Engaging in Early Language and Literacy Activities: The Start

Submitted by Dr. Noëlla Piquette, noella.piquette@uleth.ca , noellapiquette.consulting@gmail.com

Noëlla is a Professor in Education and Registered Psychologist.

Overview

Language and literacy skills begin well before a young child is introduced to any formal instruction.  Beginning at infancy, a newborn hears the sounds of language, sees facial expressions, and begins to understand and use language as a means of communication. During early speech and language development, the child learns skills that are important to the development of the reading and writing processes. This foundational stage, known as emergent literacy, begins at birth and continues through the preschool years.

 Parents and caregivers play a vital role in the young child’s language and literacy development. These adults assist in the development of young children’s expressive or oral language which sets the foundation for future literacy development. Adults who actively participate in the language and literacy activities will see the child's growing appreciation and enjoyment of print as the youngster begins to recognize words that rhyme, produce scribbles, identifies own name, points out logos and street signs, and names some letters of the alphabet. Gradually the child will combine what has been learned about speaking and listening with what is known about print, to become a reader and a writer. The process that grows over repetition and time is the most important aspect of emergent literacy. Parents and caregivers play an integral role in supporting and encouraging emergent literacy development. Clearly these language activities are enjoyable for both the child and adult as play activities, as communication constructers, and as relationship building tools.

 Importance of Language Exposure

The building blocks we were born with, often referred to as genes, provide the parameters for the basic structures of a developing brain, but it is a child’s interactions and relationships with parents and significant others that establish neural circuits and shape the brain’s architecture. Parents and other caregivers support healthy brain growth by speaking to, playing with, and caring for their child. Infants and young children learn best when parents respond to the child’s overtures for attention and care, take turns when talking and playing, and build on their child's skills and interests. Additional ways that adults can support the brain of infants is to maximize caring attention for the child and to reduce or regulate their own stress as babies can pick up on the stress and anxiety. Beyond adult self-care, they can introduce and reinforce brain based language development through talking, singing, pointing to items and naming the item to increase vocabulary, read stories, explore movement and attach vocabulary to this type of play, and count or group items.

 From birth on, children learns through experiences supported by language.  These experiences will create pathways and connections in the brain, with the goal being to create and retain as many pathways as possible. Children learn by building connections between brain cells called neural pathways. As the brain develops it will keep the pathways or connections that are most useful, and will remove, or prune, those connections that are deemed to be of less importance.  The more these neural pathways are used by the child, the stronger they get. That's why reinforcing, repeating, and engaging children in learning activities such as language abilities helps build skills. Children move through stages of development and acquire increasingly sophisticated language and thinking skills at each stage. The role of parents and caregivers is crucial in engaging the child in rich experiences, steeped in language, so that the child will develop and maintain as many pathways a possible throughout their development.

 The language and literacy journey begins as parents and caregivers use language to talk with the infant, and this continues throughout the child’s developmental stages.  At the early stages of language development, concrete objects combined with supportive language are basic to the process of determining word meanings.  As parents and caregivers continue to respond to the child and to expand the encounters with language, the youngster will begin to use language to learn more language and to make sense of the world around.  This is not specific to speaking and listening, but also includes reading and writing.  The more language and literacy exposure there is, the more that the infant, toddler, pre-schooler, and youth is able to use language for communication and learning.

 Developmental Stages for Language Activities

Over the next few posts, I will provide information  for the use of parents and caregivers to facilitate their child’s language and literacy development.  Background information on oral language, pre-reading development, and pre-writing development will be covered as well as providing  simple enjoyable activities that will support literacy development for your child. In these posts, the information will be presented developmentally, moving from infancy to the start of school age, as well as presented as distinct domains of oral language, pre-reading and pre-writing development with the ultimate goal of supporting early literacy development.  We will begin with an infant’s literacy development which can be practiced with activities  undertaken virtually anywhere, including one’s home, daycare, while traveling in a vehicle, and so forth.

As a starting point, if I could offer one suggestion for all age categories, it would be to read to the child, read every day, and talk about what you are reading to share the enjoyment. Another suggestion would be to look out the window or go for a walk every day to look at interesting objects in order to identify them, discuss them, use the words in sentences, and reinforce the use of these words throughout the day. Finally, shared language or turn taking [serve and return] cannot be emphasized enough. TURN-TAKING. The richest talk involves many “back-and-forth” turns in which the adult builds on and connects with the child’s statements, questions and responses. These extended conversations help children learn how to use language and understand the meaning of new words. The two big take away points for language and literacy development? Read to children. Talk with children.

 Please join me in learning more about language and literacy development at different age levels, including activities that can be engaged in without specialized equipment or training. The child based activities are meant to be playful and to enhance relationships in addition to language skills. Full disclosure, I’m an advocate and unabashed promoter of positive adult-child relationships based on time spent having fun with pictures, print text, rhymes, songs and stories. Enjoy these play activities that lead to constructive language and literacy skills for children.

 References

Caring for Kids. (2017). Your baby’s brain: How parents can support healthy development. Canadian Paediatric Society. https://caringforkids.cps.ca/handouts/pregnancy-and-babies/your_babys_brain

 Pancsofar, N., & Vernon-Feagans, L. (2006). Mother and father language input to young children: Contributions to later language development. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 27, 571-587.

 The Best Start Expert Panel on Early Learning. (2007). Early learning for every child today: A framework for Ontario early childhood settings. Toronto, Ontario.

Photo: https://www.mother.ly/parenting/ages-and-stages/when-to-start-reading-to-baby/