The words we use daily with children matter. How we communicate and the words we use with children has a great effect on the relationships we build with them. UNICEF (n.d.) explains that ‘Every interaction you have with your child is a form of communication. It’s not just about the words you say: The tone […]
Parents and other caregivers typically modify their speech when they talk to babies and young children. They use simple sentences and special words, like “nana” for banana. They also speak slowly, use a higher pitch, and exaggerate the ups and downs of the “tune” of their speech. In many languages, caregivers also exaggerate their vowels in a […]
Due to increased global mobility and the unprecedented forces of globalisation, the world has become increasingly diverse. We are all witnesses to social, cultural, ethnic, and linguistic diversity in schools and early childhood services. Research on multilingualism and multiculturalism in primary and secondary school settings is well documented (e.g. Baker & Wright, 2021; Esau, 2014; […]
English is not the first language of many families in Australia, with 21% of Australians speaking a language other than English at home (ABS, 2017). Today, Australia is one of the top 10 countries in the world where the most languages are spoken (Eberhard et al., 2022). This will probably not surprise early childhood educators, […]
If you are a parent or a teacher, you most probably read stories to young children. Together, you laugh and point at the pictures. You engage them with a few simple questions. And they respond. So what happens to children when they participate in shared reading? Does it make a difference to their learning? If […]
Any adult who has attempted to learn a foreign language can attest to how difficult and confusing it can be. So when a three-year-old growing up in a bilingual household inserts Spanish words into his English sentences, conventional wisdom assumes that he is confusing the two languages. Research shows that this is not the case. […]
How is it that in a country as prosperous as Australia, one in five children are developmentally at risk by the time they start school? What’s more, the problem is twice as great for disadvantaged groups. Children from disadvantaged backgrounds have a greater risk of poor health, social, emotional, cognitive and language problems that affect […]
We typically think of writing as something that is out of reach for preschool children. After all, young children can’t write recognizable letters, and they can’t spell words. We have been studying young children’s knowledge about writing in our research. And we are finding that they know more about writing – even before they learn […]
Children who fail to read regularly during long breaks from school will often see their reading ability drop. This is termed the “summer slide”. Socio-economic status can be a factor – if a child’s household has fewer books to read, then they will have fewer authentic reading opportunities. But those children who keep up their […]
