Study guide
2.4 Communication Development (Functional Area 6)
Child Development Associate CDA
Track your progress as you read
Finished sections get a check mark.
1 Introduction to the CDA Credential
1.1 About the CDA Credential 1.2 CDA Eligibility & Requirements 1.3 The 6 Competency Standards & 13 Functional Areas 1.4 The CDA Exam & Credentialing Process 1.5 How to Use This Study Guide
2 Supporting Physical and Intellectual Development
2.0 Principles of Child Growth and Development 2.1 The Developmentally Appropriate Learning Environment (Functional Area 3) 2.2 Physical Development (Functional Area 4) 2.3 Cognitive Development (Functional Area 5) 2.4 Communication Development (Functional Area 6) 2.5 Creative Development (Functional Area 7)
3 Safe, Healthy Environments and Social-Emotional Development
3.1 Safe Environment (Functional Area 1) 3.2 Healthy Environment (Functional Area 2) 3.3 Self-Concept and Emotional Development (Functional Area 8) 3.4 Social Development (Functional Area 9) 3.5 Positive Guidance (Functional Area 10)
4 Families, Program Management, and Professionalism
4.1 Building Reciprocal Family Partnerships (Competency Standard IV) 4.2 Observing and Recording Children's Behavior 4.3 The CDA as Program Manager (Competency Standard V) 4.4 Professionalism and the NAEYC Code of Ethics (Competency Standard VI) 4.5 Building the CDA Professional Portfolio
5 Exam Strategy and Final Review
5.1 Test-Taking Strategies 5.2 Applying the Competency Standards to Scenarios 5.3 High-Yield Final Review and Exam-Day Checklist
2.4 Communication Development (Functional Area 6)
Key Takeaways Explain This Topic AI
Receptive language (understanding) develops ahead of expressive language (producing); children understand far more than they can say
Language unfolds in a predictable sequence: cooing, babbling, first words (~12 mo), word combinations, then sentences
The CDC's 2022 update moved the '50-word vocabulary' milestone from 24 to 30 months to reflect the new 75% threshold
Emergent literacy includes print awareness, book handling, phonological awareness, and narrative skills — the foundations laid before formal reading
Support dual-language learners by valuing the home language; learning two languages is an asset and does not cause delay
Last updated: June 2026
Functional Area 6 (Communication) measures how well you communicate with children and give them rich opportunities to develop language. Language is the tool children use to think, connect, and eventually read and write, so the CDA treats it as central. You will need the vocabulary of language development, the typical sequence, and concrete strategies — including for children learning more than one language.
Receptive vs. Expressive Language
The single most-tested distinction here is between two channels:
- Term Meaning Examples
- Receptive language Understanding language Following directions, pointing to a named picture
- Expressive language Producing language Speaking, gesturing, signing
Receptive language develops first and stays ahead. A 14-month-old who says only 'mama' may understand dozens of words and follow simple requests. This matters for practice: a quiet child is not necessarily 'behind' in comprehension, and you should keep talking richly even before a child talks back.
Other components the exam may name: phonological awareness (hearing and playing with sounds — rhyme, syllables), vocabulary (word knowledge), and pragmatics (the social use of language — turn-taking, greetings, adjusting to context).
The Sequence: From Babbling to Sentences
Language emerges in a predictable order, even as exact ages vary:
Cooing (~2-3 months): vowel-like sounds.
Babbling (~6-8 months): repeated consonant-vowel strings ('bababa').
First words (~12 months): true words with meaning; understands 'no' and own name.
Word combinations (~18-24 months): a vocabulary spurt, then two-word 'telegraphic' speech ('more juice,' 'mommy go').
Simple sentences (by ~3 years): 3-4 word sentences, questions, past tense (often over-regularized, e.g., 'goed').
Complex language (4-5 years): full sentences, storytelling, understood by strangers most of the time, vocabulary in the thousands.
2022 CDC note: the milestone for a roughly 50-word vocabulary moved from 24 months to 30 months under the new 75% threshold. Don't flag a typically developing 2-year-old as delayed for not yet hitting 50 words.
Emergent Literacy
Emergent literacy is the set of skills that develop before conventional reading and writing — the runway to literacy.
Skill What It Means How to Build It
Print awareness Print carries meaning; we read left-to-right, top-to-bottom Labels, name cards, environmental print
Book handling Holding a book right-side-up, turning pages Daily access to a book area; reading together
Phonological awareness Hearing sounds, rhymes, and syllables in words Rhyming songs, clapping syllables, sound games
- Alphabet knowledge Recognizing letters, especially in one's name Name-writing, alphabet play, magnetic letters
- Narrative skills Telling and retelling stories in sequence Story retells, puppets, dramatic play
- Strategies to Support Communication
The most powerful tool is rich, responsive talk . Two research-backed techniques are tested:
Expansion: repeat and enlarge what the child says. Child: 'Dog!' Adult: 'Yes, a big brown dog is running fast!'
Recasting / modeling: restate a grammatical error correctly without criticizing. Child: 'She runned away.' Adult: 'Yes, she ran away!' — never 'No, say ran.'
Also: narrate your actions ('I'm pouring the water'), ask open-ended questions, and read aloud daily using dialogic (interactive) reading — pausing to ask questions, point to words and pictures, and link the story to children's lives.
Supporting Dual-Language Learners
Many children are dual-language learners (DLLs) , developing two or more languages at once. Two facts to anchor your answers: (1) learning two languages is a cognitive and cultural asset , and (2) bilingualism does not cause language delay.
Best practices: validate and use the home language (learn key words, label items in both languages), use visuals and gestures, partner closely with families, and allow code-switching (mixing languages in one utterance) as a normal part of bilingual development. Pressuring families to 'speak only English at home' is the wrong answer — it can weaken the home language and the parent-child bond without helping English.
Worked Example: Two-and-a-half-year-old Sofia, who hears Spanish at home and English at school, mostly listens and uses single words and gestures in class. A teacher unfamiliar with DLL development might worry she is 'behind.' Instead, the CDA-trained teacher recognizes that (1) receptive language leads expressive — Sofia clearly understands routines and directions; (2) a quiet period is normal when a child is absorbing a second language; and (3) the home language must be honored. She learns a few Spanish words, labels the room in both languages, reads dialogically, and uses expansion when Sofia speaks ('Agua! Yes, you want water'). She partners with the family rather than telling them to drop Spanish. This response reflects exactly what Functional Area 6 expects.
Reading Aloud: The Single Highest-Value Practice
If you do one thing daily for language, read aloud interactively . The technique the exam rewards is dialogic reading , often remembered with the prompt sequence PEER : P rompt the child with a question, E valuate their answer, E xpand on what they said, and have them R epeat the expanded form. Use open-ended prompts ('What do you think happens next?') rather than yes/no questions, point to words to build print awareness, and link the story to the child's own life. Reading the same favorite book repeatedly is not boring to a child — repetition builds vocabulary and lets them predict and 'read' along.
Spotting a Possible Communication Concern
Keep the same do-not-diagnose stance you use for motor development. General flags worth an objective note and a family conversation include no babbling by about 12 months, no single words by about 16 months, no two-word phrases by about 24 months, or any loss of language a child previously had. You document what you observe, share it with the family strengths-first, and suggest a hearing check and an early-intervention/speech referral — you never tell a family the child 'has a speech disorder.' Note too that a quiet dual-language learner in a normal silent period is not delayed; rule that out before raising a concern.