| Most parents can hardly wait for their baby to | | | | vocabulary, and when we speak or write, of our |
| say its first word. This usually happens between | | | | active vocabulary. |
| the nine months and a year. From about two | | | | An important thing to note here is that the child's |
| years, the child should be able to use simple | | | | passive vocabulary came into being through |
| phrases, and by three he should be able to use | | | | constant and continual repetition of words, |
| full sentences. By four, he should be fully able to | | | | phrases or structures. Once a word, phrase or |
| talk, although he may still make grammatical | | | | structure has been repeated often enough, it also |
| errors. By five, he should have acquired basic | | | | becomes part of the baby's active vocabulary. |
| language. | | | | This shows that the active vocabulary can only |
| There is little doubt that language acquisition is one | | | | be improved VIA the passive. Research has |
| of the key milestones in early childhood | | | | shown that a child who is just beginning to talk |
| development. Much of a child's future social and | | | | must hear a word about 500 times before it will |
| intellectual development hinges on this milestone. A | | | | become part of his active vocabulary. Long |
| language delay can lead to isolation and | | | | before that it will already form part of his passive |
| withdrawal, and to learning difficulties and poor | | | | vocabulary. This means that parents should create |
| academic performance. Recent research has | | | | as many opportunities as possible in which their |
| revealed a dramatic link between the | | | | baby can hear them talk. |
| development of spoken language and written | | | | THE SECRET OF READING TO YOUR CHILD |
| language among children, and the importance of | | | | Parents should read to their children as often as |
| language acquisition to basic reading skills. | | | | possible. The secret, however, which will lead to |
| Many parents believe that the term "language | | | | optimal language development, is to read the |
| development" implies that the child's acquisition of | | | | SAME stories over and over and over. |
| language is an automatic process. This, however, | | | | In the "good old days" there was not the |
| is not the case. There is nothing that any human | | | | abundance of storybooks that there is today. |
| being knows or can do that he has not learned. | | | | Parents were compelled - it was also part of the |
| This is especially true of language acquisition. | | | | child-rearing traditions - to tell over and over to |
| The child begins to learn language from the day | | | | their children the few stories that they knew, or |
| he is born. From the very first moment it is the | | | | to read over and over to their children the few |
| parents' responsibility to lay a proper foundation | | | | books in their possession. They also spent a lot of |
| that will enable the child to acquire adequate | | | | time teaching their children rhymes and songs. As |
| language skills. Just like parents must ensure that | | | | I discovered for myself through my own son, this |
| a child follows a healthy and balanced diet for | | | | over and over repetition of the same stories and |
| optimal physically development, they must take | | | | rhymes was extremely beneficial for the |
| steps to ensure optimal language development. | | | | acquisition of language. In fact, I took this tradition |
| HOW LANGUAGE IS ACQUIRED | | | | to the extreme, exposing my son to only ONE |
| Parents should start talking to their little baby | | | | book for nearly two years. |
| from the day he is born. Some mothers are by | | | | Soon after my elder son, Gustav, was born, I |
| nature quiet and reserved. Others have the | | | | bought him a book with the story of Pinocchio. |
| unfortunate idea that it is foolish to talk to their | | | | The book was aimed at four-year-olds. Except |
| babies, knowing that they do not understand. The | | | | for talking to him continually, I started to read to |
| mother, who does not talk continually while | | | | him from this book when he was only two or |
| feeding, bathing and dressing her baby, is laying | | | | three months old - as often as I could, over and |
| the foundation for a late talker. | | | | over and over. I found this tedious, of course. |
| The baby learns language in one way only, and | | | | Gustav, however, loved it, and the results of this |
| that is by hearing language as the parents talk | | | | experiment made all my efforts worthwhile. Not |
| and talk to it. The more a parent can talk to a | | | | only did he start talking much sooner than most |
| child, often repeating the same words, the same | | | | children do, but when he was just over two |
| phrases, the same structures over and over, the | | | | years, he could recite nearly all the pages from |
| sooner the child will learn language. | | | | Pinocchio. When turning to a new page, one only |
| An important thing to note here is that by the | | | | had to read the first word or two on that page |
| time a baby is about nine months old he should be | | | | and he would recite the rest of the page like a |
| able to understand simple words and commands. | | | | parrot. In itself this may seem quite useless, but |
| He may perhaps also be able to say a few simple | | | | of great importance was that the vocabulary in |
| words already. Invariably, however, one finds that | | | | this book soon became part of his everyday |
| the baby understands much more than he is able | | | | speech. In terms of language development, he |
| to say. In fact, this remains so of any person | | | | was soon miles ahead of his age group. In fact, to |
| throughout his life. One is always able to | | | | this day, his vocabulary and his ability to speak |
| understand more of any language, even one's | | | | with clarity are quite astounding. |
| mother tongue, than one is able to use in active | | | | When a child is a bit older, one should start |
| speech. This is even more so of any second or | | | | teaching him nursery rhymes. Research has |
| third languages that a person is able to speak. | | | | shown that knowledge of nursery rhymes among |
| This shows that we have two more or less | | | | three-year-olds was a significant predictor of later |
| separate masses of language knowledge, our | | | | prereading skills even after the children's IQ and |
| PASSIVE knowledge (also called receptive | | | | their mothers' educational levels were partialed |
| language) on one hand, and our ACTIVE | | | | out. |
| (expressive language) on the other. When we | | | | While an apple a day keeps the doctor away, |
| listen or read, we make use of our passive | | | | talking forever makes your child clever! |