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DR 1: Children are personally and socially competent
⇣ Indicator: LANG—Children show growing abilities in communication and language
⇣ Measure 16: Language Comprehension—
Child receives, understands, and responds to oral language that uses increasingly complex words, phrases, and ideas
	Descriptors	Examples
9	Comprehends language that describes past or future events and language that describes how and why things happen	Responds to open-ended questions requiring prediction or explanation such as, “What will happen if…?” and “Why is the…?” Can participate in discussions about future events such as an upcoming trip to the zoo.
8	Comprehends language that describes abstract concepts such as location or comparison	Understands words used to describe spatial relationships such as in/out, over/under, behind/in front of. Understands words that compare such as, “Who made the tallest tower?” or “My car is faster than your car.”
7	Comprehends simple pronouns and possessives used to refer to things in the environment	Responds correctly to directions to “Give him the marker” or “Give her the marker.” Responds to the request to “Put this in Josh’s cubby.”
6	Comprehends the meaning of simple sentences	Responds to sentences and longer utterances in ways that demonstrate comprehension. Goes to look outside when teacher says, “Bobby went to play outside.” Pretends to feed the baby doll when the teacher says, “Oh, the baby is hungry.”
5	Comprehends an increasing number of words including words used to refer to things that are not present	Points to familiar objects when named. Goes and finds named object if it is not in view.
4	Recognizes words that are used frequently in routines to name things or actions	Points to body parts (nose, eyes, mouth), when adult names them. Performs a routine action when it is suggested (“Wanna dance?” or “Wanna drink?”).
3	Recognizes a few familiar words that the adult says or a few familiar gestures the adult makes in context	Orients toward or searches for a familiar person (“mama” or “daddy) or object (ball or doggie) when named. Stops crying for bottle when adult says, “Bottle’s ready.” Smiles or shows excitement when adult starts to put hands over eyes to play Peek-a-Boo or initiates another game.
2	Responds to familiar adult’s voice or gestures	Smiles, gurgles, or coos in response to familiar adult’s voice. Vocalizes or moves in response to familiar adult’s voice, sounds or simple gestures. Smiles back when adult smiles.
1	Reacts to voices, sounds or gestures	Reacts by quieting or orienting in direction of sound or gesture. Startles at loud noise.

Measure 16 — LANG 1

Language Comprehension

Child receives, understands, and responds to oral language that uses increasingly complex words, phrases, and ideas

Most newborns enter the world with a level of cognitive, sensory, and neuromotor ability (as well as a strong desire to interact with other humans) that predisposes them to becoming language users. Learning to gather meaning from the utterances and gestures of others is an important precursor to language acquisition. Most infants are born with the potential to distinguish between the speech sounds of any language. Over time, however, they learn to pay attention to those particular speech sounds (or gestures and hand movements) that are a part of their environment. Infants begin to recognize the meaning of particular words or gestures that are part of routines and gradually begin to recognize their meaning, even out of context. As they continue to develop, they understand the meaning of words and phrases and also parts of words that create changes in meaning, such as verb tense (-ing or –ed) or plurals (-s). Eventually, they understand not only the specific meanings of word combinations and sentences but also the abstract concepts being communicated by language.

Most infants are born with sensory abilities (vision, hearing, and touch) that are developed well enough so that they react to voices, sounds, and gestures. Infants soon demonstrate familiarity with the voices and faces of caregivers by responding to them differently than to unfamiliar voices and faces. Infants also begin to recognize a few words or gestures that are used very frequently (“mama,” “dada”) and gradually increase the number of words they recognize.

Toddlers rapidly increase the number of words they understand. They recognize an increasing variety of words that name objects and actions used in familiar routines. They also begin to show that they comprehend words that are used to refer to things that are not present. For example, they will search for a named object which is not visible or a named person who is not presently in the room. In addition, toddlers begin to demonstrate an understanding of more than just single words. They respond to longer adult utterances in a way that demonstrates comprehension of multiple word combinations and even short sentences.

Young preschoolers further refine their comprehension of language by demonstrating their understanding of grammatical elements of language, such as the difference between pronouns (he, she, them), the meaning of possessive markers (“Mario’s coat”) and also verb tenses (-ing and -ed). In addition, young preschoolers begin to understand grammatical elements of language that describe more abstract concepts, including comparatives (-er and -est) and prepositions that identify relative location (“The doggie is behind you.”).

Older preschoolers continue to add to their receptive vocabulary and begin to understand language that is used to communicate their rapidly developing ability to grasp abstractions. For example, they begin to understand language that is referencing past or future events. In addition, older preschoolers understand language that is explaining or predicting events (“What will happen if we put the cookies in the oven?”) and language that is describing imaginary events (“Where would you live if you were a princess?”).

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