❖ Charts, lista, labels, and bulletin boards that surround children in the
environment contribute to print awarenes, as does a teacher who interprets,
calls attention to, an gets the children's input when creating print (Schickedanz,
1999).
❖ Children gradually learn that there is a relationship between written and spoken
words. When children are read cartain books frequently, they ofthen becomeso
familiar with the stories that they know which word correspond with which
page. Such experiences contributing to making the connection between speech
and print (schickendaz, 1999).
❖ Children should be provided with a variety of reading and writing materials to
incoporate into their play. For example, paper, pencils, markers, and other
implement in the art, language arts, dramatic play, science, and math areas
should be included to suggest a link between the activities that go on in those
areas and reading/writing.
❖ Given a supportive atmosphere, children will engage in stroy writing. Athough
children may not be using conventioal lettere and words, their stories (as well
as the writing process) are still full of meaning. The sensitive teacher must
carefully attend to what children are conveying to understand that meaning
(schikedanz, 1999).
❖ One way of promoting storytelling and writing is to include a “writing table” as
an ongoing activity center in the classroom (Basket & Essa, 1990). The teacher
writes down children's dictated stories but also encoirages the children to write
their stories.
❖ Stories should be shared, someting that can be done informally as other
children come to the writing table on more formally during a large group
activity. When their stories are shared, children develop audience awareness,
an appreciation that their stories are a form of communication that should make
sense to other (Basket & Essa, 1990).
❖ Some children show little interest in reading and writing, perhaps because they
have had little accses to materials that promote these activities. One succsesful
strategy to stimulate this interest is to provide a “writing suitcase” that the
children can take home overnight or over a weekend. This suitcase can
incclude such materials as various sizes and shapes of paper and notbooks;
magnet, cardboard, of plastic letters and stencils; favorite picture books;
acisors; and tape, glue, stapler, hole punch, and ruler (Rich, 1985).
PARENTAL VALUES FOR LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT
Parents and teacher share the task of profiding the experiences that will
best promote language acquisition in young children. Language learningis
futhered when teacher and parents share goals, insight, and information through
regular communication. By the very fact that parents do not set out to “teach”
their young children oral languge. They consciously or unconsciously appreciate
that language learning is a natural process taht they promote through modeling
and interaction. It is assumed that children will learn language.
Yet parents often do not have the same intuitive understanding of
children's literacy learning, although they may well be prividing many
high-quality language experiences that will lead to competent, literate children,
some parent asume that learning to read and write begins in elementary school and
is best left until the chil reaches the approprite age. Others, anxious that
theirchildren will succeedin school, may seek formal reading and writing training
inthe preschool years to give their children a bead start. It is important, therefore,
that as anearly chilhood teacher to convey to parents your philosophy of a whole
language approach to language and literacy development.
Share with parents information through articles and books that point and
the early beginnings of literacy development. You might, for intance, provide
parents with a copy of the Internaational reading association's statment, published
in young children in 1996, whit adresses appropriate and inapproproate reading
practices. Help parents recognize they many ways which their children engage in
reading and writing every day and how they, as parents, facilitate this.
Also rainfoce that the many activities they already engage in with their
children book reading, talking, shared time,outings,matching and sorting games,
identifying food labels and road aigns contributate immensely to language and
literacy development. Following are some suggestions for enhancing this
development, which you can shre with parents (Mavrogenes, 1990).
❖ Provide an environment that conveys the value of literacy. Let children see
their parents reading and writing. Make books, magazines, and newspapers an
important part of the home. A literate environment need not be exepensive
when the community libraryor a lending library from the early childhood
program is used.
❖ Make reading time with the child a special daily accasion. Read as well as
discuse books.
❖ Give books as parents for birthdays and holidays.
❖ Make writing materials avaliable to children. A special writing area with paper,
pencile, markers, envelopes, memo pads, and forma from school, restaurant, or
the doctor's office will encourage writing as well as incoporation of writing
into pretend play.
❖ Help children write letters to friends and relative or to the author of a favorite
book.
❖ Write special word of picture notes to children and put these in their lunch
boxes.
❖ Write out grocery list and recipes with children to illustrate the usefulnes of
writing.
❖ Share with parents the title of favorite school books that their children
particularly enjoy.
It is rassuring to paraents when teachers frequently reinforces the point that
children are onthusiatic and active learners in all areas, including language and
literacy. It is particularly important that teachers find ways to communicate this
messege to parents whose children are learning English as a new language.
Usually, in such a case, there is also a language barrier between teachers and
parents. Teachers can meet this challenge by finding an interpreter to help in
communication, by learning some words and phrases in the family's primary
language and using these in combination with nonverbal messages, and by
recommending English instruction for the parents, if this is appropriate.
Finally, teachers of infants and toddlers can reinforce the inportance of
reading to very young children by encouraging parents to use simple picture
books with their little ones. When parents see sturdy books included in infant and
toddler rooms, or note teachers routinely reading to babies, they may be
encouraged to engage in this activity at home as well.
RINGKASAN
1. There are several diverent theoretical views of language development
2. Some components of language can help us understand the complexity of all
that children attain during their early years.
3. Because many early childhood programs include children who speak a
language other than English, consider bilingualism and effective strategies for
teaching children a second language.
4. Many components of the early childhood program support and reinforce
language learning;
A. Conversations and language play offer many spontaneous opportunities
for language learning.
B. Also consider some of the many types of planned activities animed at
enhancing language.
C. Emergent literacy is children's ongoing process of learning reading and
writing.
KEY TERMS LIST
Audience awareness innatist view of language
Babbling development
Behaviourist view of language interactionist view of language
Development development
Bilingualism invented spelling
Code switching mock writing
Cognitive interactionist view of morphology
Language development nonimmersion programs
Cooing overextension
Deep structure pragmatics
Emergent literacy semantic network
Immersion programs semantics
Simultaneous language successive language acquisition
Acquisition surface structure
Social interactionist view of syntax
Language development whole language approach
KEY QUESTIONS
1. Listen to young child's spontaneous language usage. What components of
language do you note? Consider the child's understanding of the meaning of
language as well as the child's grasp of language rules.
2. Talk to someone you know who learned English as a second language. What
are this person's recollections about this learning process? What was most
difficult and what wash easiest? What strategies or techniques were most
helpful in thie learning process? Talk with others in your class and compare the
findings of those whose friends learned english at an early age and those who
learned it later in life.
3. Observe a teacher of young children engage in spontaneous converation with
children. What techniquest does she orhe use? How arae the children
encouraged to interact with each other as well as with the teacher? Did your
hear examples of language play or humor?
4. Read a book written for preschool-aged children. Does this book appeal to
you? Do you think appeal to children? Evaluate this book using the criteria
outlined in figure 12-1
5. Examine some samples of children's artwork. Do you see examples of mock
writing? Are there letters included? Are there any recognizable words written
in invented spelling by the child?
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
Select additional books, articles, and Web sites on topics discussed in chapter 12.
Okagaki, L., & Diamond, KE (2000). Responding to cultural and linguistic
differences in the beliefs and practices of families with young children. Young
Children, 55(3), 74-80.
Sawyer, WE (2000). Growing up with literature ( 2nd ed.). Clifton Park, NY:
Delmar learning.
Schickedanz, JA (1999). Much more than the ABCs: The early stages of reading
ashington, DC: NAEYC.
and wiritng. W
HELPFUL WEBSITES
National center for Family Literacy:
http://www.familit.org
