Language development in the first years of life
is critical to later educational success.
Language skills are time sensitive,
which means that they’re really difficult to acquire later on.
As practitioners, we’re in a position to make a big difference at this crucial stage, by providing a rich language environment
and by being attentive conversation partners.
Language development is best supported in a playful environment
full of stories and songs, rhymes, signs, talk and imaginative play.
So, one of the things we’re going to talk about
is actually just trying to find time to talk with children
in every day experiences and routines.
I’m just wondering whether you’ve got some examples that you could explore around that.
When I was working in the two-year-old room,
I think one of the things we’ve been really thinking about, and reflecting on,
is ensuring that the routine has a pace but isn’t so quick that the children are rushed through it.
Because during those daily routines and those every day activities,
there’s a really good opportunity for them to explore and talk, and us to talk together with them,
and they’re really able to make connections with their home routines.
I think it’s really important for children to have real reasons to talk
and have lots of opportunities for spontaneous conversations,
but also perhaps more structured times with adults to support their communication and language.
Have you got any examples that you use in your setting?
When we finish the first bit of the morning,
we come back and sit down in small groups,
which is what we call ‘review time’ and the children,
they talk about what they have been learning in that morning and they share with their peers as well,
and they ask where they’ve been and what they like, what they were doing and who they were playing with,
which is very important for children who don’t want to talk a lot, they share experience as well.
I think that really predictable routine of review time because it happens every day,
it gives confidence to those children who might not initially be able to express themselves verbally
and we use lots of visual prompts to support the children; photographs of what they’ve been doing that morning.
It might be real things that they bring, a model that they’ve made,
and they’re the experts because they’re the ones who’ve been doing that learning in the morning
and it really supports those children who may feel a little bit more shy in a group or might not yet have the vocabulary,
or they might be learning it in a new language from their home language.
A really great way of introducing children to new words and vocabulary
is using really great books and songs and rhymes.
Do you have any experience of using great things in your nursey school?
We use songs and stories really regularly with the children, as we do all the way through the nursery.
That repetition really supports the children to consolidate their learning and gives them that sense of understanding
and feeling part of the group.
With the two-year-olds particularly, lots of the action rhymes
and nursey rhymes which have actions that go with them, that you can use your whole body to explore,
really support children to understand the different parts of the word and then to really tune in to the sounds within the words,
as well as that sense of joy of using your voice to express yourself and using your whole body to express yourself.
The best thing of all is enjoying conversations with children and encouraging children to talk to each other.
If a child knows you like talking and listening to them, they will want to talk and listen to you.
Exploring language with young learners is so important, and as practitioners we’re in a very powerful position
to make a big difference by providing a rich language environment.
Children will learn so much language in their earliest years and this unlocks new learning in all areas of their life.
Exploring language with young learners is so important, and as practitioners we’re in a very powerful position
to make a big difference by providing a rich language environment.
Play is often the best way for children to use and explore the words that they’re learning in meaningful contexts.