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What are the speech and language milestones for a child ages 3 to 4 years old? Below we will review the following: key vocabulary terms when discussing speech and language milestones, milestones expected in the age ranges 3-4 years, and examples or clarification for each milestone.
Key Terms:
Speech & Language Milestones: the speech, language, and hearing skills that most children (90%) will demonstrate by identified ages
Speech: how we say sounds and words - articulation, fluency, or voice
Language: the words we use and how we use them to share ideas and get what we want.
Receptive Language: the ability to understand/comprehend language (following directions, vocabulary, sentence comprehension)
Expressive Language: the ability to express self using language - by gestures, sign language, verbally, or a communication device (vocabulary, grammar)
Pragmatic Language: the use of appropriate communication in social situations
Speech and Language Milestones: 3-4 years old:
Understanding (Receptive Language):
Understands and uses more location words, like inside, on, and under.
Pretends to read alone or with others.
Recognizes signs and logos like STOP.
Pretends to write or spell and can write some letters.
Talking (Expressive Language):
Compares things, with words like bigger or shorter.
Tells you a story from a book or a video.
Uses words like a or the when talking, like a book or the dog.
Speech Sounds (Articulation):
Correctly produces /t, k, g, f/, "y", and "ing" in words.
Says all the syllables in a word.
Says the sounds at the beginning, middle, and end of words.
By age 4 years, your child talks smoothly. Does not repeat sounds, words, or phrases most of the time.
By age 4 years, your child speaks so that people can understand most of what they say. Child may make mistakes on sounds that are later to develop—like l, j, r, sh, ch, s, v, z, and th.
By age 4 years, your child says all sounds in a consonant cluster containing two or more consonants in a row—like the "tw" in tweet or the –nd in sand. May not produce all sounds correctly—for example, spway for “spray.”
Check out our other parent resources and blogs about how to help enhance and grow your child's speech and language skills during these specific age ranges.
If you are concerned about your child's speech and language development - some of the next steps you can take include:
contacting your child's pediatrician (ask for a referral for a speech and language evaluation)
contacting your local regional center to see if your child could be assessed
contacting a local speech therapy private practice that specializes in early language development
Resources:
ASHA. (n.d.). Communication milestones: 3 to 4 years. American Speech-Language-Hearing Association.
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