If you’ve spent much time around young children, you’ve probably
had conversations like this:
“Look, Briana! A balloon! A big red balloon floating in the air. Can you say
balloon?”
“Baaboo!”
“Yes, balloon! Isn’t it a pretty balloon?
Do you like the balloon?” “Baallooo.... Baallooo. . .”
During the first year of life, conversations with Briana usually follow a
pattern. Mom and dad point to different objects and say “flower,” “cat” or
“bear.” Briana looks and babbles in a way that begins to sound like words.
Then, around the time she turns one, it finally happens. Briana says her
first real word. And for the next six months or so, Briana slowly builds her
vocabulary as she practices saying words over and over again.
Sometime around 18-24 months, her parents notice an amazing change.
Briana not only looks at the objects being pointed out to her, but she also
starts naming the name after hearing them only once or twice. “Book,” “dog,”
“kitty,” she says. She even tries out an entirely new phrase. “What’s that?”
she asks, pointing at the helicopter. “What's that?” she demands, waving
toward a tree.
Suddenly, it seems like the questions never stop coming. More than that,
Briana remembers the answers. What used to take weeks of patient repetition
now seems to take only one quick reply. It’s a ball, a cat or a cookie, and
she doesn’t need to be told twice.
A rush of words.
Sometime around the age of 18 months many children experience what
researchers call a “word spurt” (also known as a word or naming
explosion). Word spurt is an increase in the rate at which children
learn to say new words. (Hoff, 2001; Goldfield & Reznick, 1990) In other
words, the young child is learning new words quickly and many of these
new words are names of objects! Around 18 months, when many children can
say about 50 words, most children also begin using new words after
hearing them only once. Whether children learn words in a rush or more
slowly, by the time they reach their second birthdays, they’re typically
using around 250 to 350 words. Only six months later the word total
nearly doubles to about 600 words. (Fenson et al., 1994))
Researchers have noted that the words learned during a spurt are often
names of objects. For example, cup, ball, baby doll. And they are
learning why they suddenly start coming fast when children are about a
year and a half old. (Hoff, 2001)
Pass the "lep".
Children use special strategies to learn language. For example, one
experiment tested the ability of 16- to 20-month olds to learn new
words after hearing them just once, something researchers call “fast
mapping.” (Mervis & Bertrand, 1994)
The
scientists showed children a group of five objects. Four of the
objects were familiar to each child: a ball, a car, some keys and a
dog, for example. The fifth object was new—a garlic press or other
kitchen tool. The researcher then asked the child for one of the
familiar items; for instance, “May I have the ball?” Once the child
pointed to or grabbed the ball, the researcher asked another question,
“May I have the lep?” Children who could “fast map” knew that the new
word “lep” referred to the “new” object in the
collection, the garlic press. At some point, children learn that “new”
words refer to “new” objects. (Mervis & Bertrand, 1994)
The researchers found that the children who could learn words this way
had bigger vocabularies than those who couldn’t, which meant that
these children had probably gone through a word spurt. A follow-up
study of the children who originally could not learn words this way
showed that once their vocabularies had grown, they too could learn by
fast mapping. The results suggest that fast mapping and the word spurt
are closely related to one another. (Mervis & Bertrand, 1994)
Gaining insight.
So how do children develop the ability to learn a word after hearing
it only once? Some researchers think that children gain new insights
into words and language when they are around 18 months old. Most
believe that children come to two realizations: Words are names for
objects, and every object has a name. Scientists call this new
understanding the “naming insight.” (Gopnik & Meltzoff, 1997)
In addition, some scientists think that when young children realize
that all objects have names, they also begin sorting objects that are
similar into categories. In one experiment, children were shown a pile
of eight objects, with four objects of one type (like small plastic
boxes) and four objects of another type (four balls). Then the
researchers watched what these same children did from ages 15 months
to about 20 months. (Gopnik & Meltzoff, 1997)
At around 16 months, many of the children would point to all the balls
or all the boxes, and some would put all items of one type together.
But by 17 to 18 months, the children would make two separate piles,
one with the balls and one with the boxes (This experiment also used
different types of dolls and cars.). When the children were younger
they seemed to recognize the differences between the objects, but only
when they were older did they actively sort the objects into separate
categories. And this active sorting was strongly related to the
children’s word spurt. (Gopnik and Meltzoff, 1987)
Research shows that parents and caregivers can play an important role
in a child’s word learning. Researchers have found that parents who
talk often to their children and use a rich vocabulary to name and
describe things help their children develop a larger vocabulary. (Hart
& Risley, 1995)
Helpful Parenting Tips
Whether or not your child experiences a word spurt is probably not
something you can control. Many children show these spurts, but some
children don’t and they still learn to speak normally.
Talk to
your child often. Point out the cats, balls and other objects in her
life. Talk about what you’re doing throughout the day. Follow her
lead and describe the things she points to. Even if she doesn’t
answer right away, she’s still listening and learning.
As children learn new words, they may not get them quite right at first.
Don’t feel like you need to correct them right away. Help them by repeating the
word after they say it, so that they can hear it again.
Help build a child’s vocabulary by adding details to the objects and events
of the day. For example, if the child says “ball” you could add, “Yes, that’s
right, it’s a ball. It’s a red ball that bounces.” Don’t be afraid to use a rich
vocabulary when you talk about things.
Tired of talking? Try reading. While exposing your child to language outside
your own day-to-day vocabulary doesn’t guarantee she’ll learn new words, it may
help. And it can be a fun way to be close to your child.
Remember that children recognize and understand many more words than they
can say.
Learning language is an amazing achievement. Celebrate the new words
children learn! Remember also that children vary when it comes to
vocabulary growth. Before long, your child will be putting words and
sentences together, giving you new ways to share in his or her thoughts,
feelings and dreams.
References:
Fenson, L., Dale,
P. S., Reznick, J. S., Bates, E., Thal, D. J., & Pethick, S. J.
(1994). Variability in early communicative development. Monographs
of the Society for Research in Child Development, 59(5, Serial No.
242), 1-189.
Goldfield, B. A.,
& Reznick, J. S. (1990). Early lexical acquisition: Rate, content,
and the vocabulary spurt. Journal of Child Language, 17(1),
171-183.
Gopnik, A., &
Meltzoff, A. N. (1987). The development of categorization in the
second year and its relation to other cognitive and linguistic
developments. Child Development, 58, 1523-1531.
Gopnik, A., &
Meltzoff, A. N. (197). Words, thoughts, and theories. Cambridge,
MA: MIT Press.
Hart, B., & Risley,
T. R. (1995). Meaningful differences in the everyday experiences
of young american children. Baltimore, MD: Paul H. Brooks
Publishing.
Hoff, E. (2001).
Language development (2nd ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth/Thomson
Learning.
Mervis, C. B., &
Bertrand, J. (1994). Acquisition of the novel name-nameless
category (n3c) principle. Child Development, 65(6), 1646-1662..
The
scientists showed children a group of five objects. Four of the
objects were familiar to each child: a ball, a car, some keys and a
dog, for example. The fifth object was new—a garlic press or other
kitchen tool. The researcher then asked the child for one of the
familiar items; for instance, “May I have the ball?” Once the child
pointed to or grabbed the ball, the researcher asked another question,
“May I have the lep?” Children who could “fast map” knew that the new
word “lep” referred to the “new” object in the 
