Case Study: Early Years collaborating &
presenting
As an early years teacher, I often observe children
with developing language skills who are able to
work effectively with their peers through the
medium of play. Whether a young child?s
language is developing as a consequence of their
age or because they are a dual language learner,
they still manage to build relationships, negotiate
and engage purposefully with one another. In this
way, the language of play translates across all
cultures, abilities and settings and is a powerful
tool for educators. their first-hand experiences and situations which
they have observed. It is essentially rehearsal time
for children!
Play allows children to experiment and explore
different concepts freely and on a practical level as
they make sense of the world around them. It is
widely accepted that there is a relationship
between play and oral language development.
Play is collaborative and so is language. In the new year, I will be launching a new coached
study course on NAU which will be examining EAL
in the Early Years so if you are interested in early
language development, please look out for the
enrollment details.
As teachers, we must ensure that our provision
and teaching provide opportunities for children to
develop their language skills. In an Early Years
classroom, you will usually find role play, small
world and construction areas which are ideal
play-based activities for children to make sense of
Meaningful conversations which occur between
adults and children are so important to language
development. These conversations take time and
are not superficial or dominated by the adult
asking lots of closed questions. We should plan to
make time to ?serve and return? in conversation
with children like we do with friends and family.
Joanna?s full
article is
available to read
on NAU, check it
out here.
Joanna Johnson
Director of Student Welfare for Toddlers to Year 1
EY & Language Acquisition Teaching Fellow
British International School of Boston