How to Encourage Child Language Development

Babies are naturally wired to learn language from the moment they are born, but there are a few easy things parents can do to help children develop language skills at an accelerated rate. My baby said her first five word sentence a week before her first birthday! I had taken some excellent child brain development courses, and I would love to pass on the valuable information I learned--and saw work first hand--in the following easy to follow steps.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

1. 
    

   Talk to your baby. It may seem obvious, but I have observed many parents who do not talk to their baby at the level needed to foster advanced language skills. While you are changing his/her diaper, tell him/her what you are doing. When you are grocery shopping, name the foods you are buying. When you leave the room, explain where you are going. Identify the pictures in books for your baby, then ask him or her to point to the pictures as you name them. The more words you speak to your baby each day, the more words he/she will learn.

2. 
    

   Always correct and expand your child's vocabulary in an encouraging way. If your child says "ba." while pointing to a ball, say, "Yes, that is a ball!" Then say the word clearly a few more times slowly and with good annunciation. "Ball...Ball." Children learn the most when you time your teaching moments around the things they are already interested in, so you might even take the ball and play a game rolling it back and forth. Each time it is your turn to hold the ball, say, "Ball," and wait for your baby to imitate you before you roll it back to him/her. (Make sure you watch your baby for cues he/she is losing interest in the game. Also, be sure not to frustrate your baby. Timing is everything in this method of teaching. Learning should always be fun, and never frustrating.) For older children, add to their vocabulary by expanding on their sentences. If they say, "look the ocean!" Say something like, "Yes! That is the Pacific Ocean. We are going to play in the sand there today."

3. 
    

   Never lead a child to believe they are saying a word correctly when they are not. I've heard parents say, "Good job!" when their child says something that is not accurate. For instance, a child might say, "look at the kitty cat," when it is really a possum etc. It is a parent's job to teach a child the correct names of objects by gently correcting mistakes. Say, "Oh, it looks a little bit like a kitty cat, but that is actually a Possum." Do not underestimate your child's ability to learn big words, and remember...they will only be able to learn as much as you are willing to teach them.

4. 
    

   Using baby sign language coupled with discreet trial training is an excellent method for helping develop language skills in babies. Good books on baby sign language are readily available, but I prefer using the following website because they actually have video demos of each sign: http://www.aslpro.com/cgi-bin/aslpro/aslpro.cgi
   
   Start when your baby is six months old. Sign and say the words most important to your baby such as "more, all done, and milk." Reinforce any attempt your baby makes at communication by quickly giving the desired object as soon as your baby does the sign. Slowly start expecting a little more from your baby before you give the desired object. When he/she is old enough, try to get them to say, "mo" for "more" etc. in addition to signing the word. Then, when your baby is ready, try to get him/her to say the full word, "more" before you give him/her more. Of course you only want to pause long enough to give your child the opportunity to try. Never wait so long that your child gets frustrated. Always encourage your child's efforts. They should be as excited about their new language skills as you are. When children learn just how powerful language is in getting what they want, they are highly motivated to try. If they are always given exactly what they want without having to ask for it, then there is not as much of an incentive to learn. (For instance when an older sibling talks for them.)

Tips & Warnings

• Always make learning fun.
• Never underestimate your child's ability to learn by limiting your vocabulary when you speak to him/her.
• Invest time in teaching your toddler. Birth to three is known as the window of opportunity for forming the most synopses in your child's brain. The more they learn at this age, the more they will be able to learn.
• Never ever frustrate a child by withholding a need in the name of teaching language skills. This article only references a slight pause before offering the desired object to facilitate the opportunity for your child to grow in language development.

Resources

• Awesome website resource for sign language
• Books by this author

[jenng]

on 12/20/2009 great article on How to Encourage Child Language Development 5*