Receptive Language is understanding. It is made up of being able to understand what is said around you and/or what you read.
As children develop they are expected to understand more and more of what is said to them. As they go to school they are also required to understand what they are reading. Different areas of receptive language include understanding:
- Instructions (pick up your shoes, put the rubbish in the bin, write a short paragraph)
- Basic concepts/vocabulary (top/ bottom, wet/dry, first/second/last)
- Inhibitory words (no, wait, stop)
- Questions (where did you go? What happened at school?)
- How and why words can be categorised together (apple and banana are fruit)
- Stories (main idea, details, inferring and predicting)
- Meaning of words and that meaning can change in context
- Indirect requests and ‘play on words’ comments (it’s raining cats and dogs)