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| My youngest daughter and my grandson |
Dear friends,
Here's an excerpt from my book Common Sense Excellence on teaching oral language. This includes listening, speech, and oral composition. Oral language is something we teach throughout the day with our little conversations, whether we realize it or not. Brothers and sisters even learn it from one another! Oral language is the vital preparation for learning to read and write.
ORAL
LANGUAGE
Listening
“Come, my children, listen to me;
I will teach you the
fear of the LORD.” Psalm 34:11
“...let the wise listen and add to their learning,
and
let the discerning get guidance.” Proverbs 1:5
“Pay attention and listen to the sayings of the wise;
apply your heart to what I teach,
for it is pleasing when you keep them in your
heart
and have all of them ready on your lips.”
Proverbs 22:17-18
Listening to spoken words is where it
all begins! Our children listen to us
talk from the time they are in our wombs.
We don’t give them formal lessons, but they learn to talk anyway. Isn’t
it amazing?
Take
full advantage of the power of warm companionship. The constant give and take of conversation,
coupled with the natural repetition in everyday life, enhances listening skills
almost effortlessly. Encourage your young children to tell you about their
feelings and the events of the day. And listen to them! Be interested!
Discern
auditory problems. Does your child seem to have a hard time listening to
you? There is a difference between
hearing and listening. Your child may
seem to be merely uncooperative, but perhaps he can’t hear you well enough to
distinguish sounds properly. Because
hearing impairment affects the ability to process language, this can lead to
permanent speech delays, so please don’t ignore this possibility. Many auditory
and speech problems can be detected by a doctor or speech/language therapist
using simple screening tests. If money is a concern, check with your county
health department or local public school for free or low-cost testing and/or
therapy.
Teach
your child to pay attention. Suppose your child can hear you just fine
-- when he wants to! Perhaps he needs
extra practical training in the fine art of listening. Maybe it’s an attitude problem, but it could
be that he just doesn’t know how to
listen. First, make sure that he is
right in front of you, not across the room or at the other end of the
house. Next, make sustained eye contact.
The ability to look someone in the eye as they speak is a valuable skill, and
we may as well start now! When your
child is “front and center” paying attention to you, start talking to him. Keep the sentences short, sweet and
specific. Ask him to repeat after you
what you said. Does he know what you
mean? If you say, “Please clean your
room,” does he interpret that as an option because you said “please” or does he
understand it as polite but mandatory?
Exactly what does “clean” mean?
Oh, and is there any time limit on this assignment? Spell it out!
Then check up on it!
Work
on simple auditory memorization skills. A valuable language skill is to be able
to store the “input” in such a way as to recall it for “output” later. As part of our listening skills approach, we
encourage our young children to memorize Scripture passages, poetry, song
lyrics, and quite pragmatically, a sequence of instructions that we wish them
to follow. Start small, and go
slow. Give them a phrase or two at a
time, and repeat that until it is learned.
When you start using dictation methods for academics (more on this
later), you will appreciate the time you have spent developing auditory
memory. Remember that it is better for
them to memorize a few things thoroughly than many things shakily.
Practice
rhyming words. Tell your child several examples of rhyming
words, such as cat and mat or nickle and pickle. Then say pairs of words (some rhyming and some
not) and ask your child if they rhyme. Next, say a word and ask your child to
give you one that rhymes it. This may sound silly, but rhyming is an effective
auditory discrimination activity and pre-reading skill.
Match spoken
words with visual images. In the beginning stages, you can point to a picture and name it for
your child. When he knows many of the
words, you can point to a picture and ask him to name it, or you can name an
item and ask him to point to it. (This
is an example of Dr. Maria Montessori’s Three-Period Lesson.) This activity
naturally provides for continued discussion about the things you see on each
page of a picture book. For example, you can talk about
shapes and colors of items, their uses, and other educational concepts -- all
cuddled up on the couch having a grand time!
Speech
Moses said to the
LORD,
‘O Lord, I have never been eloquent,
neither in the
past nor since you have spoken to your servant.
I am slow of speech and
tongue.’
The LORD said to him, ‘Who gave
man his mouth?
Who makes him deaf or mute?
Who gives him sight or makes him
blind?
Is it not I, the LORD?
Now go; I will
help you speak and will teach you what to say.’"
Exodus 4:10-11
“Before a word is
on my tongue you know it completely, O LORD.” Psalm 139:4
“Pleasant words
are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones.” Proverbs 16:24
Coach
your children on how to control their voices.
Proper volume, tone, pitch, inflection and speed will make them pleasant
to hear. They should know when a quieter “inside” voice is appropriate, and
when it’s OK to be more exuberant. For
example, if they are visiting someone who is wearing a hearing aid, they need
to be sensitive to the fact that loud noises might cause a very unpleasant
screeching noise in the person’s ear.
Start early to teach your children to control their voices!
Discuss
when to speak and when to be quiet. Do you have a little chatterbox who won’t let
anyone else get a word in edgewise?
Teach her how to take turns in a conversation! There are also times when we have to be
totally quiet. In most church services,
it is important to be silent during the pastor’s prayer and sermon. However, we should sing out enthusiastically
during a rousing praise chorus, and greet others in a normal conversational
tone (not a shy whisper!) during the “meet your neighbor” moment. Part of this will come by your example, but
you will probably also need to issue some gentle reminders when the actual time
comes.
Work on correct pronunciation and diction. You may be able to understand what your child
is saying because you know him and can practically read his mind, but can other
people figure out his speech? Some
pronunciation problems are developmental, which means that the child usually
grows out of it with time and practice.
The ability to correctly pronounce the R sound, for example, often does not appear until age seven. Work with your child gradually, practicing
sounds with him as you read stories, learn nursery rhymes and carry on simple
conversations. Try not to call undue
attention to the problem; nervousness tends to make it worse. Consult a physician if you suspect a physical
problem, such as a tight connecting tissue under the tongue. A speech therapist can also help diagnose
and treat problems. If you can’t afford
to see one in private practice, ask for a free screening with a public school
therapist. Your child, even as a
preschooler, may be eligible for special education sessions. I had a speech impairment until minor
surgery at age seven, and two of my children have had significant speech delays
and/or diction problems which eventually improved, so my full sympathies are
with you!
Let
your child play with accents. This is the beginning of drama! Some of the easiest accents to imitate are
Southern USA, Boston, New York, British, Australian and Spanish. In the
process, children learn to listen carefully to what makes each one distinct,
and to reproduce the sound patterns not just in a given word, but in a whole
spontaneous conversation. Can you hear
the gears clicking in their brains?
Show
how the meaning of a word or sentence can change with tone of voice or vocal
inflection. Try changing your tone of
voice (jovial, haughty, sad, excited, mildly sarcastic, serene) or emphasize
different words in the sentence. How
does this change the message that comes across?
Teach
your child how to answer the phone correctly, as well as make outgoing calls. This will vary from family to family, but
instruction should include what to say when you answer the phone, how to inform
a family member that they have a phone call, what to say if the person they ask
for is not available, how to take a message, how to dial a number, how to leave
a message, what hours are appropriate for phone calls, etc. I often remind my children that if they make
a comment in the earshot of someone here who is on the phone, the person on the
other end can probably hear it, too.
Practice
reciting short pieces of literature.
Poems and famous speeches are good material for this activity. Recitation helps a child to speak clearly and
expressively, to cut out dead words such as um
and you know, and to control his body movements.
Do this in the privacy of your own home until your child is ready for a
more public audience.
Accustom
your child to public speaking situations. As ambassadors for Christ Jesus, it is so helpful to be able to get up
in front of a crowd and say a few intelligible words without fainting! Start with a simple recitation, and move up
to more original presentations.
Train
your children to speak sweetly to
each other and to you. If I had it all to
do over again, I would have majored on this.
I can tell you from experience that if you fail in this area when your
children are young, you will pay for it later.
Name calling, bickering, tattling, slander, whining, sassing -- these can
all poison the atmosphere of your home to the extent that you allow them. Once
ingrained, they are hard to shake off.
You can help your child find ways to communicate his feelings which do
not tear other people down and stir up conflict. This includes tone of voice, body language,
and actual words.
Oral
Composition
“Jesus spoke all
these things to the crowd in parables;
he did not say anything to them without
using a parable.
So was fulfilled what was spoken through the prophet:
‘I will
open my mouth in parables,
I will utter things hidden since the creation of the
world.’”
Matthew 13:34-35
“Listen, for I
have worthy things to say;
I open my lips to speak what is right.” Proverbs 8:6
“Gold there is,
and rubies in abundance,
but lips that
speak knowledge are a rare jewel.” Proverbs 20:15
Moving beyond the mechanical aspects of listening
and speaking, I would like to talk about something which requires a little more
brain power: oral composition.
Oral
composition starts at birth. The earliest exposure your
child has to language formation is
hearing you speak from the time he is born. How do you choose your words? How do you organize your thoughts? Can he follow the sequence of events when you
tell about something that has happened, or when you make up a story just for
him? As he grows through the preschool
years, he will tell you about life as
he knows it, like what happened when Daddy took him to the baseball game. It may be out of sequence a little bit, or
perhaps he exaggerates here and there, but it’s his story. Yes, this is
oral composition in its seedling form.
Water it, and it will bear fruit.
Listen!
Oral
composition sneaks in when your child is at play. If she is building in the sand box, she might
tell you that she is making a castle. If
he is dressing up, he might be a clown or a soldier. If she is playing with dolls, she might speak
to her babies in sentences that sound uncannily like your own (for better or
worse)! If he is racing around with a
toy fire engine, he might describe how he is putting out the flames. Talking about what he or she is doing is a
vital part of the pretending process!
You can help by providing the props and asking an occasional question.
Oral
composition is developed by narration. For a more academic
approach, let me elaborate on oral narration, which I mentioned in the
Literature section. Charlotte Mason
advocated this method for all ages, but especially for young children. It means telling back what you have heard in
your own words, and perhaps adding in your own opinions or ideas about the
topic. This can be done after listening
to a story or poem, reading a chapter of a book, or even looking at a piece of
fine art. The narration might be
sprinkled with a few new vocabulary words from whatever was read. In this way, he not only shows that he
understands the material, but he is also developing his own language skills in
a powerful and natural way. These
sessions can be short and sweet, perhaps just a few minutes. If you must ask questions, try to keep them
open-ended so that your child can’t just reply with a yes or no, or answer with
a bare bones phrase. You don’t want to extract the information, but let it flow.
Oral
composition flows from a topic which grabs your child’s attention and interest. Maybe
you are out in the garage doing laundry when he comes up and starts chattering
about an exciting book he’s been reading about snakes or astronauts or
whatever. You can tell he is psyched
about it. You know the information is
rattling around in his brain, just waiting to be released through his
mouth! Let it stay at this level for
quite some time, just getting him comfortable sharing verbally, either with
factual information or a story.
Oral
composition blossoms into original storytelling. After a child has had ample
exposure to read aloud literature and plenty of practice in oral narration, he
may be ready for original oral storytelling beyond what would normally occur in
conversation. Working orally should
definitely come before any attempt at formal written storytelling! A few children may
want to make up fanciful stories, but most would do well to stick with the
familiar, such as a description of things they have experienced with their
senses, or a narrative of a recent happening. You can easily incorporate oral
storytelling naturally and spontaneously by asking your child, “Tell me all
about the Christy’s birthday party!” or “Why are you so excited right now?” or
“You didn’t like the way that story ended.
How would you change it?” Keep
in mind that you can use oral narration and composition with a child who does
not yet know how to read. Even a three
year old can offer a few sentences here and there. These little conversations are part of your
warm and loving relationship with your child, not some complex scholarly
skill! Many years ago, our little
children would beg to hear my impromptu stories about the fictional
Blake family. When I was too tired to
think of anything even halfway original, Joanna, then nine, came to the rescue
with her own Max and Liz stories. After
all, she has heard mine often enough that she had a pattern to go by, and she
has a lively imagination of her own. The
younger ones began to prefer her stories to mine. (I won’t take that personally!) The older ones still tell stories to their
little brothers and sisters. These story telling sessions may be after regular
school hours, but I’d be the last one to complain!
Oral
composition is a crucial academic skill.
Parents
may discount the value of oral narration or story telling because there is no
paper trail to prove that the child has done “language arts” for the day. If this is your concern, just mark down on
your child’s record sheet what he did:
“Gave oral narration about Abraham Lincoln biography,” or “Discussed
Charlotte’s Web book with Mom,” or “Described paintings at art museum,” or
“Made up original story about exploring Mars.”
These are all perfectly valid educational activities, and you should be
proud to have them listed in your child’s portfolio. Just think of how pleased
you will be when your child can carry on an interesting conversation with the
adults and children at your next
family reunion!
nt a garden.
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