Speech and Language Milestones – 6 to 7 years

Early childhood development involves many developmental milestones, of which speech and language development is a crucial step. It feels very interesting to see how the children progress year by year. Speaking of speech and language milestones, one can observe how children learn to incorporate as many new words in their vocabulary as they can and how they find ways to express themselves. The need to communicate, exchange ideas, and make interactions can give rise to their language development.

Speech and language development is very crucial for a child’s overall growth. Between the ages of 6 and 7 years, children demonstrate a wide variety of significant developments in their ability to communicate. Their skills include both verbal and non-verbal communication abilities. Their verbal strengths include various aspects, such as the expansion of their vocabulary.

Vocabulary expansion

Word acquisition

By 6 to 7 years, children acquire a vocabulary of around 12,000 to 14,000 words. This substantial increase in their vocabulary is possible with continuous exposure to spoken language, literature, and educational activities. You can find your younger child picks words quickly than your elder one. This happens as the exposure to language is more for the younger one than your elder child.

Understanding abstract concepts

By seven years of age, children learn to comprehend well using nuanced vocabulary. Whenever they learn a new word, they try to use such words aptly. They would also understand and use the concepts of time, space, and emotions more accurately. Children would develop a special interest in certain areas and would develop their vocabulary in relation to their interests.

For example, if a child is very interested in cars, they would develop a good vocabulary related to names, varieties, and accessories of cars. You can find some children who are fascinated by dinosaurs and can easily articulate complex dinosaur names.

Grammatical skills

Sentence structure

Around 6 to 7 years of age, children demonstrate marked improvement in constructing sentences. By now, their once simple sentences would start becoming complex, with all the conjunctions, adjectives, and proper sentence structures. They try to connect their ideas in a more cohesive manner. Their sentence framing would also vary, showcasing different models from time to time.

Use of tenses

By seven years of age, a notable gradation in the usage of verb tenses is observed. They become proficient in using past, present, and future tenses appropriately. Children learn to express themselves in a more elaborate way using perfect tenses in their mother tongue. This fosters their storytelling and communication abilities.

Usage of pronouns

Along with other parts of speech, children learn to use pronouns more accurately. They learn to distinguish between subjective (e.g., I, you, he, she) and objective (e.g., me, you, him, her) pronouns. The usage of pronouns aptly enhances their ability to express themselves clearly. For example, a child who used to say, “It is I calling you,” would now say, “It is me who’s calling you.”

Communication strategies

Narrative skills

Around 6 to 7 years of age, children would develop excellent narrative skills. They can now create stories with good beginning, middle, and end. They can demonstrate skills of understanding and creating interesting plot development by presenting various sequencing of events, not only narrating their experiences but can also imagining and add their creativity to their narratives. For instance, you can hear a child say, “That fly just flew away like a rocket. It was terrifying. Initially, it hesitated to fly, but when I blew a gush of air onto its face, it got feared and ran off.”

Turn taking in conversations

Social communication is a tough challenge for children who are eager to express their ideas because it involves turn-taking. But as children age, they observe and learn from others. With good examples around, they can develop excellent social communication skills. Children by 6 to 7 years of age would acquire refined abilities to engage in conversations. They can learn the art of turn-taking and wait for others to finish before responding. Through this, they get a chance to understand what others have to say. This is the first step to making conversations. By around seven years of age, children learn to master these social communication skills, demonstrating increased conversational reciprocity.

Expressing opinions and reasoning

Children around seven years of age express their opinions more confidently. They exhibit good reasoning skills and develop the ability to articulate thoughts. Children would also learn to provide logical reasoning to prove their points and support their opinions. For instance, a child would say, “I know that you won’t give me my toy car. It is because I broke your bottle. But that was an accident. I didn’t do it on purpose.”

Speech fluency and articulation

Pronunciation refinement

Children around this age become more refined in pronouncing speech sounds. They exhibit greater clarity in their pronunciation. Any kind of speech sound errors that linger from earlier developmental stages are usually resolved by this age. Say, if a child used to pronounce “pisghetti” previously, would now pronounce “spaghetti” clearly.

Fluency in speech

Their speech fluency continues to improve. Around this age, most children can speak smoothly without hesitations or disruptions. This fluency in speech contributes to the overall development of communication skills.

Language development

Reading comprehension

The reading comprehension skills of children would become more advanced by this age. They can understand and interpret complex texts and extract meaning from them. They would understand both narrative and informational materials.

Written skills

The writing skills would also progress significantly. Children around 7 years of age would compose more elaborate and organized written scripts. They can incorporate elements like proper punctuation and capitalization. They would also build skills to make paragraph structures.

Wordplay

Around this age, children would have a good idea of wordplay. They learn to build jokes and puns using wordplay. Their language development helps them to develop humour based on linguistic nuances. For instance, they can use the word “nuts” in a double sense to play a pun on you.

Social and Pragmatic language skills

Social awareness

Children around this age become socially more aware and follow most of the social norms in communication. They learn to build good peer interactions. They also develop a deeper understanding of nonverbal cues such as body language and facial expressions. Their overall social communication improves to a good extent during 6 to 7 years of age.

Conflict resolution

Children at this age learn to resolve conflicts effectively. They try to decrease conflicts through verbal exchange of information and ideas and also by expressing their feelings subtly. Children learn to negotiate with their peers to resolve conflicts in a more sophisticated manner.

Receptive language	Expressive language
1. Comprehends the meaning of half.	1. Uses 6 to seven-word sentences
2. Comprehends the quality adjectives (soft, fast)	2. Comprehend the quality adjectives (soft, fast)
3. Comprehend the meaning of quantifying 1, 2nd, 3rd, last.	3. Uses coordinated with, and, if so , even though
4. Uses coordinated with, and, if so, even though	4. Comprehends personal gender pronouns (he, she, it) intelligibly
5. Comprehends passive future tense.	5. Can articulate all the sounds in his language

In the span of ages 6 to 7, children make significant strides in their speech and language development. These milestones contribute to their overall development, including academics, social, and emotional well-being. Their continued refinement of communication skills helps children learn to navigate the complexities of interpersonal relationships. They would also prepare for academic challenges, setting the stage for further growth and learning.

In the critical span of ages 6 to 7, children undergo remarkable advancements in their speech and language development, laying a strong foundation for their overall growth. The expansion of their vocabulary, improvement in grammatical skills, and the mastery of complex communication strategies showcase the incredible strides made during this period. From constructing more intricate sentences to using verb tenses adeptly and refining pronunciation, children’s linguistic capabilities flourish.

Moreover, the development of narrative skills and the ability to engage in turn-taking conversations reflect not only linguistic prowess but also crucial social communication skills. Children become adept at expressing opinions, reasoning confidently, and resolving conflicts effectively, contributing to their emotional well-being and social awareness.

The progression extends beyond verbal communication to encompass reading comprehension and writing skills, fostering a holistic language development experience. Their understanding of wordplay adds a touch of humor, showcasing linguistic nuances creatively.

At Wellnesshub, we recognize the significance of speech and language development in a child’s overall well-being. Our online speech therapy services aim to support children in achieving these milestones through personalized and accessible interventions. By incorporating the latest advancements in teletherapy, we ensure that children receive the guidance they need to navigate the complexities of interpersonal relationships and excel in their academic journey.