On the Coast – Families Issue 97 I December/January 2019 | Page 7

Coast Christian School
Language and learning
As parents, we want to give our children
the best possible start to their learning.
The good news is, we can! Research has
shown that the key to a child’s successful
learning at school is their language skills.
Children’s language skills before starting
school predict not only their success in
maths and reading, but also impact their
social development.
What is “language”? The term “language”
is most commonly used to refer to receptive
language (comprehension) and expressive
language (expressing oneself using spoken
language). In a school setting, language is
involved in every aspect of a child’s day,
including following directions, understanding
stories, comprehending maths questions,
telling a story or sharing information, and
connecting socially with others.
How can I help my child develop their
language skills? Parents play a crucial role
in helping their child develop language
skills. Three ways you can stimulate your
child’s language development are: aren’t in the here and now. This type of
language has been shown to predict how
well children learn “academic language”
used by teachers and textbooks. Parents
can extend their child’s skills in this area by
talking about things that have happened
in the past or will happen in the future, by
giving explanations, talking about feelings,
and by solving problems out loud.
Talking With Your Child
It is known that talking with children
from an early age promotes language
development. Recent MRI studies have
shown that children who enjoy regular
conversation with their parents have
stronger connections between two
language centres in the brain – the more
children were engaged in conversation,
the greater the effect. When children
are young, conversations usually
revolve around things in the immediate
environment. As they grow, children need
to develop “decontextualized language”
– the ability to talk about things that Reading With Your Child
Pre-literacy skills are skills that children
acquire before they learn to read. Children
who begin school with strong pre-literacy
skills experience greater academic success
throughout their schooling. One language
based pre-literacy skill that is a strong
predictor for early reading and writing
success is phonological awareness. This is
the understanding that words are made up
of individual sounds and can be
Playing With Your Child
The most important play tool for language
development is you! Social games such
as Peek-a-boo and Round and Round the
Garden encourage interaction and involve
repetition, which helps with learning
words. Nursery rhymes and songs are
particularly helpful for exposing children
to rhyme and alliteration (words beginning
with the same sound eg. Baa Baa Black
Sheep). Remember to take turns, give
your child opportunities to lead the
conversation, extend and elaborate on
their sentences to model a range of words
and sentence structures, and listen.
manipulated. Other oral language skills,
such as comprehension, vocabulary,
knowledge of how stories unfold and
inferencing (the ability to “read between the
lines”) are fundamental for reading success,
as reading involves not just decoding
words, but understanding what we read.
The most beneficial way to read with
your child is to use an interactive style of
reading. Let your child finish sentences in
familiar books, ask wh- questions (who,
when, where, why, what) and relate the
story to the child’s own experiences.
Choose books that focus on sounds, rhymes
and alliteration – some of my favourites are
Aussie authors Mem Fox and Pamela Allen
– and have fun finding words in the story
that rhyme or begin with the same sound.
Remember, you are your child’s first
teacher and the amount and type of input
you give your child helps to determine the
way their language develops. Fortunately,
“teaching” your child language doesn’t
require special training, and is lots of fun!
If at any time you have concerns about
your child’s language development, contact
a Speech Pathologist for advice.
For further ideas and information on
language development, visit
www.centralcoastspeech.com.au.
Sally Wegener is Principal Speech Pathologist at Central Coast Speech Pathology Services and provides
clinic-based and mobile services to preschools and schools, including Coast Christian School. She is a
registered provider with Medicare, NDIS and Private Health Providers. Along with their two children, Sally
and her husband love living on the Central Coast and are active members of the local community.
Teaching Kids Life Skills
Building confidence, self esteem
and resilience. Learning how to
deal with failure, change and fear.
Ph: 0412 023 233
94 Buff Point Ave, Buff Point NSW 2262
www.lilwisewonders.com.au
DECEMBER/JANUARY – ISSUE 97
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