How to help your child succeed at school

“Learning floats on a sea of talk.”

Did you know one of the most important ways to help children prepare for school is simply to talk with them frequently?  Strong oral language skills are a critical component of children’s literacy learning, mental health, social competence and emotional wellbeing, and there has long been a recognition that early oral language development is linked to children’s future development and success. Children who hear more words tend to have longer vocabularies, be stronger readers and perform better academically.

How can you help your child with speaking and listening?

Early Language

• Talk about familiar things and ensure your child has a wide range of experiences to talk about, with the expectation that your child will listen and respond.
• Read a wide range of books together and ask questions about what you have read. Continue to reread favourite books as repeated readings help children make sense of print.
• Link reading, writing and talking as often as possible, for example, talk about what you need to buy from the supermarket and then write a shopping list.
• Model standard speech by repeating a phrase using an acceptable form, for example: Child: I did went there. Parent: Yes, you went there.

Exploratory Language

• Play games that motivate children to learn language, e.g. I Spy, rhyming words, finding signs along the road, jokes, riddles etc.
• Write letters and birthday cards.
• Sing alphabet songs and sing letter names.
• Develop mathematical language and understandings through counting, sorting, matching and talking about numbers, numerals, shapes, sizes and physical properties.

Emergent Language for Learning

• Set aside some times to discuss what has happened during the day.
• Help your child to read books from school, e.g. talk about the title, illustrations and content.
• Play games such as Scrabble and Snakes and Ladders.
• Encourage your child to give reasons for decisions they make, and use logical arguments when trying to present a point of view.

Consolidated Language for Learning

• Compare similarities and differences between books they have read.
• When your child asks how to spell a word, encourage a 'have-a-go-first' approach.
• Include the family in games which provide enjoyment and teach social skills, e.g. taking turns, explaining rules to another player, congratulating a winner.
• Use your local library.

Laura Leung

Teaching and Learning, Numeracy and Literacy Leader

References:

• Tate, D. (2022). Speaking of starting school: Investigating key perspectives on children's oral language development in the first year of school. Australian Catholic University.
• Education Department of Western Australia (1994). First Steps.