G u e s t E m i l y
from
Speak about Speech and
Emily Mackie Speechie
Raising Little Communicators: Nurturing Your Toddler’s Language Skills
Do you know what are the main parts that make up communication for a toddler? Do you know how to engage or play with a toddler in a way that improves their communication?
My name is Emily Mackie, and I have been a speech pathologist for the last 16 years. I have treated a lot of children who are in primary school. Most of them present with literacy and language difficulties, some with pronunciation difficulties. They all vary in age from kindy up into high school. A common theme between a lot of them is they were
not
identified as having any difficulties as toddlers.
For some children it is true that they didn’t have any difficulties during younger development, however for many children, sadly this is not the case. They may have slipped under the radar. It’s NOT about playing any sort of blame game but thinking how can we make sure toddlers are on track with their development, so they have the best possible start at school and are 100% ready to learn.
The best way that children learn is through play. As adults, the more we understand about how toddlers learn, the better we will know how to play and interact with them and teach them.
A key area of toddler development is LANGUAGE. A lot of people first think, we speak English, this is our language. This is correct. Language or English can be broken into two components, receptive language and expressive language. I want to touch on receptive language first.
It’s a bit of a long term, however simply put, it is listening and understanding. From a young age, children should start to understand the concept of communication. So, if I say a word, it means something to other people. For example if I yell out “mum!”, my mum turns around and listens to me.
If a toddler was to come to you crying, the first things you would ask, “are you alright?”, “what happened?”, “how did you get hurt?”, “who were you playing with?” or “where were you playing?”. We ask so many different types of questions!! Receptive language means that a toddler learns to understand these questions and eventually answer them (this is expressive language. We will touch on this in a bit!)
It also includes understanding and following instructions, such as “give me one of your toys”, “get the book from under the table”, “go and get your shoes”; understanding all types of concepts, such as big/little, front/back, empty/full; and understanding what people are talking about around them (to an extent!).
If a child is listening and understanding, then they will start to use the correct words and sentences in conversation. They will also start to understand the social skills of communication e.g. I wait my turn to speak, or I listen to others when they talk.
As children enter school, receptive language involves listening comprehension and reading comprehension, following instructions and finishing work in the classroom, understanding sounds, words and sentences and remembering information that they hear or read.
The second side of language which I mentioned briefly before, is Expressive Language. This is also a long term. Simply put, it is a toddler being able to express their ideas and thoughts.
An example- a toddler will may come to you crying. They must be able to understand your questions (what happened, who hurt you, where are you hurt?), AND answer your questions (expressive side).
When a child expresses themselves, they must be able to use:
- Correct words (vocabulary)
- Correct sentences
- Grammar
Vocabulary is the words your child uses every day, including names, places, people, colours, shapes, letters, number etc. It is important that children are learning everyday new words. During development, some children may talk in gibberish or nonsense words. As they develop and learn new words the gibberish should go away. However, if they continue to talk in this nonsense language, it may be because they do not know what words to use and have a limited vocabulary.
Sentences are how we put our words together. English is a complex language and there are many types of sentences we use. For example, we use commands “give me the ball”, statements “the sky is blue”, questions “what time is it?” and exclamations “It’s our birthday!!”. Children should develop and learn what type of sentences to use and when to use them.
Grammar means the rules that tell us how to put our words and sentences together that make sense. Grammar is often tricky for children to learn. For example, present, past and future tense (I run, I ran, I am running) or pronouns (he/ she/ her/ him).
As children move through school, these areas of vocabulary, sentences and grammar become essential for written work and writing. Children often learn the markings in English, such as full stops and capital letters. If a child has difficulties with expressive themselves in the preschool years, it can also have a big impact on them when they start school and have to express themselves in writing.
Now that you have learnt about language, how can you work on your child’s skills?
A great way is with My Creative Box, specifically the four Craft and Activity boxes that I have contributed to with specific language tips under each activity. These are
Aussie Animals,
Bugs,
Under the Sea and Farm Friends.
If you want to know if your child’s receptive and expressive language skills are appropriate for their age, look at our webpage checklists and information at www.speakaboutspeech.com/milestones/
Happy Learning!
Website: www.emilymackie.com.au
