Proudly and importantly, my niece informed me that she was going to “peech” lessons! A bit taken aback, since this was a very bright and articulate child of four, I nonetheless understood my sister’s concern as there were certain letter sounds and combinations this darling child just couldn’t manage, and we all knew the importance of having her be able to be easily understood outside the family when she began kindergarten.
Words ... used in conversation, in writing, and in reading, were then, are now, and will continue to be, the single most important method of communication for us all. Words are simply tools, and like tools, must be obtained, polished, cared for, and used correctly to be of maximum benefit to us. Speech lessons for her were simply a way of sharpening her existing tools, her already wonderful vocabulary and speaking abilities, so she might use them most effectively.
Twenty years ago, my sister’s child went to a “peech” clinic, to learn to speak more clearly. Today, many children are referred for speech lessons for a much different reason, with a need that is often not identified until they begin school.
Normal, bright, intelligent, curious, and darling children are not learning words because they are not being taught words at home. These children enter school without having or understanding basic communication tools. The average 6-year-old knows about 6,000 words, so children without vocabulary are starting with an enormous handicap since school success is almost directly related to a child’s ability to use language.
Children must understand words describing what teacher and school expectations are as well as develop the ability to use words correctly and well in reading, in speaking and in writing. Vocabulary like everything else, young children learn, must be taught over time in real settings using real objects and interacting with adults who can help them learn. Children must have thousands of opportunities with words just as they must have with other experiences in order to fully develop understanding so words become meaningful symbols for communicating. If the appropriate “window”, that time slot for primary vocabulary development from birth to four or five, is not used appropriately, the loss is nearly impossible to make up.
Parents are the first and most important teachers children have. This awesome job of teaching language to children is little understood by many and often thought to just “happen.” It won’t! Language development must take place over time, must be guided and made possible by parents interacting with children, and needs to take place in a variety of settings where there are objects and activities the child is interested in learning and communicating about.
Almost any child’s home meets all these guidelines, and almost anyone can teach children to communicate. It takes time, it takes looking at some ways we as adults may hinder children in learning language, and it takes being willing to change some old ways of doing. However, if you think about a child with poor or limited vocabulary entering school being about 6,000 words behind their peers, you will understand the importance of knowing everything possible to help your child develop his own set of language tools. My niece already had vocabulary and above average language skills; the work she did at her speech sessions was simply “fine tuning” of already well-developed communicator.
