While a child in first grade may have between 8,000-14,000 words, a high school graduate may have upwards of 80,000. Vocabulary continues to expand, often in direct relation to the amount a child reads. With this ability to understand the subtleties of language comes the ability to understand multiclause sentences and an increase in metalinguistic awareness (the ability to think about how language is used-to persuade, to correct, to endear, etc.). Want to extend this skill in your child? Give these analogies a try.
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For example, they are beginning to understand how to form analogies. You child can use this site to support these more abstract uses of language. Middle schoolers are ready to hold complex ideas, and manipulate them in their head. They are able to comprehend proverbs and detect sarcasm. After age 12, both areas of growth fall off, which marks the end of the critical period for learning languages (i.e., if language is learned after age 12, the speaker will speak with an accent).Īs a result of cognitive development and brain changes, 11-13 year olds demonstrate an increased ability to look beyond literal interpretations and understand the metaphoric uses of language.
Continuing is the growth of white matter (the layer that envelopes nerve fibers) in the language-centered parts of the brain. Just before puberty, there is a surge of gray matter production (neurons and connections). Unless there is another issue, they are strong readers and have begun to use their language and literacy skills across the subject areas in school, and as a tool in other areas of importance (e.g., teaching themselves to do magic tricks or how to make duct tape projects).*įormal operations, which will continue into adulthood, marks a shift in children’s thinking and speaking. In Piagetian terms, they have completed concrete operations and have entered the formal operations stage. Sometime between the ages of 11 and 12, most children will begin to reason, think abstractly, and apply logic.