Between ages 3 and 5, what happens to a child's vocabulary?

Between ages 3 and 5, what happens to a child's vocabulary?

• A. Increases rapidly
• B. Remains constant
• C. Decreases
• D. Develops only adjectives

Answer: (A)

Between ages 3 and 5, children's vocabulary grows rapidly as they are exposed to more words in daily talk, books, and play, and as they become more adept at using language themselves. They move from knowing roughly around a thousand words around age 3 to several thousand by age 5, learning not just many nouns but verbs, adjectives, and other word types. This rapid expansion is supported by faster word learning, better inference of meanings from context (including fast mapping), and increased opportunities to practice and apply new words in sentences. The growth isn’t constant or limited to adjectives; it spans multiple parts of speech and continues throughout preschool years, making rapid vocabulary increase the most accurate description of what typically happens.

Between ages 3 and 5, children's vocabulary grows rapidly as they are exposed to more words in daily talk, books, and play, and as they become more adept at using language themselves. They move from knowing roughly around a thousand words around age 3 to several thousand by age 5, learning not just many nouns but verbs, adjectives, and other word types. This rapid expansion is supported by faster word learning, better inference of meanings from context (including fast mapping), and increased opportunities to practice and apply new words in sentences. The growth isn’t constant or limited to adjectives; it spans multiple parts of speech and continues throughout preschool years, making rapid vocabulary increase the most accurate description of what typically happens.