Tuesday, September 27, 2011
Language of a Child
Language is so interesting when it deals with children. Many parents can start to understand what children want even just by certain sounds and inflections that infants make. I personally work at a daycare and there are so many children there that I communicate with on a daily basis. When we take the children somewhere else and others try to communicate with them, the adults often need me to interpret what the child is trying to say. I thought that Chapter 1 did a great job of displaying what children think language is in Figure 1.1. This figure talked about simple words that children say and how they can convey a certain whole meaning. As teachers it is really important to get to know all the children in your class on a deeper level. Many, if not all, of these children have the language they do based off what they have heard from home. When we know about their home lives, we will better understand what a child may be referring to. For instance, Nora may say, "Doggie" and mean the dog she sees near the playground; whereas Tyler may say, "Sammy" and also mean dog because he knows of a dog named Sammy. I found these chapters to be very helpful in thinking about the language of a child and how they can mean so much by just saying one word or small phrase.
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It really is fascinating that children sense what words are important to convey meaning and can say so much by saying so little. It really shows you that children are watching and listening to everything around them and sharpening their skills to communicate with the world! Over time they will refine this skill and form more complete thoughts and sentences, but until then they are still communicating in a precise way that conveys what they want to say.
ReplyDeleteThis is a nice, reflective piece. You put nice emphasis on the important of getting to know each individual in your class on a deeper level. A teacher's job goes beyond the hours in the classroom. You're right: we must know our children on a much more personal level in order to help them reach their full potential. Especially when kids are still striving for literacy skills at this age, context to their life is key.
ReplyDeleteVery nice post and I liked how you used part of your experience in it as well. I remember when my sister and I were little I was the only one who could understand her most of the time. It frustrated her because she really was trying to say things. As teacher we have to put time and effort into understanding and helping our students. One way to do that (in a case like my sister's) could be to as her guardians who understands what she is saying most of the time and go from there. Maybe we can find out key words like "doggie" and "Sammy".
ReplyDeleteI think a person who works with children or is around children on a pretty regular basis has a better chance of understanding children than someone who does not. It is important for educators and parents alike to really get to know their children and their manners. Children convey messages in many very different ways. You gave a great example about two children talking about a dog in different ways. I have many similar examples from working in a daycare as well. I think it is important to get to know your children and their home life to fully understand the messages they are trying to get across.
ReplyDeleteChildren have very different ways of communicating what they know and what they want. Just because a child communicate differently, it does not mean that he or she is not communicating with intent. Others should not write a child off when they are not communicating in the way that is expected, but rather use patience and whatever they know about the child to understand.
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