What you need to know about the ‘word burst’

Eighteen months is a common age for rapid language growth, but it can happen anytime between 15 and 24 months. Research suggests that once a toddler can say 50 words or so, their spoken vocabulary takes off. Discover the best ways to encourage your toddler’s language skills.

In this post:

• Article: The science behind your child’s ‘language explosion’
• Article: 4 signs toddlers understand language even if they aren’t talking much yet
• Article: Boost your toddler’s language skills by getting face-to-face
• Ask & Learn: My 19-month-old still hasn’t said their first word. Should we consider speech therapy?

When will your toddler’s word count explode?

The science behind your child’s ‘language explosion’

Dog! Bus! Cup! Is your toddler surprising you with all the new words they can say? If not, they likely will soon ❤️

Many children experience a large increase in spoken vocabulary between 18 and 24 months. Your child has been working hard to understand language since they were born. During their first year, they learned how to distinguish sounds and combine those sounds. Their words came slowly at first. At some point, all the pieces fall into place, and they start to say as many as 10 new words each week. 

Why and how does the ‘language explosion’ happen?

The language explosion is still a bit of a mystery to researchers, but recent studies suggest that this exciting developmental phase happens when:

1. Your toddler learns words in parallel. Initially, your child learns just one word at a time. Once they’ve collected enough of these individual words to form a solid foundation in their brain, they start picking up multiple words at the same time.

2. They hear the right ratio of “easy” and “hard” words. Your child’s brain is actually doing some complex statistical work to figure out which word sounds they hear most often. They learn “easy” words—dog, cat, ball—first because they hear them a lot. Research shows that once they know about 50 simple words, “difficult” words—like rainbow or peacock—become easier to pick up.  

3. They start “fast mapping.” Imagine there’s an apple, a cup, and a banana in front of your toddler. Even if your toddler doesn’t know the word for “banana,” they may be able to point to it if they already know the words “apple” and “cup.” This process of elimination helps your child pick up new words quickly. Language experts call it “fast mapping.” 

Can you encourage the ‘language explosion’?

Research suggests that the vocabulary explosion can be encouraged but not rushed. Like most skills, language learning happens in stages. As long as your child is exposed to lots of words every day, their vocabulary will eventually take off.

If your toddler hasn’t experienced a language explosion yet, keep doing all the things you typically do to bring language into their daily life—for example, label objects they show interest in, narrate what’s going on around them, and read lots of books. If you’re concerned about your child’s language development, talk with their pediatrician. 

4 signs toddlers understand language even if they aren’t talking much yet

Much of language development is invisible. Right now, your toddler’s receptive language is much stronger than their expressive language, which means they understand more than they can say.

At this stage, your child may understand about two new words a day. They may speak only a handful of partial words, but their ability to comprehend what you’re saying is far more advanced. 

When you engage with all of their attempts to communicate, you can help both types of language grow as they learn the power of communication.

Here’s how your toddler shows you what they understand:

They point to (or look at) something when you ask them to

Between 16 and 19 months, your toddler may start to demonstrate that they understand the words for many common objects in their world by looking at or pointing to them if you ask them to: “can you point to the front door?”

They retrieve something for you from another room

Starting around 15 to 18 months, your toddler might bring something familiar to you when you request it. 

At first, it will probably be easier for them to bring something to you from the room you’re already in. Ask for familiar objects that are kept in a specific place your toddler can get to with simple instructions. If they need help, you can point toward the object and/or go with them to retrieve it. 

Once they can bring you something from the same room, give them a challenge and request a familiar object from another room. 

They gesture to indicate their needs

Between 12 and 19 months, your toddler may make a sound to get your attention and use a gesture to help communicate their meaning. They might nod their head for “yes,” reach or point to something they want, or wave a hand “bye-bye.” Waving often happens before pointing.

They recognize and point to animal pictures and make animal sounds

Your toddler will likely be able to recognize and point to four or more animals between 16 and 21 months. Then, around 22 months, they may start to make the sounds for animals they see. For example, your toddler may see a cow and say “moo” or a sheep and say “baaa.” Many animal sounds encourage the use of the very syllables that your toddler is working on.

Familiar songs and books, paired with gestures that include sounds, are great ways to encourage language acquisition and growth. Children learn from spoken words, singing, symbols, and gestures. You may even notice that very young toddlers will gesture along with songs before they can say the words. A great trick is to sing an entire familiar song only using a single syllable—try singing “Itsy Bitsy Spider” using only the sound “ba”—you may discover that even a very young toddler will suddenly mimic the shape of your mouth or even try an approximation of the sound.

Boost your toddler’s language skills by getting face-to-face

When your toddler hears a new word, they automatically look for clues to figure out its meaning. One of the best sources of information they have is your face.

Seeing your mouth move when you talk helps your toddler map those movements to sounds. They can then try to make the same sounds and words with their own mouth. 

Being face to face also makes it easier for your toddler to follow your gaze. This helps them connect what you say to what you both see. These moments of shared attention help your toddler learn the meaning of new words.

Face-to-face time can be harder to pull off as your adventurous and curious toddler gains speed 🙃 You have to be more intentional now, but the effort is worth it.  

3 simple ways to have more face-to-face time with your toddler

1. Get on the same level. Kneel, squat, or lift your toddler up to your eye level whenever you can, so they tune into your face. Even brief eye-to-eye moments can add up, building vocabulary as well as your emotional connection. 

2. Adjust your reading position. Try facing your toddler once in a while when you read to them. They can look from you to the book and more easily pair what you are saying with what’s on the page.  

3. Sit across from them. Whether your toddler is eating lunch or doing a puzzle, take a seat and have a conversation. You can talk about the foods on their plate and ask about their experience: “How does that yogurt feel on your hand? It looks squishy!” Give them plenty of time to respond and tune into what they’re curious about. 

What parents are asking our experts…

“My 19-month-old still hasn’t said their first word. Should we consider speech therapy?”

Answer:

It’s great that your child appears to understand you and is communicating in nonverbal ways. She may even be saying word approximations like “ba” for “bottle” or “ball,” which count as first words. Animal sounds and words like “uh-oh” count as words, too.  

If your daughter truly hasn’t yet said her first word, this could signal a potential speech delay. I recommend talking to your child’s pediatrician about scheduling a speech and language evaluation. This will help determine if she could benefit from working with a qualified speech-language pathologist. Speech therapy can be particularly effective when you start early. Remember that seeking help isn’t a reflection on your parenting or your child’s abilities but rather a proactive step toward supporting her growth and development.

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Learn more about the research:

Brooks, R., & Meltzoff, A. N. (2008). Infant gaze following and pointing predict accelerated vocabulary growth through two years of age: A longitudinal, growth curve modeling study. Journal of Child Language, 35(1), 207-220.

de Boisferon, A. H., Tift, A. H., Minar, N. J., & Lewkowicz, D. J. (2018). The redeployment of attention to the mouth of a talking face during the second year of life. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 172, 189-200

Kuhl, P. K. (2004). Early language acquisition: Cracking the speech code. Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 5(11), 831-843.

McMurray, B. (2007) Defusing the childhood vocabulary explosion. Science, 317(5838), 631.