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CHCFC301A: Support the development of children

Support the language development of children

Contents

Language development 3

Some key theorists of language development 3

Language development in infancy 5

Language development in toddlerhood 7

Language development in the preschool years 8

Language development in middle childhood 13

Encourage children to express themselves verbally and provide experiences to expose children to a range of language forms 16

How can we support the development of infants’ language? 16

How can we support toddlers’ language development? 17

How can we support preschoolers’ language development? 19

How can we support school-aged children’s language development? 22

Certificate III in Children’s Services: CHCFC301A: Reader LO 9249 © NSW DET 2010

Language development

The theories we will be discussing hold a substantial amount of credibility and accuracy but their influence depends on which perspective you use. Using the theories as a foundation, you will be able to form your own views and beliefs on how you think children develop their language and communication skills.

Some key theorists of language development

Lev VygotskyLet’s look again at Lev Vygotsky. Vygotsky identified four different stages of speech development.

1 Primitive speech stage is demonstrated through the first two years of life. During this stage the child is beginning to learn to speak, mainly imitating words and naming objects or responding emotionally (crying) or socially (laughing).

2 Naive psychological stage is the next stage which usually lasts until four years of age. During this stage the child is beginning to realise that words are symbols for objects. They have a great curiousity as to what objects are called.

3 Egocentric or private speech stage is seen between the ages of four and seven. During this stage we often see children talking aloud to themselves as they perform tasks or solve problems. This ‘private speech’ is the child’s demonstration of their thinking.

4 Ingrowth or inner speech stage is seen from eight years on. During this stage children’s private speech declines and becomes much more internalised. They solve problems ‘in their head’ or using inner speech; however, you will still hear people using private speech when faced with unusual or complex problems (Nixon and Aldwinckle 2003).

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Certificate III in Children’s Services: CHCFC301A: Reader LO 9249© NSW DET 2010

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Behaviourists: BF Skinner, John Watson, Albert BanduraAnother pool of theorists who were important in our understanding of language development were the behaviourists. These people include Skinner, Watson and Bandura. One main premise of behaviourism is that if behaviours are rewarded, they will be repeated. Behaviours ignored or punished will decrease. Thus when a child says ‘Da, da’ for the first time, we promptly get very excited and repeat back the sounds to the child, reinforcing the behaviour so the child is more likely to try to reproduce it. Behaviourists (or learning theorists) focus on the process of how language is acquired. The emphasis is on environmental factors of imitation, learning and conditioning.

Noam ChomskyNoam Chomsky developed the Nativist approach. Proponents of this approach believe that we have an inbuilt ‘language acquisition device’ (LAD) which is ‘wired’ to help us learn language. Once we begin to hear language around us, we are ‘programmed to understand the structure of that language’ (Nixon and Gould 1999).

Other language theoristsNativists believe children have innate abilities to learn language. This focuses on biological dispositions, brain development and cognitive readiness. This theory emphasises the need for language in the environment to stimulate children’s innate abilities.

Interactionists see language development as a result of the interaction between nature and nurture (the environment and experiences of the child).

For more information on these theories try this Brain Connection website: http://www.brainconnection.com

From the home page type in: /topics/?main=fa/language-acquisition


Language development in infancyLanguage is the development of a complex communication system that enables interaction between people. We categorise language into expressive language (the term used to describe verbal or spoken language) and receptive language (the language that is understood when others speak).

Language sets us apart from all other species. No other creature uses such a complex set of symbols to express themselves. Language allows us to explain, to describe things, share ideas, find out more, and express our feelings; yet it does not always involve the use of words. Our body language and facial expressions can be just as powerful a form of language as spoken words.

Infants are actively engaged in learning language. Before they utter words they must be able to distinguish and produce the sounds of their native language. They need to identify individual words and their meanings from the streams of sounds they hear spoken around them.

It is important that we understand what to expect in terms of language development if we are to care for children and are to support their development. The sequence of development is the same for all children; however, the rate at which children learn language varies more widely than in any other area of development.

Babies’ first form of language is crying. Babies develop different cries to communicate different needs and it doesn’t take parents long to be able to differentiate between these cries.

By two months of age, infants make their first non-crying sounds. They make all sorts of interesting sounds. They begin cooing, making soft repetitive vowel sounds such as ‘aah’ and ‘ooh’. At around six months of age infants begin to produce sounds combining consonants and vowels such as ‘ba’ and ‘da’. Between six and ten months, they begin babbling, repeating consonant-vowel combinations such as ‘mama’ and ‘dada’. Even though carers interpret these babbles as words, researchers believe that infants at this point do not associate these sounds with particular meanings.

When ten-month-old Maggie looks at her mother and points to a teddy bear and grunts, the message is clear. She is saying, ‘I want my teddy bear’. Before they utter their first words, infants communicate their needs through gestures and sounds that we call vocalisations (sounds of the voice).

Infants’ abilities to communicate reflect their cognitive development. From about eight months of age, infants combine gestures and sounds to get their message across.

Children’s understanding of language comes before their ability to produce language. Therefore, it is said that receptive language develops before expressive


language. For instance, when you say to nine-month-old James ‘Where’s the duck?’ he will look immediately to where the duck is and may even point to it.

Infants usually utter their first words at around 12 months of age. These words are usually the names of objects or people in their social words. Words such as ‘mama’, ‘dada’, ‘puppy’, ‘cat’ and ‘hat’ are likely to emerge first, followed by such action words as ‘bye bye’ or ‘all gone’ or ‘no’. Then these one-word utterances are used to represent a whole sentence. For example, they may say ‘bottle’ to indicate ‘I’m hungry; I want a bottle’. This is referred to as holophrase.

Between 12 and 18 months of age, children add around three words per month to their vocabulary. Of course, this varies with individual differences in development and the social environment in which they live.

Children need to be immersed in a language-rich environment for them to acquire the language of their culture. That is to say, they need to be surrounded by people talking and listening, they need to hear stories, songs and rhymes. They need to have their attempts at language responded to by the significant people in their lives so that they develop a need to talk.

Infants’ language development

Newborns: crying At the beginning the newborn has no language other than crying.

First six months: cooing ‘conversations’.

As early as five weeks and for most by 3–4 months, babies make ‘cooing’ sounds. Babies will make cooing sounds during face-to-face interactions with adults—the first

Six months to ten months: babbling

By the fifth or sixth month, babies will carry on long babbling conversations with their caregiver.

10–12 months: expressive jargon and receptive language

10-12 months: expressive jargon

At about 10–12 months many babies engage in what sounds like a pretend kind of speech. They’ll come out with what sounds like long complicated sentences complete with expression, except the ‘words’ are totally unintelligible.

This kind of speech is called expressive jargon. At around 12 months infants can understand words and simple requests; their receptive language develops earlier than their expressive language.

12–18 months: holophrase Around 12 months, many infants will start to use single words. Sometime after they will begin to use holophrases (one-word sentences) and express a whole thought. By 18 months most infants will be using between three and 50 words consistently.


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Language development in toddlerhoodToddlerhood is a time of language explosion! Generally, toddlers will begin to develop word combinations and their first sentences when they have approximately 50 words. This can occur anywhere between 18 and 24 months but it may occur later if they are growing up in a bilingual language environment.

The first sentences are sometimes referred to as telegraphic speech. This is where children’s sentences contain only the essential words. These sentences are similar to the telegrams people used to use or even to newspaper headlines.

Gradually, children begin to fill out their sentences and include all the words previously left out. However, they sometimes make grammatical errors.

Another characteristic of toddlers’ language at this stage is that they tend to use over-extension. An example of this is when they refer to all four-wheeled vehicles as cars or all four-legged animals as dogs. This is often an efficient way to make maximum use of the small vocabulary they have.

Toddlers still have trouble with some consonants and consonant combinations. This is because their mouth muscles need to mature before they can make consistent speech sounds. Their receptive language (ie the language they understand) improves dramatically and towards the end of the toddler stage they are able to participate in conversations with adults and other children.

Eighteen months to two yearsDuring this time children start to use two word utterances mainly consisting of nouns with a verb or an adjective attached. At this age children may have trouble producing some sounds (eg, spoon may be called a ‘poon’). As the child’s mouth muscles mature, their speech sounds become clearer.


At 18 months to 2 years children may have trouble producing some sounds

Two to two-and-a-half yearsAt around two to two-and-a-half years old, the toddler begins to use a new style of language called telegraphic speech. The child’s sentence contains only the essential words; all the little words have been left out (eg, the child might say ‘Daddy go work car’ for ‘Daddy is going to work in the car’).

Telegraphic speech—using only the essential words

Two-and-a-half to three yearsBetween two-and-a-half to three years, the child’s language gradually becomes more adult-like in sentence structure and sound production. Gradually children begin to fill out their sentences and include all the words previously left out in telegraphic speech and begin to speak in complete sentences. Children’s sentences may, however, still have some grammatical errors (eg, ‘I builded a huge tower with my blocks’).

Language development in the preschool yearsBy the time children reach their third birthday, their language skills allow them to communicate effectively with adults and other children. They are sometimes difficult to understand because their pronunciation of some words is still


developing. They have learnt the art of conversation but because they are egocentric, what they are talking about is not necessarily on the same subject as the other person they are talking with.

Here’s an example:

Adult (seeing that the preschooler is eating peas): I have a daughter who also likes peas. She’s five.

Preschooler: I like trains and dinosaurs. Look, I made a train.

Preschoolers talk about what they want to do, who will do what and what will happen next.

Preschoolers are learning grammar rules.

Although they are learning the grammatical rules of language, they still make mistakes. For example young preschoolers will overuse the grammatical rules so they might say, ‘Daddy wented to work’ or ‘I goed to the shops’ or ‘Mummy is the bestest’.

Vocabulary is increasing at a rapid speed. For example, between the age of two years and four years, the number of words that children know and use doubles every six months.

Preschoolers use words creatively.

Children sometimes make up their own words and they use words very creatively. If you listen closely to preschoolers’ chatter, you can hear them use words such as ‘hopicoper’ for helicopter, ‘mess-up paper’ for scrap paper and ‘a doesn’t-smell bush’ to describe an azalea bush.

Preschoolers enjoy the sounds of words. They love chants and rhymes that involve repetition and words that rhyme. For example:

One potato, two potatoThree potato, fourFive potato, six potatoSeven potato more

Generally speaking, preschoolers become much more fluent in their use of language. However, sometimes their ideas and what they want to say comes faster than their words. This may result in them going through a stage of stuttering. Sometimes too if they see you are busy but they want to tell you something before they have organised their thoughts and words, they will say things like, ‘Mum…… Mum can I………. Mum…. can I……. please…. Mum I need to go to the toilet now.’ This stage of stuttering usually passes as their competence and familiarity with their home language increases.


As fluency with the spoken word increases, children start to become aware of, and interested in, print. We need to encourage this interest by allowing children to play with language in its written form. Formal instruction is not necessary at this stage but games can be played so that they have opportunities to recognise their name and the names of friends, for example. Labels on objects and familiar signs will foster this interest.

Language skills of three-to-four-year-oldsThe three-to-four-year-old develops the following receptive and expressive language abilities.

Receptive language skills Expressive language skills

Learns words at the rate of 50 new words per month

Has vocabulary of 700-1000 words

Carries on simple conversation and talks of past experience

Talks to self out loud about what is happening and makes believe

Usually grammatically correct but does make some mistakes—for example, ‘Mummy digged the garden; I see sheeps, Daddy’

Uses sentences with an average of three to four words (individual sentences will be longer and quite complex)

Speech is 95% intelligible

Changes tone of voice and sentence structure to adapt to whoever they’re talking to—for example: to baby, ‘Milk gone’ and to mother, ‘Did Tommy drink all his milk?’

Understands the possessive case—for example, his, her, theirs, the baby’s

Understands pronouns—eg, he and she

Consistently uses possessive pronouns in speech (eg hers, his)

Understands prepositions—for example, in front, behind, beside, between, away from, in, on, under

Uses prepositions in speech (eg in, on, under, over, behind)

Comprehends the negative—for example, which one is not jumping

Uses ‘can’t’ and ‘don’t’ to indicate negative

Understands words such as bigger and biggest

Uses comparative words (eg ‘His tower is taller than mine’)

Understands questions such as ‘What are you doing?’, ‘What is this?’, ‘Where…?’, ‘Who…?’, ‘Whose…?’, and ‘Why…?’

Answers these questions appropriately


Understands plural endings—for example, chairs

May apply plural rules to non-standard words (eg ‘mouses’ instead of ‘mice’)

Understands what it means to take turns (but does not necessarily accept it)

Will say such things as ‘I’m first’

Understands two-part instruction For example ‘Go to your bag and bring me your jumper’

Enjoys listening to a story (1015 minutes) Recites and sings simple songs and rhymes

Points on request to window, door, floor, etc; points to body parts

Uses the names of objects and can often relate the function of the object

Language skills of four-to-five-year-olds The four- to five-year-old develops the following receptive and expressive language skills.

Receptive language skills Expressive language skills

Understands these verb tenses:

present (I am going now)

past (I went this morning before you had your lunch)

future (I will go after you have had your sleep)

Grammar well established (very few errors)

Average sentence length of five to seven words (individual sentences long and complex)

Has a vocabulary of 1500 words or more

Speech is almost 100% understood by the listener; able to produce most speech sounds (may still substitute ‘f’ for ‘th’ and ‘w’ for ‘r’).

Has increased fluency and confidence in language usage and is able to carry out conversations

Uses joining words (conjunctions)—for example, and, but, because

Uses at least ten different prepositional phrases—for example, on the chair, behind the box

Uses at least five different possessive pronouns—for example, hers, mine, his, ours, theirs

Able to describe drawings; uses at least 12 different adjectives—for example, big, beautiful, strong, heavy

Uses ‘could’ and ‘would’ appropriately

Able to answer telephone appropriately

Understands instruction with three to four parts

Responds to instruction with three to four parts

Listens to long stories Tells long stories: will still confuse fact with fantasy

Often asks why, when, how?

Answers questions that begin with ‘If….what?’, ‘What…?, and ‘When…?’


Influences on language developmentPreschoolers’ language development will be influenced by their need to communicate with those around them and by being surrounded by a language-rich environment. This means that for children to develop their language skills they must hear the language around them and develop a need to communicate in this environment.

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Individual differences in language developmentThere are individual differences in the development of language. Some children become early talkers while others are late. This sometimes occurs because of either their state of readiness or their need to develop language. I can remember a friend’s fourth child still having very few words by the age of three-and-a-half years. This was causing a reasonable amount of concern. As it turned out, this child had not developed the need to talk because his older brothers and sisters were responding to his gestures. One day after it had been raining, he ran out to retrieve the mail from the letterbox. He came roaring back inside the house exclaiming, ‘Who put the bloody green frog in the letter box?’ This was the first time he had a need to use his language!

MultilingualismMany children in Australia are exposed to two or more languages during childhood. It is important if we are to care for young children that we nurture the development of both languages. The home language that is used by the family enables the passing on of cultural traditions, beliefs, values and ways of thinking about the world. It forms a large part of the child’s self-concept.

Sometimes children may start to use words from their home language


If we were to discourage the development of this language we would be taking away links to children’s cultural identity. This means that they would lack understanding of the culture from which their family developed and, therefore, lack a sense of belonging. This would contribute to lower self-esteem. Their thinking in their first language and understanding of concepts is usually more advanced.

Sometimes when children are learning two languages together, they may start to use words from both languages. It may appear that they have a language delay. However, this confusion only lasts for a short time and with support, they will become competent users of both languages.

Language development in middle childhoodChildren have a very good grasp of language by five years of age. Now that they have entered the school-aged years, their use and understanding of language becomes far more complex. Children are now starting to become more familiar with the written word and so are developing the skills of reading and writing.

Learning to read occurs as part of children’s total language development. Reading is closely linked with listening, speaking and writing. When children have stories read to them, they become aware that print represents language and conveys a message.

Children’s language will now reflect their thoughts and understanding. We can learn about children’s cognitive development by listening to their responses to questions or problems. We can also find out about what they are learning and what they know.

As children progress through school, they become increasingly aware of the many ways language can be used. During middle childhood children adjust their language to suit the situation and people they are talking to. Think about how you change your language to suit different people and different situations. Do you use different language and talk in a different way when you talk to:

• your friends • your parents and your brothers and sisters • an employer • your partner • an interviewer for a job.

During middle childhood, children become aware of the many ways language can be used and change the way they talk to suit the situation and the people they are


talking to. So children during middle childhood will speak differently to their friends than they do to their parents or teachers.

During middle childhood children begin to understand deeper meanings of language.

Do you know the following sayings? What do they mean?

• A stitch in time saves nine.• Many hands make light work. • A rolling stone gathers no moss.

During the middle childhood stage, children begin to understand that these types of sayings actually mean something more that the actual words used.

During middle childhood, children learn to use and understand written language. By the end of middle childhood most children are able to read popular daily newspapers and are beginning to write language in different ways (eg writing a letter or writing a creative story or writing for a newspaper).

Children also learn to use and understand language as a source of humour.

Understanding humour requires both cognitive and language skills. Understanding a joke requires:

• appreciating the unexpected • understanding concepts and knowing when they have been used in an

unexpected way • knowledge of current affairs (think about all the jokes about President

Clinton during 1999 these were only funny if you knew what had been happening)

• knowledge related to how things work in our society • understanding that words can have more than one meaning • knowing when something is absurd or impossible.

School-aged children love telling jokes and they have usually developed a number of the skills we need to tell a joke. They need to be able to listen carefully, to


know what someone else will think is funny and, hardest of all, they need to remember the right way to tell the joke—it is essential that they remember the punch line.

Let’s look at some jokes.

Q: What’s worse than finding a worm when you bite into an apple?

A: Finding half a worm!

Q: What’s the dirtiest thing in the house?

A: A clock because it doesn’t wash its face and hands!

(These jokes show that children have some idea of a real situation.)

Q: Why didn’t the woman leave the house when the bear was chasing her?

A: Because she didn’t want to be seen with a ‘bare’ behind!

(This joke can only be seen as funny if you understand that words can have more than one meaning.)

Finally:

Q: How do you hide an elephant in a Smartie packet?

A: Put him in technicolour booties!

(A sense of the absurd perhaps?)


Encourage children to express themselves verbally and provide experiences to expose children to a range of language forms

How can we support the development of infants’ language?Infants’ language needs are:

• to be involved in ‘conversations’ right from birth• to hear language through talking, singing with others, being read books• to have objects and people labelled in their environment• to have their cooing and babbling responded to• to have their attempts at language positively reinforced.

As caregivers of infants, we need to support their language learning by frequently holding them and making eye contact. We need to listen for and respond to conversational turn taking that has been initiated by the infant. It’s good to imitate their cooing sounds and talk in an expressive voice about what you are doing and what you can see together.

Lullabies, gentle body and tickling games and nursery rhymes will help infants learn about pattern and rhythm in language. They will also enjoy being near the action. When they are awake, position them where they can see and hear the conversation and activity of the older children and adults in their environment. For example:

• Talk to infants right from birth (the baby is learning the rhythms and patterns of language right from the start).

• Sing and read books right from the start.• Label the objects in the books (infants’ books should have large, clear

drawings).• Label things in the environment (eg, dog, cat, drink, cup).• Respond positively to cooing, babbling and expressive jargon.


• Put in words for what you think the infant is trying to express through gestures, cooing, babbling or holophrase (eg, ‘You can see the bird, can’t you?’).

• Listen to children’s language, both the early attempts and as they use language better.

• Expand children’s language (eg if the 14-month-old goes to the door and says ‘Out’, you say, ‘You want to go outside, don’t you?’).

• Be a model for good language (eg use correct grammar and a variety of words).

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How can we support toddlers’ language development?

Toddlers’ language needsTo achieve optimal language development the toddler needs to:

• hear language• use language• be listened to• be responded to.

One of the best ways to foster language development is to encourage toddlers to communicate in the best way they can, whether it be by verbal or non-verbal means.

If we concentrate on what children are trying to communicate, rather than worrying about correcting the way they communicate, we will support them in their development of language. It’s important that we don’t correct toddlers’ verbal language but rather that we model the appropriate language in our speech.

Children will gradually learn the correct pronunciation and grammar just by hearing us using language around them. If we constantly correct toddlers’ speech, it will cause them to feel frustrated and perhaps even make them reluctant to talk freely.

We should also take care not to mock toddlers’ attempts at language. When one of my children was almost three, he used to love a cup of tea. When his grandmother visited one day, he asked if he too could have a cup of tea but with no tea ‘weaves’. When I responded that I would make him a cup of tea with no tea ‘weaves’, he became quite agitated and repeated he wanted a cup of tea with no tea ‘weaves’. When I repeated my response, he became really cross. Then I


said, ‘Fine, you can have a cup of tea with no tea ‘leaves’; he was then happy. This shows that even though children may have difficulty pronouncing some sounds, they do recognise the correct one. If they are to learn correct pronunciation and correct grammar, they must hear it modelled by those around them.

A language-rich environment provides many opportunities for children to experience written as well as oral language. As young children learn to speak, they start to enjoy using language. If toddlers are read to, they learn that language can be written down.

When parents and carers read with toddlers, they are promoting early literacy skills such as how to handle books or turn pages. Such experiences show that reading is interesting and worthwhile. In shared reading activities, babies learn that stories are read with a certain pacing and intonation.

In most literate cultures, children are exposed to written text in street signs, road signs, books, newspapers, letters, shopping lists and so on. At a very early age they start to recognise the signs of, for example, favourite take-away food outlets.

It’s also important that caregivers provide toddlers with the opportunities to draw and to begin to print the letters that are included in their own names. Children’s names are very powerful to them and are often the first words they learn to read and write.

Music, songs and action rhymes are also important strategies for promoting children’s cognitive and language development. Through singing, dancing and learning action rhymes and songs, young children learn another sign system that is used to convey meaning. Very young children can increase their vocabulary and practise their pronunciation of difficult words by taking part in music and singing and using action rhymes. As toddlers experience music, they are learning another language system that enables them to extend their expressive language. Music and singing also give toddlers opportunities to hear and imitate different sounds. We should ensure that children have opportunities to hear and sing songs from many different cultural backgrounds so that diversity is valued.

In summaryA good caregiver provides a toddler with a rich language environment.

A rich language environment includes the following:

• story books• songs• finger plays• poems• telling stories• good language models


• talking about what is happening throughout the day• talking about what the toddler is doing• conversations.

A good caregiver encourages toddlers to use language. Caregivers can encourage a toddler to use language by:

• asking questions that the toddler can answer• playing labelling games using picture books and display pictures and

objects in the environment• encouraging a toddler to repeat what has happened in a story• being patient when a toddler is speaking (don’t finish sentences for the

child)• positively reinforcing the toddler’s language at every opportunity• encouraging the toddler to participate in conversations.

A good caregiver listens to what a toddler says and responds by:

• answering any question the toddler asks• rephrasing and extending the toddler’s statement• commenting on what the toddler says.

Toddlers need lots of one-to-one time with an adult so that their attempts at language can be listened to, reinforced, paraphrased, repeated and extended. This will help motivate them to extend their language.

During bath time identify body parts

How can we support preschoolers’ language development?Here is a summary of ‘must dos’ to support the preschooler’s language development.


Do accept and respond. The most important thing we as carers can do to support preschoolers’ language development is to always accept and respond to their attempts at language. This will help maintain their motivation to keep developing their communication skills.

Do be clear and positive. Your language should be clear and positive, with varied tones, natural not forced or patronising or artificial. Don’t talk down to children or at children all the time.

Do be a good listener. Take time to listen to what preschoolers have to say. If they are difficult to understand, repeat to them what you think they’ve said. A caregiver will promote children’s language by being a good listener. Children know whether or not you are listening just as you know if children are listening to you.

When listening to children:

• show that you are listening by directing your attention and concentrating on the child: don’t let your eyes wander away from the child

• stay still and listen, if possible• make eye contact• position yourself so that you are on the same eye level as the child• don’t interrupt: let children finish what they are saying• give the response children are looking for, the response appropriate for

the child’s statements (eg horror or amusement).

Do use language with children. Give simple replies to their endless questions, particularly when they are seeking new information. If you don’t know, tell them you will find out. Alternatively, help them to find out. It is important to always follow through on your promise so that preschoolers feel their need to know is valued.

Always give instructions to preschoolers in the order in which you want them to do things. For instance, if you say, ‘Wash your hands after you go to the toilet’, they are likely to wash their hands before they go to the toilet. It is better to say, ‘After you go to the toilet, remember to wash your hands’.

Let them know talking is fun. Use rhymes, find ridiculous riddle books to share together and play ‘I spy’ games.

Encourage fantasy via pretend games. Provide dress-up clothes and old hats and shoes and talk about what the children are pretending.

Play ‘Simon says’. This is a great way to check children’s listening skills.

Make things together and talk about the cutting, pasting, drawing, cooking, hanging out of washing and so on that you are doing.


Make puppets using paper bags, old socks, paper and paddle-pop sticks and use these to encourage preschoolers to take on different roles and speak in different ways. Some quiet preschoolers will talk more when they are talking for a puppet.

Read lots of stories

Read lots of stories—during the day, at rest time, after a meal or at bedtime. Sometimes let the children tell the story, especially if it’s a favourite one. Don’t worry about the written words all the time. Sometimes their imagination and the pictures will generate an amazing story. If children are to later learn how to write stories they first need to have a sense of what a story is.

Go on lots of excursions—to the supermarket, the library, the park, the nursery or ride on a bus or train. These real-life experiences will generate a whole host of new vocabulary and provide preschoolers with new things to recall and talk about.

Above all, it is really important to be a good language model. Children will copy the language that you use. If you use correct grammar, clear pronunciation and appropriate voice tones, children will learn these skills. If you listen to them, they will learn to listen to you.

Ask open-ended questions rather than closed ones. Open-ended questions require children to give a description-type answer. For example, the question: What are you going to do today? prompts a child to think and use more complex language than the question: Are you going to play with the blocks today? This question can be answered with a yes or a no. The first is an open-ended question and the second is a closed question.

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How can we support school-aged children’s language development?If we are to support school-aged children’s language development, we need to ensure that they hear lots of different types of language and of course have lots of opportunities to read and write language. It’s important that they are listened to and that what they have to say is seen as important and is valued.

When caring for school-aged children, we need to set up activities for small groups, since this encourages conversation. Children will need space and privacy to talk among themselves; they really enjoy secrets at this stage.

We need to be good language models, in that we as their carers speak clearly, using correct grammar and tones. When we ask open-ended questions we provide children with the opportunity to explain, describe and tell a story. This will also support their learning and their development of creativity.

Even though school-aged children are learning to read, they still enjoy being read to. They need to have access to a whole range of reading materials: books, comics, recipe books, instructions for games and equipment, magazines and newspapers. Sometimes when children are experiencing difficulty in learning to


read, they have more success when they are given the opportunity to try and read something which is of interest to them. For example, if they enjoy fishing or motorbikes, they will have greater motivation to learn to read if they are given magazines about fishing or motorbikes.

We can support school-aged children’s language development by encouraging them to write. This can be in the form of stories, poems, messages, letters, lists of ideas and scripts for plays which they can act out. We can also encourage them to try word puzzles such as crosswords and play games such as Scrabble or Upwords so that their understanding of words and their spelling increases.

Review of caregiving strategies to support language development in middle childhoodBy middle childhood, children use language to communicate in different ways with a range of different people. Good communication is linked to good language skills.

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Interaction skillsThere are two important skills that every caregiver needs to develop to encourage children to talk and chat. The first skill is to use open-ended questions. Remember, open-ended questions are questions which encourage children to use more than one or two words to answer.

The second skill is the skill of listening. It doesn’t matter how many or what type of questions you ask: if you don’t listen to the answers it brings conversation and talking to a dead halt.

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clips word template - sielearning web viewduring this stage the child is beginning to learn ......

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