A Language Rich Environment

It is important to recognize that providing a language-rich environment for children what is most important. Reading is one way, but there are many other ways as well, such as talking, singing, and listening to music.

There are a number of studies that show that when children hear a good deal of "live" language, when they are spoken to often and encouraged to communicate, they are more proficient with language than children who have more limited language exposure. And research has shown that children who hear the greatest amount of language when they are young have the highest achievement in test scores.

Talk about what you are doing, while you are doing it. Be the narrator, give the play-by-play.

• My hands are so dirty so I am going to wash with soap and warm water. Oh, this soap smells nice. I only have a few bubbles because I am washing slooooow. I want more bubbles so I am going to scrub really fast! 

Give the name of items you are touching, using or see. You are their dictionary.

• Would you like to harvest the carrots from the garden? They have been growing in the soil for several weeks. When we eat carrots, they give us a lot of vitamins and nutrients to make us healthy and strong. 

Sing songs, real or made up while you are doing something.

• I like to wear my shoes and socks, shoes and socks, shoes and socks... My purple shoes have green shoe strings, green shoe strings, green shoe strings... Now I'm ready to go outside, go outside, go outside.

Every time you speak, you give a child a chance at learning a new word or meaning. Don't say "Eat your dinner." Three words?? You can do better than that...

• Yum, I think green beans are delicious! I have seven left on my plate but I think I could eat a hundred. Look at this one. When you take it apart, you see the seeds inside. This side has two seeds and the other side has one small, green seed. I am so delighted to have vegetables today. I hope we have peas for dinner tomorrow because I like peas, too!

Read, read and read some more using different voices and sounds. Anything and everything: signs, ingredients, directions, labels, magazines, newspapers. And label what you can, so kids can become familiar with letters and words.

Related Training:
Fostering the Development of Language Skills
Language Development