One of the most important children’s development steps happens in the period between the ages of three and four. It is a time of emotional development, early friendship, more complex brain functioning, and so forth. What is more, even during the short period of 12 months, different stages of child development should be conceptualized. Although the period of a year is quite small, children master their skills and show significant progress in the number of words in their “personal” vocabulary.
Here the development of speaking skills will be discussed comprehensively. Although basic speaking skills are already seen before three years of age, the abilities to express full sentences usually appear after three years. At the beginning of 3 years of age, children can use sentences of 4-5 words (“3-4 years: preschooler development”, 2022). However, children may understand significantly more words than speak because they have abilities to intuitively recognize the meanings of words (Volders, 2020). In the intermediate stage of this process, when preschoolers reach 3.5 years of age, language skills continue to develop if they communicate enough with adults and peers. The problem that will follow preschoolers during this age is that they cannot understand the overwhelming majority of adjectives and focus mostly on objects and verbs. At the “mastery” level of development, when children turn 4, they can form sentences of approximately 5-6 words (“3-4 years: preschooler development”, 2022). Thus, this development in a child’s literacy skills is evident here.
To sum up, between the ages of 3 and 4 years, a child learns a considerable amount of information concerning new words and phrases. It should be emphasized that this development is present when child development is consistent and properly given. For these purposes, kindergarten workers and parents should be acquainted with modern approaches to mastering language skills in preschool years. Without such care, there is a danger of missing this valuable time for sharpening speaking skills.
References
3-4 years: preschooler development. (2022). The Australian Parenting Website.
Volders, E. (2020). Toddler and preschooler (1–5 years). In S. Croxford, C. Itsiopoulos, A.Forsyth, R. Belski, A. Thodis, S. Shepherd & A.Tierney (Eds.), Food & Nutrition Throughout Life (pp. 141-155). Routledge.