Language Development Reflection

Research shows that when adults create rich language and literacy environments and respond to a preschool child’s communication in specific ways, they can boost that child’s emergent language and literacy development and increase the

They may know a word one day but not the next. They may read a word correctly on one page but then struggle with it on the next page, having to stop and sound it out again. When you listen to a beginner reader, you hear short, choppy words with little attention to punctuation, this leads to the reader not being able to full understand and comprehend what they are reading, and instead just simply reading out each word as its own, instead of part of a sentence. Although teachers are able to help teach students in the classroom, a teacher is dealing with more than one student and your child may not get the attention they need, making at home reading all the more important for your child. When reading out loud with a child they will be able to develop knowledge about language, context, sentence structure, grammar, syntax and other components of language. When time is spent reading at home (especially with younger children) they’ll be much more likely to express themselves in a healthy way. By witnessing the interactions between characters in a story book as well as the time the child spends with a parent during story time. Reading activities at home has significant positive influences on reading achievement, language comprehension and expressive skills (e.g. Gest, Freeman, Domitrovich and Welsh,

“The more you read, the more things you know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go” –Dr. Seuss. Dr.Seuss could not be any more right. It is often said that once you find the right book, you could go anywhere. Literacy is one of the most important things that a child could ever learn. In order to succeed in society today, one must be able to read, write, speak and even listen. There has been great debate over the different approaches when it comes to teaching children how to read. This essay will go more in depth on both approaches, how the writer learned how to read, how the writer will teach their students how to read.

I chose to use the article “From the Reading Rug to the Play Center: Enhancing Vocabulary and Comprehensive Language Skills by Connecting Storybook Reading and Guided Play” by Susan L. Massey for my study group. As a primary school teacher, I try to implement storybooks into every literacy lesson possible. “Quality children’s literature provides exposure to abstract language and abstract concepts not commonly experienced in typical adult-child conversation” (Massey, 2013, p. 125). I chose this article because the variety of strategies and scaffolding techniques introduced. Not only has this article provided me with numerous ways of enhancing student involvement through conversation but, also by expanding student vocabulary and comprehension

Recently the term “reading readiness” has given way “emergent literacy” by which we mean the many skills children need for reading and writing. From the time they were born and continuing through the preschool years, each child picks up in his or her own way. Listening, speaking, reading and writing are all part of emergent literacy. Literacy really begins when an infant coos or babbles, then hears those sound repeated by a responsive and loving adults. These early conversation, which can make adults feel a little silly, and a gentle introduction to spoken language

Children at age two have a vocabulary that reaches up to 2,000 words, by the age of four, preschool age children of parents who are literate have increased their vocabulary to a maximum of 10,000 words. This would be difficult to accomplish in a household where both parents are illiterate, especially when it comes to more rich vocabulary words.

In order for children to expand their vocabulary they need to hear others speak and be spoken to. By reading and asking questions about what you read you are increasing a child’s word learning. By four years old a child should know about 900 words and be able to speak in 5-6 word sentences. Language becomes the principle tool for establishing and maintaining relationships with adults and other children. (Dodge, 2002) The richer a child’s vocabulary the better that they will become at speaking, reading and writing. A critical period for learning language does exist which is between the ages of 8-12 years old. If a child does not learn language within this period, they probably will never fully learn and have the language

Parental involvement is very important to the physical and mental growth of a child, but is early literacy and parental involvement important? Is reading to your child and having an environment that supports literacy important? The answer to these questions is yes. In the article Literacy development begins at home, with a literate home environment by Laura J. Colker, she talks about how important literacy is and how much of an impact it has on the child’s growth in reading. Researchers have found that it is just as important to read and write in the home as it is in school (Colker, 2014)

‘Children learn on average around 3.5 words per day’ (Lowry, 2016). So when calculated that’s 24.5 a week, roughly 105 a month, 1277.5 a year and by the time they are five they should have learnt 6387.5 which is why they need to be exposed to as much literature as possible. Learning new words and using to talk about thoughts and feelings, makes a child feel confident to use language. It’s also important for children to listen to your use of vocabulary and articulation while reading to them because it models how to express themselves. When children are exposed to new, unfamiliar words through reading or being read to, they are benefitted in the future. They will be able to use the different words because they now know the meaning of the words that they

Through this week learning resources, I have learned that there are evidences that demonstrate that when a child has limited experiences he or she is more likely to have difficult comprehending what is read. It is why early childhood professionals affirm that oral language is the foundation for literacy development. Everything that children learn about speaking and listening they use for writing and reading and what they learn from writing and reading they use in listening and speaking. In other words, oral language and literacy develop simultaneously. When parents provide rich language and literacy reinforcement at home, children do better in school than those who do not. It is also known for early childhood professionals that for a child with limited experiences is more difficult comprehending what is read. For example, a child who has being exposed to many environments like a farm or like a museum will have more mentally engagement in classrooms activities about things he or she already know that children who have not had experience in those environments. Many researches showed that children that have not have a literacy development or an oral language development years before formal schooling, are less likely to be successful beginning readers, opening an achievement lag that might last through the primary grades. Some of the reasons why parents are not actively involved into their children’s educations are their socioeconomic or legal status. For example, in an immigrant family sometimes both parents have to work and sometimes they have to work two shifts. I have known families where children are the whole day in school and with nannies. Those children do not develop any skills that help them to succeed at the time of attending forming school.

The key elements of emergent literacy note that adult support and supervision is crucial to children’s language development in an early childhood setting. Their confidence in learning and engagement comes from their social background, families, and community experiences. It is noted that from birth, children’s communication with others are extensive by the use of sounds, gestures and language. The cognitive and linguistic aspects they need are social, spiritual and creativeness thus allowing them make connections and sense of new experiences (DEEWR,

When children are 8-18 months they say their first words, there is a variation because of environmental influences and genetic. They comprehend the meaning of around 10,000 words by the age of six (Berk, 2013, p. 376). According to social interactionist perspective children’s nature and their language and social worlds influences how quick and how much their early language develops (Fellowes and Oakley, 2014, p. 51). Studies illustrates girls early vocabulary growth is ahead of boys. The biological explanation for this is that girls’ mature faster physically, which develops the cerebral hemisphere of girls earlier (Berk, 2013, 377).

Reading aloud is a common practice in primary classrooms and is viewed as an important vehicle for vocabulary development. Read aloud are complex instructional interactions in which teachers choose texts, identify words for instruction, and select the appropriate strategies to facilitate word learning. Reading aloud to children provides a powerful context for word learning. During read aloud interactions, word learning occurs both incidentally and as I stop and elaborates on particular words to provide an explanation, demonstration, or example.

Read alouds are very beneficial to young children.They provided many opportunities for children to learn about an array of topics as well as obtain key literacy skills. Read alouds not only build literacy skills but also allow children to increase their communication and language skills. Through read alouds children can learn phonemic awareness, print concept, phonics, word recognition, and fluency. Read alouds can help children learn about topics such as, but not limited to, five senses, surroundings, and transportation. Educators, especially in early childhood, take full advantage of read alouds as teaching moments and opportunities to connect with their students as well as students to connect with them.

Most young children develop language rapidly, moving from crying and cooing in infancy to using hundreds of words and understanding their meanings by the time they are ready to enter kindergarten. Language development is a major accomplishment and is one of the most rewarding experiences for anyone to share with a child. Children learn to speak and understand words by being around adults and peers who communicate with them and encourage their efforts to talk.