Language for Littles

I love talking to parents about language stimulation techniques. They are such important and effective skills for encouraging language development in little ones.

Language stimulation techniques allow parents to provide great models of language that are at a suitable level for the child, and increase the opportunities for the child to hear developmentally appropriate language. These techniques generally encourage children to use more language.

During Self-Talk the parent talks about what he/she is doing (e.g. I’m washing your face, I have yummy apples), while during Parallel Talk the parent narrates or comments on what the child is doing or experiencing (e.g. you have the car, wash hands). We also encourage Labelling, which is talking about objects the child is playing with/ looking at (e.g. that’s the ball, green truck).

Parents can use language stimulation approaches throughout the day for both play activities and daily routines. Using simple language during these activities gives children words they can use, and also helps them understand language within these contexts.

What language level should you use with your child?

• If a child is mainly pointing and vocalising to communicate, use one and two word phrases in your commenting.

• If he/she uses one and two word phrases, you comment using three and four word phrases/sentences.

• If he/she uses short sentences, you respond using longer, grammatically correct sentences.

Think about how you can add language stimulation techniques to your interactions over this week. It may seem a bit strange or unnatural initially, especially since as adults we usually ask children questions to give them opportunities to communicate with us. Don’t be discouraged if you find yourself reverting to asking questions, it takes time and lots of practice, and you’ll find it getting easier.