Language & Learning
Language comprehension or receptive language refers to the understanding of a spoken or written message, including increasingly complex instructions, sentences and vocabulary. Expressive language refers to the ability to convey a spoken or written message; including the use and variety of appropriate vocabulary, grammar and sentence structure.
Comprehension difficulties
• Struggles to follow long instructions
• Difficulty understanding school work
• Struggles to complete work independently
• Relies on demonstrations
• May be easily distracted or day-dream
• Misinterprets information or questions
• Confuses basic concepts (eg. first/last, more/less)
• Poor concentration and/or attention
• Difficulty answering questions or responding to comments
Expression difficulties
• Difficulty expressing thoughts or ideas clearly and succinctly
• Has trouble finding the right words
• Tends to use short and/or simple sentences
• Very brief or incomplete written work
• Poor grammar or leaves off word endings
• Uses non-specific language (eg. thingy, stuff)
• Has difficulty formulating questions, or initiating conversation
• Struggles to tell a story clearly
The table below outlines the receptive language expectations of your child.
Years K to 2
Years 3 to 6
• Understands teacher explanations
• Understands what he/she reads
• Answers all wh- questions appropriately (who, what, where, etc.)
• Understands long instructions (> 3 parts)
• Understands basic maths concepts (e.g. most, more than, heavy)
• Shows they have listened carefully by making relevant comments and questions
• Understands the language of maths (e.g. more/less, before/after, greater than)
• Remembers details of a story and can predict what comes next
• Makes significant contributions in discussions by paying close attention, asking questions understanding and evaluating others ideas
• Understands the scientific and technological vocabulary of subjects (e.g. consequences, physical, predict, horizontal, equivalent, ascending)
• Can take the point of view of others (e.g. writing an exposition)
• Understands chapter books
The table below outlines the expressive language expectations of your child.
Years K to 2
Years 3 to 6
• Uses plurals (e.g. mice, children)
• Uses pronouns (e.g. her, ours, herself)
• Uses conjunctions (e.g. and, because, to)
• Tells stories in a logical and cohesive manner
• Uses specific and varied verbs
• Can recount using specific names of people and places
• Gives precise definitions for words
• Changes manner (voice, tone and language used) when speaking with their friends vs. a teacher or younger student in the playground
• Adult-like use of grammar
• Can explain other people’s opinions and their points of view
• Can explain why a joke is funny