This free online course explores the characteristics and theories of language development in children.

This course, ‘Development of Language in Childhood’, discusses the definition of language and its important social function in transmitting social values to future generations. We will learn about different theories of language development and examine how it occurs in children. Are you wondering what ‘phonology’ is and how it relates to language development? We will analyse this in detail. In addition, we will look at the characteristics of language development from an early age.

The following section demonstrates different language skills acquired in early childhood and examines the characteristics of receptive and expressive language. We discuss the impact of socioeconomic conditions and the environment on children's language development. Do you want to learn about different activities that promote children's language development? We will learn about essential language activities such as telling stories, completing stories, making up stories and so on. Then we will look at the importance of bilingualism and how it can help eliminate communication barriers between different languages. Next, we will look at the three different levels of bilingualism.

The course will then illustrate speech and language disorders. We delve into speech development disorders and their causes. Would you like to know the benefits of play-based speech therapy and how games can help with speech development in preschool children? Through play, speech therapy aims to promote and develop age-appropriate learning and performance skills. This course is ideal for parents or teachers who work in preschools and nurseries and want to learn about children's language development. So why wait? Start your learning journey today.