Research Paper on Helping Young Children Learn Language and Literacy

Introduction

Oral language comprehension needs harmony between all the areas of oral language to allow a person to listen and speak purposefully. In the development process of a child's language, the areas of oral language that they must link in order to have a complete comprehension of language include pragmatics, phonology, morphology, syntax, and semantics (Vukelich et al., 2016). Pragmatics refers to the context in which the child is using language. Phonology involves contrasting relationships between sounds in a particular language. Morphology is the form or structure of words that form sentences. Syntax refers to how the child arranges the words to create a meaningful sentence. Lastly, semantics refers to the meaning of phrases or words.

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The child needs to have a complete comprehension of all these elements of language. It is not uncommon for children to make mistakes in an attempt to speak or write sentences. Such mistakes are more common when the child learns a new word and they try to use it in a sentence. The fact that some of the words sound similar and others have nearly similar spellings contributes to these mistakes. Factors that may contribute to oral language comprehension in children include substantive conversations, language experiences, and instruction.

Language experience occurs when children are taken to out to have real-life experience of events as they occur. The teacher may take the children in his/her class to the park where they would get in personal contact with animals. After getting a first-hand experience of how events occur on the ground, the children would have an easier time narrating what they saw during the outing. A child may describe the giraffe as "tall with long legs and neck." The real-life experience of the child has helped to string words together to form a complete sentence that is also meaningful. It encourages them to listen and talk purposefully and this process exposes them to new words that they can use to develop their language. A topic related talk is more important than general talk because it enables them to form a semantic network of phrases which makes it simpler to remember what they learned.

Substantive conversations are equally important for oral language comprehension in children. They involve extended dialogues between adults and children on a specific topic. Such conversations occur within the daily routines of the child and the adult. A substantive conversation starts with the adult picking up something that the child is speaking about, expanding the talk through the addition of information, and finally clearing any doubts or misinformation on the part of the child. It may also take the form of asking the child questions pertaining to a particular topic and listening to the child's answers. After listening, the adult corrects the wrong answers and adds information to the correct ones. The adult has to encourage the child by offering praise when the child is right.

Giving instructions is equally important in improving oral language comprehension of the child. When a father is teaching his 3-year-old son how to tie his shoelaces, he accompanies his actions with instructions. By talking and acting at the same time, the father attracts the child's attention to the action by asking the child to repeat what the father is saying. This combination makes the child remember how to tie shoelaces as well as how to put words together to form a meaningful sentence.

Listening comprehension is very important for children at an early age. As early as age 1, the listening comprehension of children becomes a crucial part in the development of their reading comprehension. This means that their ability to listen is what determines their ability to read (Vukelich et al., 2016). Children who are curious enough to listen to adults as they speak learn how to read before their peers. Specifically, the listening comprehension of children increases when they listen to new vocabulary, sentence structures, and concepts from others and books. Since listening comes before reading, it is important for children to be involved in a variety of oral language activities such as read-aloud sessions, play, and media. Other activities that improve their listening comprehension include question-answer sessions, poems, songs, and stories. The high-quality social interactions that they engage in build a social foundation for them to be able to read at some point.

Conclusion

Parents and teachers should make arrangements for children to engage in as many social activities as possible. When the child engages in social activities, they are introduced to a variety of conversations in which they listen to questions and responses. The words that people use in such conversations are likely to form part of the vocabulary of children because they are eager to learn new words at that age. That is the reason why a boy would come home after school and ask his father for the meaning of a particular word that he learned from friends that day. After that, it would not be a surprise to hear the child overusing the same word in conversations. When the child eventually starts learning how to read, most of the words become relatable. The words make sense because he used them in conversations or listened to them.

References

Vukelich, C., Christie, J., Enz. B., &Roskos, K. A. (2016). Helping Young Children Learn Language and Literacy: Birth through Kindergarten, (4th Edition). Boston, MA: Pearson