Language and Literacy Development in Early Years
The sequence is LSRW
Listening, speaking, reading, writing - in that order. A nursery programme builds oral language first; formal writing waits for fine-motor and phonemic readiness, usually around 5–6 years.
Milestones
Cooing around 2 months; babbling at 4–6 months; first meaningful word near 12 months; about 50 words and two-word combinations by 18–24 months; short sentences and 300+ words by three years. Comprehension always runs ahead of production.
Explaining language
Chomsky's nativist view: an innate language acquisition device and a critical period. Skinner's behaviourist view: imitation, reinforcement and expansion. Vygotsky: language is learned in social interaction and later becomes inner speech. In practice both matter - rich input plus responsive adults.
Emergent literacy
- Phonological awareness: rhyme, syllable clapping, first-sound games.
- Print awareness: holding a book correctly, print carries meaning, environmental print.
- Letter knowledge and letter–sound links through play, sandpaper letters and sand-tray writing.
- Writing stages: scribble → letter-like forms → invented spelling → conventional spelling.
Worked example
A four-year-old says 'I goed school.' Response: recast - 'Yes, you went to school. Tell me what you did.' Recasting models the correct form without shaming the child or stopping the flow, which is what modelling and expansion theory recommend.
Traps
Correcting every error; starting cursive copying at three; assuming a bilingual child who mixes languages has a delay; treating rote alphabet recitation as reading; testing comprehension with written questions.