Learning to Talk

Learning to Talk sections include: (click to view the section)

Developing Oral Language

Parents Support for Oral Language Development

Developing Oral Language

Oral language plays a key role in learning to read and write. Children begin to talk after months and months of listening to adults and people close to them talk. They experiment with sounds. Their first sounds and words are met with excitement and positive response. Their few words soon develop into a language where they can express their ideas and feelings without formal instruction. We readily accept all of the misuse such as "she goed to the store" and mispronunciations as steps towards proper use of the language.

Children learn language by listening and hearing language demonstrated or modeled. They have a purpose for learning to speak, they learn by using language, getting feedback from an expert, practicing, refining their use of language and expanding their vocabulary and ways of expressing themselves.

• Patient adult
• Opportunities for imaginative play
• Environment in which child encounters many language experiences
• Opportunities to talk with others who provide good models of how language can be used

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Parents Support for Oral Language Development

What can I do at home to support oral language development - both talking and listening?

Talking and Listening: Children learn the sounds of language that they later learn correspond to print by listening to the people and environmental sounds around them.

• Talking, singing and reading to your child from birth.
• Giving your child a series of simple instructions to follow in sequence.
• Talking to and with your child as an important part of your daily routine.
• Asking your child questions that require more than "yes" or "no" to answer.
• Listening carefully to your children. Take the time to respond and explain.
• Teaching songs and poems that are fun to sing and say.
• Playing games such as "Simon Says" and "Red Light-Green Light" that require listening, talking and following directions.
• Reading to your child on a daily basis and asking him to retell the story to you.
• Identifying sounds in the child's environment and having your child identify sounds.
• Creating awareness of sounds by having your child listen with open eyes and closed eyes and label the sounds he hears.
• Asking your child to identify, verbally or by pointing, the direction from which a sound is coming.
• Making 3-5 sounds and asking your child to identify the sounds in sequence.
• Using musical instruments to create series of sounds and asking your child to replicate with his voice.
• Changing the words in a familiar song or nursery rhyme and asking your child to tell you when you make a "mistake."
• Playing with our language. Use nonsense words, change beginning sounds of words, make up new words.
• Ask your child about something he told you yesterday.
• Ask for the details of a single event.
• Tape record your child giving directions for playing a game or making a peanut butter/jelly sandwich. Tape recording is always fun regardless of what a child is talking about and makes a treasured record for later years.
• When family is together ask child to relate the story of a book you've been reading, a trip to the grocery store, or some other recent event.
• Have children explain to you how to do something, step by step, and follow those directions.
• Ask your child to announce that dinner is ready, that a special TV program is coming on, that someone has accomplished something etc - encourage expression, humor and creativity in the announcement.
• Ask children to describe the picture in a story.
• Play What Am I? Person whose turn it is describes something. Try to get players to guess with the least number of clues. For example.. It flies, has wings, and has a beak.

• TALK, TALK, TALK!
• LISTEN, LISTEN, LISTEN!
• READ, READ, READ!!

How can I help my child increase his vocabulary?

Oral language is important to learning to read and write. Vocabulary is one part of language development. Talk with children about everything important and of interest to them. Listen to what they say and extend their thinking and their ways of expressing their thoughts. Children need opportunities to explain their thinking, to tell stories, to put ideas into words, and to ask questions.

Read to your child often. Read a book for fun and for information. He will ask for several readings of a favorite book. Perhaps on a second reading of a book, talk about the way an author describes an event or character. Talk about new words and think of other words that mean the same thing. Each reading will bring new things to think about and talk about - the rereadings though they get tiresome are important to your child's comprehension and work with books.

Have your child describe what he sees in a favorite picture.

Read a wordless book. Have your child tell you the story from the pictures.

Talk about the story. Ask your child,
"What was your favorite part of the story?"
"Why was it your favorite part?"

Ask your child, "What do you think will happen next?" and accept their predictions.

Make connections with their reading.
"That's what Daddy says sometimes."
"That's your sister's favorite animal."

Have your child draw a picture of his/her favorite part and write a caption for the picture.

Praise often with specific comments such as "I really like the way you described that character." "What a great idea. I wouldn't have thought about it in that way." Always keep the experiences successful and easy so your child sees learning as fun and rewarding.

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