As communication is an integral part of a child’s development, imparting good communication and language skills from a young age lays the foundation for reading and writing skills in children. It is important to integrate language development activities in early childhood education to help children speak clearly, use the right sounds and to communicate effectively.
Why language development is important in early childhood learning
Improving language skills is of absolute significance for a child’s progress both in personal and social life. It’s a grounding for the increasingly competitive and demanding world we live in.
Here is why language development in early childhood is significant,
1. Integrating language development strategies in lesson plans help children to be a part of a multicultural environment. Especially in a school like OWIS, that welcomes students from countries across the world, language development classes enable children to communicate their ideas and concepts effectively.
2. Language enhancement programs develop interaction among children. Such sessions are generally organized through a collaborative learning environment. Here, young learners feel comfortable to pick up new words along with their peers, form sentences from it and communicate.
3. Children can learn much from each other and their teachers without any communication barriers. Children at a tender age are curious about the world around them. Language-based learning assists students to raise questions and find answers more confidently.
4. Language development activities will also help children to understand written language more easily. Children in Pre-KG and Kindergarten can keep developing oral abilities and skills by consulting with each other, raising questions, and providing information in varied situations through well-planned language development programs.
How we foster language development in early childhood program at OWIS
1. Inclusive and welcoming environment
At OWIS we encourage students to learn new words and communicate with their peers by promoting an inclusive environment. As students can suggest their different expectations in a welcoming environment it motivates them to actively participate in language-based learning. Our multi denominational learning environment is a perfect place for children to face their fears and take ownership of their education.
2. Interactive learning activities
As one of the best international schools in Riyadh, OWIS educators extend multimodal learning activities We include small group work, discussions and projects through audio and visual learning. Such engaging initiatives students are more likely to retain their linguistic knowledge over time and incorporate the words they have learned in daily communications.
3. Constant interactions
Children learn a language through constant interactions, that’s how we learn our native language as well. In this light we also involve parents in the learning process so that students can continue their progress from home and feel excited. We follow such an approach by assigning home-based learning related to vocabulary words or interactive videos that prompts conversation between learners and their families.
4. Oral language sessions
At OWIS, along with focusing on language development we focus on the phonological component to help students learn the alphabetic principle, the sounds of spoken language and relationship between written letters and spoken sounds. This way students can not only learn to communicate but also lay emphasis on their accent, tone and style of communication.
Know more about us:
At OWIS we follow a warm, caring and vibrant environment that ensures that all students, regardless of their starting points, get opportunities to grow. We take pride in providing an inclusive and nurturing environment for our young people to develop their linguistic, academic, social and emotional well being.
Also Read: How do we develop literacy in early years
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