Phonological development

Last updated: 15/11/2023
Contributor: Teachit Author
Child language acquisition: Phonological development worksheet
Main Subject
Key stage
Category
English
Resource type
Revision
Worksheet

A useful one-page summary of children's phonological development and acquisition for A-level English language teachers and students, ideal for revision or as an introductory overview. 

An extract from this child language acquisition resource: 

  • Vowels are acquired before consonants. By the age of 2½, the average child has acquired all of the vowels and two thirds of the consonants; by the age of 4, only a few consonants are causing a problem; and by 6 or 7 years of age, the child is confident in the use of both vowels and consonants.
  • Initial consonants in a word are much easier to master than final ones.
  • Phonemes that are more frequently used are more easily acquired than the less common ones.
  • Pronunciation is simplified:
    • Deletion: dropping of final consonants / dropping of unstressed syllables / reduction of consonant clusters
    • Substitution: substituting easier phonemes for more difficult one
    • Reduplication: different phonemes are pronounced in the same way
  • Comprehension develops more quickly than the ability to reproduce the language (Berko and Brown; 1960).

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