Language Development in School-Age Children, Adolescents, and Adults

Abstract

In this article, language development beyond the preschool years is described, covering significant changes that occur in school-age children (ages 6–12 years), adolescents (ages 13–19 years), and adults (ages 20+ years). For many years, it was widely believed that language development was largely complete by the time a child entered school, at five or six years of age. More recently, however, it has become apparent that a great deal of linguistic growth occurs during the school-age years, adolescence, and well into adulthood, and that the development of language has no obvious point of completion (Nippold, 1998).