According to a new study, two-year-olds who can promptly say more phrases have better math and language skills and fewer behavioral problems when they are about to start kindergarten. It is important to encourage children’s vocabulary development so that they develop the language and literacy skills necessary to succeed in school. The adults in a child’s life play a significant role in helping a child learn new words. Through everyday conversations and interactions, caregivers use unfamiliar words and talk about what words mean, which helps expand a child’s vocabulary.
Reading and talking with children plays an important role in developing their vocabulary. Typically, more words are used in written language than in spoken language. The more we read to children, the larger vocabulary they will develop.
Previous research has shown that kids who function better in kindergarten have greater social and educational opportunities as they grow up, according to the background summaries in the study.
“Our findings provide compelling evidence for oral vocabulary’s theorized importance as a multifaceted contributor to children’s early development,” said study leader Paul Morgan, an associate professor of education at Pennsylvania State University.
The analysis of data from more than 8,600 children in the United States showed that 2-year-olds with larger speaking vocabularies did better academically and had fewer behavioral problems when they later entered kindergarten.
At kindergarten entry, those who had larger vocabularies at an early age had higher reading and mathematics achievement and fewer problem behaviors like being disruptive, having temper tantrums or being physically aggressive.
It was also found in the study that children with larger vocabularies at age 2 tended to be from higher-income families, girls, and those who had higher-quality parenting. Despondently, children with low birth weight and those with a mother with health problems had smaller vocabularies at age two.
“From a policy standpoint our research is supportive of calls to provide high quality early experiences for children,” Morgan said.
“Vocabulary, unlike many other things like occupation, income, socioeconomic status or birth weight, is highly (modifiable),” Morgan said.
The parents have the most influence on a child’s language acquisition from birth, and changing how parents communicate with their children can increase their oral vocabulary, he said.
Morgan emphasized that frequent storybook reading and capitalizing on informal opportunities to have conversations are both important.
By accompanying the words with actions, gestures, or facial expressions, it will help the child understand the meaning of the words. For example, when modeling the word “weary”, you could do a sleeping action (hands under your head or yawn) so that the child understands what the word means.
The voice can also add meaning to a word. For example, if you say the word “frightened” or “terrified” with a shaky voice that sounds like you are scared, it will help the child understand what you mean.
The bottom line is not just how much to say, but also what to say and how to say it that makes a difference for the child’s vocabulary growth. Keeping one step ahead of the child will promote his vocabulary skills, and also set him on the path for success in school.
The study was published Aug. 18 in the journal Child Development.
Source: foxnews.com
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