Today Tile Triggered Content

When it comes to learning language, there's a lot to take in, beyond just the words themselves. Children will often overextend and underextend words – but both of these are signs that your toddler is thinking independently. 

Overextending is when instead of relying on an adult to tell them a word, your toddler sorts the information they know and tries to find a word that best matches. For example, they will usually categorise objects according to their size, colour, shape, movement sound or texture.^[1] 

Learning new words is complicated and involves social, sensory, cognitive, language (and sometimes even physical) skills coming together to support learning. You and other people who are important to your toddler have an important part to play in this learning and these are some of the things we know will help. 

Joint attention – or both looking at and talking about the same thing 

Your toddler is beginning to use short sentences when they talk; they might use three or four words – which probably makes understanding what they’re telling you a bit easier! But, as you’ll know if you’ve learnt a new language as an adult, there’s much more to talking than simply knowing the words. So, what does your toddler need to master as they move from words to sentences? 

The basics of language terminology and grammar 

Hearing your child using language that takes you by surprise (in a good way!) is fantastic. When your child’s imaginative play starts to include new words and language driven by words heard in stories, on TV, life experiences and in conversations, it ignites a new level of play, language and communication. 

Stories and books are great for introducing language and themes, helping fuel imaginative play. 

Do you have a relative who works their way through all your siblings’ and cousins’ names (maybe even the dog’s name) before calling you by your own? You might even have found yourself calling your own toddler the wrong name – so, why does this happen and what does it tell us about memory and learning words?  

We know that using categories is one of the ways our toddlers (and all of us) learn about the world. When your toddler learns a new word, it will be remembered as part of a category. Remembering something involves a process of encoding the memory – and this is where it is linked to a category.  

Have you ever felt the pressure to sit down and teach your toddler some new words? We hope not! If you have, read on to find out why simply chatting with them as you get on with everyday life is great for their language learning (and you don’t need to talk all the time – pauses and time to think are great too).   

What are you talking about?  

Do you feel like you hear, “MINE,” a million times a day? That could be an exaggeration but, “mine”, like “no”, can seem a powerful word to a toddler and might be one they use a lot as they seek to become more independent. This isn’t always easy, especially if your toddler lays claim to something that clearly isn’t theirs! But, did you know awareness of ownership might help your toddler learn new words?  

Learning new words is a complex process; your toddler will hear lots of words – but they won’t remember all of them.  

First words are magical. As your toddler learns to say more, they can share more of their thoughts and ideas with you. It can be tempting to look for ways to accelerate this amazing progress and you might be tempted by flashcards, word books or sitting them down and getting them to repeat what you say. STOP – you don’t need to do that – here are some things to think about instead.  

Your toddler is most likely to learn new words with people they love, in situations that are important and interesting to them.^[1]  

Using words to share their interests with you is a big step for your toddler – and might make it a bit easier for you to know what they want to show you! So, as well as reducing the guesswork for you, why is using words to share their interests important?  

Learning to talk involves not only understanding words and knowing how to say them, but also understanding the different reasons for talking. The same applies if your toddler is learning to communicate using signs.  

Researchers have found that in Western societies parents ask their children more questions as they get older.^[1] We've taken a look at how different types of questions offer an extra challenge to your toddler.