Five Stages of Oral Language Development

Prelinguistic or Infant

• During the infant stage, which lasts from birth to 18 months, a child expresses himself by cooing, crying, babbling, and using a combination of sounds and syllables he hears frequently. The total vocabulary at this stage generally includes anywhere between five and 20 words -- most nouns. Common words include dada and mama.

Stage Two

• The second stage occurs between 18 months and two years of age. At this stage a child can use two word sentences, understand basic questions and point to people or objects. The total vocabulary for a child at this stage ranges from 150 to 300 words, with the words "me" and "mine" being used regularly.

Stage Three

• Stage three occurs when a child is between two and three years of age. During this stage pronouns and prepositions get integrated into daily vocabulary. The dreaded word "no" gets introduced into the child's vocabulary and may take over as the most commonly used word. Sentences will not be grammatically correct but the sentences will be understandable.

Stage Four

• Children reach stage four between the ages of three and four. A child becomes much more verbal and is able to carry on a conversation, ask questions and inquire why events happen. He may speak in three to four word sentences with grammar improving significantly. Children will also be able to tell complete stories and answer some questions.

Stage Five

• The final stage surfaces between the ages of four and five. When a child reaches this stage they can talk in complete sentences using nouns and verbs. They also begin to learn imaginative play and start telling longer stories. They also understand the sequence in which events happen and can explain how their day went when asked.