Language For Life

Published: February 24th, 2019

Tania Tirraoro (writing in special needs jungle) is right to remind us that a huge proportion of young children are entering school without the language skills they need to learn. This situation is not new but it has got worse. Technology is only part of the problem. Listening and speaking act as the currency of educational success. Without language, literacy has no chance! So what can schools and parents do about it?

Talk! Success depends on a broad vocabulary. Talk with children about everything that families do together. Some ideas to do at home:
– Label things and actions – book, cat, table, chair, milk, cereal, eating, drink, run – nouns and verbs describe our world and what we do in it;
– Help your child to describe things – by size, colour, shape and position (in, under, beneath, on top of);
– Use words that explore the senses: sight, smell, touch, taste, sound;
– Help your child use the right words to talk about feelings: well-being starts at nursery level;
– Help your child to think and reflect and to use imagination (what if…..?);
– Share books and talk about the characters and what happens in the story.

It’s never too soon to talk and to share books with children and we need to start from
babyhood. Words are the greatest gift that parents can give to their child. Language is for life!

Book 2 of my Parents Help Your Child Succeed series focuses on the essential role that language plays in learning. It is available as an ebook from Amazon. The printed version is available soon from Lulu and Amazon (Supporting Children at the Early Years Foundation Stage: A Guide for Parents).

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