child learn language best).
Above all, make the interaction fun! Make silly faces with them. Laugh when they do.
Please note the above information is general in nature and is not intended as professional medical advice. Please seek an appointment with a registered speech-language pathologist if you are at all worried about your child's development.
References:
Communication Milestones: Birth to 1 Year. (2024). American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. https://www.asha.org/public/developmental-milestones/communication-milestones-birth-to-1-year/
At 12 months. (2024). Speech Pathology Australia. www.speechpathologyaustralia.org.au. https://www.speechpathologyaustralia.org.au/Public/Public/Comm-swallow/Speech-development/At-12-months.aspx