Creating a language-rich
environment increases literacy potential in young children
"Maria
said the cutest thing today…"
Parents
are always amazed at new words their children use. Every parent has
probably said "Where did she come up with that?" The answer,
of course, is that the child heard it in the home or at childcare. These
are the two places where children spend most of their time, and where
they learn to communicate with others.
But
the acquisition of new words is more than just a "cute stage"
children go through. It is an essential part of their literacy development.
Children learn to use language when their parents talk and interact
with them in everyday conversation. And researchers have found that
the number of words spoken to children in the first three years of life
and the quality of the feedback they receive have a significant impact
on their success in school.
Meaningful
Differences in the Everyday Experience of Young American Children
(Hart and Risley, 1995) is a study of 42 families with children 3 years
old and younger. The researchers videotaped family interactions and
measured the number of different spoken words per hour a child heard
at home from infancy to age 3. They counted only those words spoken
by family members, other caring adults and older children – not
words heard on radio or television.
The
researchers then measured language proficiency at ages 7, 8 and 9. The
results showed a dramatic difference between children whose parents
actively engaged them from birth on, as contrasted with those parents
who seldom conversed with them and relied only on basic vocabulary.
The
authors found big differences based primarily on how much parents interacted
with their children, according to Scott McConnell, Ph.D., professor
of educational psychology and interim director of the Center for Early
Education and Development University of Minnesota. High-income families
talked with their children about six times more than families in the
other socioeconomic groups. As a result, by age 3 children in these
affluent families had at least six times as many words in their vocabularies
as did children living in welfare households.
McConnell
says even parents who don't have extensive vocabularies can easily overcome
this difference. "The breadth of speech is important, but it is
through regular and frequent verbal interactions with their parents
that children increase their own language skills," McConnell said.
All
parents can help children develop language skills through these kinds
of interactions:
Speaking
and listening
-
Talking
with children about their daily exper-iences (not just yours).
-
Having them describe objects, events and relations.
-
Doing
fun things with language, like making up stories and poems, and
playing rhyming games.
Reading
and writing
-
Writing
in different ways: drawing, scribbling and making letter-like forms.
-
Reading
a variety of materials, including storybooks, signs and symbols,
recipes and the newspaper.
-
Dictating
stories to an adult who transcribes them and reads them out loud.
A
literacy-rich environment – at home and at childcare – encourages
children to take an active role in their own learning, interacting with
other children, as well as adults. Adults should ask questions, but
not direct a child's responses or dominate activities. Parents and caregivers
should be open to spontaneous conversation and encourage young children
to express themselves freely and easily.
Research
shows that young children who are given time and attention, whether
through sharing books, playing word games, describing things they've
seen and done, or just drawing pictures and talking about them, will
have a step up in acquiring language skills necessary to move quickly
and confidently into literacy.
