Supporting Very Young Childrens Communication, Language and Literacy Development - Essay Example

Supporting Very Young Children’s Communication, Language and Literacy Development Very young children are described to be restlessly curious, seeking knowledge of their world and hungry for learning. That is why they have the urgent need to learn language and communication skills. The Bercow Report (2008) emphasizes the need to learn communication skills very early in life, as the ability to communicate is an essential life skill, being a core of all social interaction. When children learn effective communication skills, they can engage and thrive in their interpersonal relationships and further their learning. However, without such skills, children will struggle to learn, achieve, make friends and interact with the world around them (Bercow Report, 2008). Language development entails learning four strands namely listening, speaking, reading and writing. Oracy skills fall under listening and speaking while literacy skills fall under reading and writing. This paper will explore the links between oracy and literacy and how skills development in communication, language and literacy skills of very young children (aged 3-5 years) can be supported with various learning strategies, mostly including books and shared stories. The Importance of Communication Skills The government’s flagship programme for children and young people aptly named Every Child Matters, makes it their mission to achieve five outcomes for children. These outcomes, identified by the children themselves, are as follows: “to be healthy; to stay safe; to enjoy and achieve; to make a positive contribution; and to achieve economic well-being” (HM Government, 2007). Speech, language and communication underpin achievement of every one of these outcomes. Inability to communicate effectively puts children at risk of poor outcomes such as struggling to engage in and enjoy education since most aspects of education are based on language use. The Rose Review (2009) made a clear connection between strong speaking and listening skills and children’s ability to learn and read. That is why communication, language and literacy has been identified and targeted to be one of the specific learning areas in the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS, 2007). Language Acquisition A great deal of a child’s acquisition of linguistic structure occurs during the first five years of life. This is the period when he is most active in discerning a set of underlying organizational principles of language from the expression that surrounds him. It is amazing how at a very young age, he is capable of abstracting meaning from direct experience with other language users depending on his own context. Beaty (2009) explains that even at an infant stage, the baby’s early nonverbal communication helps in preparing her for the spoken and written language to follow and at 6 months, she has become a language specialist, based on the sounds she hears most frequently. At 20 months, she may possess a sizable vocabulary if she hears adults around her talk to one another and to her all the time. Of course good hearing and sensitive listening are paramount to language development. Lindfors (1987) notes that the child’s language environment includes a set of specific sentences, however, it is not this set of sentences that he acquires, but deduces from these an underlying set of organizational principles and sound-meaning relationships. To illustrate, children as young as two do not talk by simply using the specific sentences they hear, but rather, they construct sentences according to their own early version of organized principles underlying the specific sentences they have heard. Perhaps due also limited language and motor skills, the child’s early linguistic system is different from the adult’s and results in telegraphic and grammatically erratic sentences like “He no want to sit me.”, “I not like it”, and “He gived it to me.” Over time, his language system will be revised in many different situations, and his sentences will become more adult-like. For his own purpose, he builds his own rule-governed constructions as he has deduced from his environment. (Lindfors, 1987) Clay (1998) posits that all children must take an active part in negotiating meanings. Conversations with adults are essential in the language learning of children. Piaget and Vygotsky, key people in the study of language and thought, believe that development will not take place unless children engage in rich, meaningful conversations with others by which language is internalized to more complex thinking (Neuman & Roskos, 1993). Both theorists uphold that through language, children begin to decipher particular words from objects or actions and then words begin to stand for ideas. Next, thought begins to take on a symbolic function (Neuman & Roskos, 1993). Supporting the Development of Oracy Skills Children’s oracy skills are developed by giving them opportunities to express themselves verbally. They should be trained use appropriate language in their play or when conveying meaning to others, as well as to listen and carry out instructions. This would require that they develop good concentration and attention span. Previous experience and knowledge should be built upon when they communicate, and they should learn to organize what they say, choose their words well and be coherent in their discussions, and not divert from the topic at hand (Foundation Phase, 2008). Since they derive much of their language expressions from experience, it would be worthwhile to let them experience a variety of activities in both indoor and outdoor settings. Play is one activity that provides different types of learning experiences, so practitioners should consider both planned play activities as well as spontaneous child-initiated ones. Simple rhymes, nursery rhymes, songs, stories (both real, imagined and written by others), information text, media productions (from TV shows, children’s CD’s, etc.) are just some of the tools used in encouraging oracy skills. These may be used in flexible ways, for and by the children. All practitioners working with young children need to have a good knowledge of how children’s speech, language and communication skills develop, and must be able to support that development, but they also need to consider the skills they need to develop in order to do so. Being with young children a great part of their day entails practitioners to model effective communication skills themselves. (Department for Children, Schools and Families & ICAN ,2008). Practitioners should also allow children to ask and answer questions, express their thoughts, ideas and feelings, likes, dislikes and needs as well as their opinions no matter how silly they may seem. Engaging them in dramatic activities, imaginative play, improvisation and performances will most likely bring out their language skills and build up their vocabulary. Supporting the Development of Literacy Skills Development of oracy skills come hand in hand with the development of literacy skills. Just what is literacy, and how does it develop in an individual? Venezky, et al (1990) provides an elaborate explanation, emphasizing writing as well as reading: “Literacy is a minimal ability to read and write in a designated language, as well as a mindset or way of thinking about the use of reading and writing in everyday life. It differs from simple reading and writing in its assumption of an understanding of the appropriate uses of these abilities within a print-based society. Literacy, therefore, requires active, autonomous engagement with print and stresses the role of the individual in generating as well as receiving and assigning independent interpretations to messages.” (p. 142) Emergent literacy is the term used to refer to the earliest period of a child’s literacy development, specifically the time between birth and when the child can read and write (Sulzby and Teale, 1991). According to emergent literacy theories, the child is the central figure in the construction of learning. His life experiences directly affect his literacy. One theoretical perspective in the area of emergent literacy is that children are innately predisposed to becoming literate especially if they live in a literary-rich environment – lots of books, pictures, films, software, educational posters, etc. Piaget (1959) also has something to contribute to the theoretical perspective of literacy. According to him, literacy is actively constructed with a child’s interaction with the environment. Such interaction brings about learning, as concepts are constructed or changed, usually, differing from adult concepts. Still another perspective has been inspired by Vygotsky (1962), as he theorizes that a child learns literacy through conversation and involvement in literacy acts with an adult. This interaction between adult and child is called ‘scaffolding’. This occurs when a knowledgeable adult gently guides a child through successive literacy activities while relinquishing autonomy little by little to the child until such time he can do in on his own. With regards to the literacy development of very young children, their reading and writing skills are encouraged and developed through constant exposure to books and the availability of writing materials. Their natural interest in books and stories need to be nurtured by caring practitioners who read to them often and let them manipulate the books and explore the possibilities of the stories. Books that focus on repetition are good choices, especially for toddlers who need to master their language. The repetitive lines give children the opportunity to participate in the story by saying them out loud when the story calls for it. Another point for story selection is how the book revolves around the needs of the specific children the practitioner is working with (Giorgin & Glazer, 2008). For instance, very young children welcome stories that empower the characters that are limited in their skills because of their young age. A character who is considered “too little” to do many things may still have a healthy self-esteem by being able to set the table or change his own shirt. The characters in the story may be in situations that are relatable to the children. Simple plots such as going to school for the first time, managing to be friends with bullies, accepting the responsibility of being a sibling to a new baby or learning a new skill such as riding a bicycle capture the interest of children. Of course, the stories need to have a positive theme and a significant lesson to learn. The words used must be simple and understandable (Brewer, 2002). Exposing children to literature is one way of helping them learn to read. They not only learn to read words and sentences, but they also learn comprehension skills in doing so. Supporting Oracy and Literacy Development With Books and Stories Children’s stories are valuable because they present so many benefits to a child’s development. Storytelling activities merge oracy and literacy skill development. Otto (2010) discusses that effective storybook reading techniques involve three parts namely pre-reading, reading and post-reading. These stages are equally important in the appreciation of a story. Before reading a book, the teacher must be able to entice the children to listen to the story as she introduces the book. She should talk about the title of the book and encourage children to predict what the book conveys. During this time, the teacher establishes the need to listen with a purpose. While reading the story, the teacher should pause occasionally to ask comprehension questions to check if the children have understood the story so far. She may also involve the children in predicting upcoming events or commenting what has happened in the story so far. Upon finishing the story, the events are reviewed and the children may be engaged in making connections between the story and their life experiences. Follow up activities such as drawing scenes from the story or “writing” part of it in the child’s own version will strengthen the concept that words are expressed in print too. Teachers may talk about letters by name and sounds while matching it to pictures. A literacy-rich environment filled with print and pictures would stimulate a child’s interest in reading and writing. It is important for teachers to provide their students lots of opportunities for literacy-related play activities such as role-playing, bookmaking, filling out story charts, and experimentation with writing on their own. The teacher can help a child recognize how print works by demonstrating directionality and discussing the differences between the information obtained from the pictures in books and the printed words (Brewer, 2001). Shared reading sessions are opportunities to expose children to the process of reading text. Fountas & Pinnell, (1996) lists several benefits of Shared reading. Among them are building previous experiences with books; providing language models; expanding vocabulary; laying a foundation for guided and independent reading. It also supports children who are on the verge of reading so that they can enjoy participating in reading whole stories. It provides an opportunity for the teacher to demonstrate phrased fluent reading and to draw attention to critical concepts about print, providing a context for learning specific words and features of words, and helping children become familiar with texts that they can use independently as resources for writing and reading. Shared reading provides readers a good support system. Readers can help each other as they read the text. They can work and read as a group or team to solve problems that they may encounter as they read the text. They can work on meaning of words that they cannot understand and even share their opinion with concepts found in the book. A lot of conversation may take place as they read and they can share their thoughts and experience. As in “read-alouds”, the teacher draws the children into the story and begins conversations for children to become active participants. Conclusion The significance of developing and honing communication, language and literacy skills in early childhood cannot be overstated. From accounts of pioneering theorists in cognitive and language development such as Piaget and Vygotsky as well as proven observations by educators on the effect of learning language skills, government and concerned individuals and organizations have exerted great efforts to further research on its importance to survival. Reports such as those done by Bercow and Rose have impacted the educational system so greatly that schools are likewise coming up with effective strategies to engage children in learning activities that promote oracy and literacy development. Books and sharing stories are just a few of the learning materials and activities that enhance communication, language and literacy skills. These help concretize learning for very young children in the company of other learners who may contribute much to their shared learning. It is essential that educators are now coming to understand that learner-centered strategies are more effective in engaging young children’s learning since it puts much value in the young learners’ construction of their own understanding of concepts. This makes learning more meaningful and relevant to them, hence, retention of concepts and skills is easier to achieve. Indeed, young children’s development of communication, language and literacy skills entails several details parents and educators need to consider in planning a developmentally appropriate program. At their age, adults must take advantage of their eagerness to learn so they maximize their potentials in their language skills. They need to know that language has many useful purposes that they need to use wisely in their life’s journey. References Beaty, J.J. (2009), 50 Early childhood literacy strategies, Pearson Merrill Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River, NJ, pp. 54-55. Bercow Report (2008) A Review of Services for Children and Young People (0–19) with Speech, Language and Communication Needs. Retrieved on December 20, 2010 from http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/bercowreview/docs/7771-DCSF-BERCOW.PDF Brewer, J. (2001). Introduction to early childhood education preschool through primary grades, 4th ed. Massachusetts: Allyn and Bacon. 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