Development of Language: Ages Birth to Three

Maria Montessori was one of the earliest researchers to observe and describe in some detail the development of language in infants (see, for example, Montessori 1982/1949). She recognised that the foundation for language development is established before birth.

After birth, the innate human tendency to communicate with others drives infants to engage with the language used by those around them. Through observation, listening and interaction they learn the language and culture of their community. In the Montessori view, this development is related to the development of movement.

As infants become able to move about more and more, their field of interest and activity expands, and so does their need for language. The Montessori approach to language for this age group, therefore, starts not with the word but with the child's concrete experiences. 

Language development in infants is described by Montessori educators as having the following two phases: 

• the prelinguistic phase from birth to twelve months when infants may not use words with meaning but are absorbing and internally constructing the rhythms and patterns of language, and training vocal muscles and auditory perception of the sounds of the language in the environment 

• the linguistic phase from twelve months to three years when infants progress from saying their first intentional words with meaning to complex phrases and simple sentences. 

Initially, receptive language in infants is more developed than expressive language so they understand a great deal more than they can say. At about two years of age, the indirect and direct preparation of the pre-linguistic and early linguistic phases results in an ‘explosion’ into language.

At this time, instead of using single words and words fused together, young children suddenly combine words into grammatical patterns in order to express their meanings. From this point, language use typically expands rapidly. 

In Montessori environments prepared for infants and toddlers Montessori early childhood educators strive to create an enriched language environment. Adults in the environment provide infants and toddlers with good models of language use at all times. They listen attentively, respectfully and responsively to all attempts made by the children in the environment to communicate. They also initiate interactions, ensuring language is directed toward the child, particularly during the pre-linguistic phase.  

In the language-enriched Montessori environments children have many opportunities to expand their vocabulary and language use in their first language. They also benefit from hearing speakers of other languages if the use of other languages can be integrated meaningfully into the daily routine of the setting.

At this age, this works best for children if the adults in the environment each speak only one language to the children. For example, one adult speaks only English and another adult speaks only Chinese when interacting with the children. 

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