Kindergarten teachers often note a remarkable difference in language capabilities of their students. Some students may enter kindergarten with a vocabulary base of over 5,000 words, while others may have as few as 1,000 words. Because the ability to use words properly is a strong predictor of future school success, parents should take strides to ensure language development of their child in the years before school.
Providing Language-Rich Experiences
Perhaps the most beneficial way parents can influence positive language development is to provide plentiful opportunities for language experience. By taking simple every day activities and engaging children in relevant conversation, parents can promote language concepts and skills. For example: sorting the laundry can result in an in depth conversation of colors, textures, sizing, and even letters and numbers from the logos on the items. Parents should strive to find ways to involve their preschoolers in rich language exchange.
Using Complete Sentences and Descriptive Language
During these conversations, parents should be focusing on the use of complete sentences and descriptive language. Adults often fall into the trap of reinforcing stunted language development. They can inadvertently do this by not encouraging the use of complete sentences. Children can be encouraged to use complete, more complex sentences when parents speak in complete sentences, and when parents rephrase a child's incomplete sentence. The same can be said of encouraging descriptive words. Consider this exchange:
Child: A dog.
Parent: There is a dog. What color is the dog?
Child: Brown.
Parent: There is a brown dog.
Parents have an opportunity to model the use of complete sentences and descriptive language. As preschoolers language skills advance, parents may continue to model increasingly complex sentence structure and descriptive language. With time and consistency, children will use language with greater fluency.
Reading Aloud Books and Creative Expression
Reading aloud stories, poetry, and nursery rhymes are wonderful ways for parents to expose their children to language. Reading aloud should be a daily occurrence. Parents should not be concerned if children like to hear the same books over and over, as repetition is necessary for children to process and accept new language. The exposure to quality children's literature will serve to build a foundation of reading that can not be shaken.
Creative expression through imaginative play, dance, drawing also serves to enhance children's progression of language fluency. Providing children with toys that promote imaginative play and creative expression also promotes the development of language skills.
Modeling Language Structure and Monitoring Sarcasm
Parents should be continually mindful that they must model proper language. Children can be likened to both sponges and mirrors in that they absorb a great deal from their environment, and they reflect the behaviors of the adults in their lives.
Parents should be careful to pronounce words properly and limit the use of slang. Many parents fall into the trap of using "baby talk" to converse with their children. This does not do children any favors. Baby talk can influence and sustain speech impediments which can later affect reading and writing development.
Another aspect of the parents' language that can have a negative effect on children is the use of sarcasm. While sarcasm can be the saving grace that helps parents maintain their sanity, it can have a dangerous effect on a child's language development.
Attempting to teach children sincerity of expression and increase vocabulary, all the while using sarcastic responses in front of their child, is like oil and vinegar. Consider a child that spills a box of cereal on the floor. A parent who responds with "Thank you. Thank you very much," "Isn't that wonderful," or "That was helpful," will completely confuse the child. Further, using sarcastic pet names, such as "monster," "devil," or the like may be a bad choice. If using the word would get a child in trouble at school, it is not a good idea to use at home either.
Many parents attempt to justify their use of sarcasm by maintaining that their children understand it. However, Dr. Penny Pexman of the University of Calgary has found that children do not generally understand sarcasm until the age of 10 or later. Perhaps, when children hear sarcasm, it sounds to them like whining, complaining, or tantruming. This may be a factor that reinforces those negative behaviors in children.
In short, parents should consider themselves the biggest influence on their children's language development. By being language role models and recognizing every situation as a chance to encourage language, parents can have a positive effect on the language skills of their preschoolers.
Related reading: A Guide to Homeschool Preschoolers: Realistic Goals and Suggestions for Teaching a Young Child at Home
References:
University of Manitoba (2007, August 9). Getting Sarcastic With Kids. ScienceDaily.
Jennifer White - Jennifer White has authored parenting books and has worked in childcare and education fields for over 15 years. She now focuses much of ...
