- 28 Sep, 2024
- 0 Comments
- 2 Mins Read
Direct research to support my theory that how a child speaks has a direct correlation to how they learn to read.
David Kilpatrick identifies phonological awareness as the single most important factor in differentiating struggling from successful readers and in differentiating between effective and ineffective interventions. “Phonological awareness: The ability to recognize and manipulate the sound properties of spoken words, such as syllables, initial sounds, rhyming parts, and phonemes.” “Equipped for Reading Success” Kilpatrick, D. 2016.
In simple terms, if a child cannot say a sound correctly they will struggle to read it.
Starting from the get go (as in babies and toddlers) play-based learning is the only way for children to learn. What I mean by that is, it is the best way for children to learn. Children’s brains grow when they play, develop motor skills, test working theories, develop a real sense of safety, communicate, challenge themselves, make decisions …a whole raft of complex processes take place. It is our job as parents and educators to respond to babies and young children in such ways as to develop them further. Look them in the eye, talk to them, sing to them, cuddle, hug, and kiss them. All of these fire the neurons in their brains and what fires, wires. You’re wiring in that love and care. It gives them a sense of safety so they can go out and take safe risks to grow. It is also essential for brain development to begin to get ready for spoken language development and later on, reading..
Top tips to develop clear and correct speech for your children.
- When you are speaking with young children the most important thing is facing them, children learn by doing so if they can see your mouth as you speak they are more likely to pick up sounds correctly.
- Eye contact gives them a greater sense of safety and that you are listening to them.Talk
- Listening- remove these 5 filters for building a relationship so your children feel safe talking to you now and as they grow.
Don’t…
- Judge or criticise (you are so stupid, why would you do that?).
- Dole out platitudes (You’re so clever, you don’t need to worry about this) NB – more on this fixed mindset type of praise later and why it can be dangerous.
- Minimalise their concerns (oh, it’s no big deal, you’ll be right).
- Give out unsolicited advice.
- Tell your own story or someone else’s around the same or similar situation.
There are free resources on my website to help you further if you would like more info.
Learning alongside your children is THE most powerful way to learn and connect with your child at the same time. Yes, even capital letters. Teach yourself the 7 aspects of voice development for clear and confident speech with the Say It Clearly training manual and your children will learn alongside you. Or try the videoed online learning, whatever works best for you.
Feel free to email me with any questions or comments.
Miriam.