Two-year-olds are busily gathering more and more tools to add to their existing repertoire of communication strategies. They already have a refined understanding and use of body language, gesture, facial expression and voice tone, and are daily adding new words to their vocabulary.
Language use is also becoming more sophisticated. They are beginning to form sentences and use telegraphic speech. Plurals, pronouns, and adjectives all emerge.
All of these developments enable two-year-olds to express themselves more clearly to others. Improved language and communication skills begin to decrease two-year-olds' levels of frustration. However, they are still regularly misunderstood or misinterpreted by adults and other children, particularly adults who do not know them well. When these communication difficulties are coupled with their strong emotions, two-year-olds frequently use physical means to express themselves and get what they want.
When thinking and strength of feeling go faster than the child's ability to say things, they may be reduced to stuttering or physical expressions of frustration.
Good practice
In teams or networks, discuss:
* The range of new vocabulary you provide. Is it limited to naming objects, or do you also use adjectives and name and describe feelings and relationships?
* The kinds of gestures, facial expressions and voice tones you use to interact positively with children.
* The kinds of explanations you give and questions you ask. Are they open-ended questions that encourage children to respond without the need for a right answer and to reflect on and describe what they are doing?
Observe your key children:
* What do their facial expressions, gestures and idiosyncratic words mean?
* What do you know about the child's experiences and interests that help you to make sense of what the child is trying to communicate?
* Take careful note of two-year-olds' language that can give an insight into other aspects of their development. Look out for examples such as:
* favourite or frequently used words that may be related to a child's prevailing schema, such as 'heavy' for a child who likes transporting
* regular requests for others to 'look... car' or 'look... hurt' that show a child's understanding of others' points of view
* children using language to help regulate their own behaviour, such as 'be careful' as they climb the stairs
* children using language to make sense of social boundaries by telling others not to do things.
* grammatical errors like 'goed' or 'sheeps' that show the child's growing understanding of the grammatical rules of language itself.
Plan to support effective communication:
* Ensure there is consistent, continuous care from responsive key persons who know children well and plan story, singing or discussion times in small key groups.
* Create a rich language environment by introducing new and interesting people, resources and materials and planning local outings for very small groups.
* Ensure there are many connections between home and nursery in the play environment, such as photographs of members of children's families and friends displayed at eye level; familiar household items; both new play materials and those that the practitioners know a child has at home.
