HOW TO MAKE THE MOST OF A Language Explosion
The 2-1-1 strategy and What 6 months of progress can look like
WHAT IS A LANGUAGE EXPLOSION?
For us speech gals, this is a really exciting time in childhood development!
Research shows that once a child’s vocabulary reaches about 50 words (about the age of 2), the capacity of their brain to learn new words kicks into gear and builds momentum. In other words, the rate they’re able to acquire new words accelerates.
Here are some facts:
Before the explosion, children learn 2-3 new words per week.
After the explosion, children can learn up to 10 words per day!
After the explosion, you’ll notice children begin to combine words into phrases like “mommy up”, “want juice”, “all done”.
Not all children have the same learning rhythm, but they follow a similar pattern of development.
This language increase happens at approximately 18 months, but it commonly occurs anywhere between 15 and 24 months.
No doubt about it. There is a significant correlation between the amount parents talk to their children and the impact it has on enhancing their vocabulary.
Let’s be real. Knowledge is kind of useless unless we take hold of it and apply it. So let’s talk about how we can maximize on a language explosion and really use it to our child’s benefit.
Considering this 1.5 - 2.5 age range, what could happen over the next 6 months?
Our Play Guide is perfect if you’re wanting to get started right away! And we can’t say it enough, these make great gifts for new moms, nannies, and caregivers.
If we were sitting together in a therapy room, here’s what I’d encourage you to use every week:
THE 2-1-1 GAME PLAN:
2 Basic Concepts + 1 Power Word + 1 Strategy
You can implement this “formula” with any toy or in any part of your daily routine
HERE’S WHAT this COULD LOOK LIKE:
2 Concepts: on/off
Take inventory of what toys you can use for these concepts. For example, use a stacking ring to put the rings “on” and then take them “off”.
Consider your daily routine. Show your child the light switch and let them help you turn the light on or off as you enter or leave the room.
1 Power Word: Hi
As you say the word hi, pair it with a gesture. Practice waving and saying hi to all of your stuffed animals. Practice saying hi to friends and family members.
1 Strategy: Offer a choice of two
Giving choices allows us to elicit language in a low pressure way. Think about your day and when you might like to try this! In the morning, you could offer two choices of fruit with breakfast. Hold the containers out in each hand and ask “strawberries or blueberries?” These are tricky words to say! See how they respond. Whether they point to the one they want or attempt to approximate the word, call it a win!
In the play guide, you’ll see a chart to reflect on your child’s progress + pages for you to track new concepts and vocabulary they learn. These are important pages! The play prompts help you take play further and our top strategies are everything we pass on to parents in therapy, but our hope is that you would see major progress in your child’s language skills.
We’re big on reflecting, so we’ll help you take note of what worked and what didn’t. What concepts you attempted and what concepts your child learned.
See what’s inside, but know that with a collection of toy guides, a list of words and concepts, and our professional strategies at your fingertips, the opportunities are endless for you to help increase your child’s communication skills.
If you feel like you won’t use it or won’t keep up, we want to challenge you to give yourself a little more credit! — I was watching a masterclass the other day with Jim Voss and he said, “Awkwardness is an indication of learning.”
Know that you’re in the growing process. As you practice what we teach you, it’s going to feel awkward. But you’re capable of more than you think. Practice what you learn. Get in as many repetitions as you can and you’ll get past it.
You’re ready for more and your kids are ready for YOU.
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Sources:
McMurray, B. (2007) Defusing the childhood vocabulary explosion. Science, 317(5838), 631.
Huttenlocher, P., Haight, W., Bryle, A., Seltzer, M., & Lyons, T. (1991). Early vocabulary growth: Relation to language input and gender. Developmental Psychology, 27, 238
Reznick, J. S., & Goldfield, B. A. (1992). Rapid change in lexical development in comprehension and production. Developmental Psychology, 28, 406