Language Development
““If you consider the absorbent mind in relation to language, you will understand how necessary it is to put a small child among people who speak well and correctly, and who talk a great deal.”
The most powerful element in your child's language development is you!
The back-and-forth, serve, and return of everyday conversation with your child is the most potent and profound predictor of your child's future learning success, language development, and intellectual development. Using precise, rich vocabulary and correct grammar, you are building the architecture of your child's brain.
Talk more and follow the interests of your child. That's it!
For example:
Your child is fixated on a bird in the garden. You notice this and say,
"Kookaburra. I can see you're looking at a kookaburra." Your child looks at you; you make eye contact and smile. Your child points at the Kookaburra. "You're pointing your finger at the Kookaburra. I can see it too! The Kookaburra is sitting on the branch. It's turned its head towards the bottle brush."
This builds a very different brain than just saying, "Birdie."
Let's take advantage of this fleeting period in your child's life when their brain is most receptive, and the learning is effortless.
... and books. I could write an entire website dedicated to the lasting positive effects of reading to your child daily. If there is anything, anything I want to tell you, it is this: read to your child every day.
Read. Every. Day
Without fail, even if you’re sick, tired, over it or have a headache, just do it - (As Nike said!) I might let you off the hook if you’ve had a tonsillectomy or a bout of laryngitis. And if you don’t have a book, read the ingredients list on a box of cereal or make up a story where your toddler is the protagonist - they will love it.
Just please read. The lifelong benefits are just too many.
How experience builds brain architecture in a young child.
The first three years of life are crucial in developing the structures of the brain responsible for language. This young child is in a sensitive, ‘critical period’ for language acquisition, lasting until around six years of age. These early years of life see the fastest brain development ever in a lifetime, with the brain growing to about 90% of its adult size.
Children’s brains are built via experience. Language development is a low-heritability acquisition; it depends more on the environment than genetics.
Nurturing shapes how our genetic predispositions are expressed.
The environment is the dominant influence in these early years, so let’s get talking with our toddlers!
Language exposure drives brain plasticity, allowing the growth and formation of new connections in response to linguistic input.
A child’s ability to develop vocabulary and use grammar correctly is related to the quality and quantity of input. Both are significant. Promoting language development requires responsive conversations between an adult and a child. We are sharing our attention with them. The way we interact—tone, grammar, vocabulary, exposing children to complete sentences—these are important.
This motivates me to prepare the best environment I can.
We use words to shape our understanding of the world. Much of our language and our interactions happen on an unconscious level. As I prepare the environment for language activities, I constantly reflect: "What lasting experiences am I creating for this child? What emotional connection will they form with the words and sensory experiences presented to them? Will these experiences enrich their lives? Are they truly relevant to their everyday reality?" What are they absorbing?
Think about this: When someone says the word ‘home’ to you, or ‘Dad’, what comes to mind? What does it feel like in your body?