Early language skills are simple sounds, cries and body language that a baby utters to make her needs known. Eventually, the baby connects the sound she's made to the response she gets, beginning the process of language skills. As the baby learns to respond with sounds, articulation skills start to be formed. According to Robert Kurtz, on the Speech-Language-Development website, most children are able to articulate all the sounds of the English language by age seven. As early as three years of age, children can pronounce certain consonants; by four, they add others, completing them at age eight. If a child is not mastering these sounds, many articulation therapy programs are available.
Receptive language articulation skills involves the ability to listen, understand and remember. In the very beginning of a child's life, these skills progress quickly. Older toddlers who respond incorrectly to questions such as, "What is your name?" or "Where's your nose?" may have a receptive language articulation skill problem. Since every child is different, there aren't set standards for skill development. Problems with receptive language articulation skills may result from a hearing loss, or it could be that a young child was given too much information to remember at one time. The parent or guardian of a young child will typically notice if there is be a problem by the way a child responds to questions or commands.
Expressive articulation skills are used when a child can hear words spoken to them, understand the words and then mentally and physically form words in response. This is a lot for a baby or young child to perform in their first years. Experts look for children three years and older to begin stringing words into phrases. They assume that by kindergarten, children should be able to use pronouns simple grammar correctly; for instance, being able to say "I'm going to school" instead of "Go to school."
Social language involves verbal and nonverbal communication. Children should be able to articulate their response and take part in a conversation. They should be able to understanding greetings, give an answer and ask a question. In a social setting, they should be able to to speak indoors and outdoors. They should be able to listen to someone else telling them a response or an anecdote and be able to wait until they are finished before responding. Children should also learn the difference between speaking to an adult and speaking to another child. According to the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, social articulation skills called pragmatics are often still a problem in adults.