Teachers can help sustain natural language development by providing environments full of language development opportunities. Following are some general guidelines for teachers, parents, and other caregivers.
Encourage interaction among children. Peer learning is an important part of language development, especially in mixed-age groups. Creating a balance between individual activities and those that nurture collaboration and discussion, such as dramatic play, block-building, book-sharing.
Remember that parents, caregivers, teachers, and guardians are the chief resources in language development. Children learn alot from each other, but adults are the main conversationalists, questioners, listeners, responders, and sustainers of language development and growth at home or in the classroom.
Continue to encourage interaction as children come to understand written language. Children in the primary grades can keep developing oral abilities and skills by consulting each other, raising questions, and providing information in varied situations. Every area of the curriculum is enhanced through language, so that classrooms full of active learners are hardly ever silent.
The Secret of Reading to your Child
Adults should read to children as often as possible. The
secret, however, which will lead to optimal language development, is to read the SAME stories over and over and over.
In the "good old days" there was not the abundance of storybooks that there is today. It was also part of the child-rearing traditions - to narrate again and again to their children few stories that they knew. Parents also spent a lot of time teaching their children traditional rhymes and songs.
This action not only supports in sustaining oral literature but also as research shows today, it helps increase the learning level.
Source:
http://www.community.com
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Maryam has a vast experience in teaching children and traing teachers. She does freelance writing for Sindh Education Foundation.
