Oral Language & Literacy
Understanding & Using Language
1
Lay the groundwork
Practices to whakaritea te pārekereke prepare the seedbed for all children.
Start by working with all the children in your setting. Create an environment that can support children to build skills related to Understanding & Using Language.
- Consider your current environment and how you could make it better.
- Talk to others about what you are already doing.
- Select practices that will be meaningful in your setting.
Download the following resources:
Why is this practice important?
Modelling the use of non-spoken communication such as the use of facial expression, sign language, body language, intonation, images, and AAC systems, provides foundation for children’s understanding of how oral language works and what it can achieve. Non-spoken communication is an important part of becoming proficient in oral language for all cultures. Non-spoken communication is particularly important for children whose primary means of communication is not spoken.How to apply this practice in your setting:
Tune in and respond to children’s non-spoken communication. Read the context to gain a deeper understanding of what children are communicating.
Think about your body language, intonation, facial expressions. Are they genuine? Do they encourage positive interactions and responses?
Reflect with your team on how well you foster non-spoken communication with children through interactions, games, movement, storytelling and reading.
Learn about culturally specific, non-spoken communication forms that may be important to whānau. Apply this knowledge with sensitivity to the diversity that exists within as well as between cultures.
Connect language to sensory experiences by describing elements such as touch, sound, sight, smell, emotions, body movements.
Utilise AAC systems to support children’s communication. Have large display core board (or home page of the AAC system used in the centre) easily accessible to all children and adults, inside and outside. Ensure all kaiako are familiar with the location of specific vocabulary on each AAC system. Model key words as you speak, by pointing to specific symbols on the core board/ AAC system.
Share waiata, chants, poems that reflect or contribute to children’s differing moods or feelings.
Encourage children to listen and observe facial expressions, gestures, body language of peers and adults in order to understand what is being communicated.
Why is this practice important?
In order to understand, think about and communicate increasingly complex ideas, children need both receptive vocabulary (words they understand) and expressive vocabulary (words they use to communicate). The number and variety of words (including less common and technical words) that children learn in their early years is a significant predictor of reading comprehension in the middle and secondary years of schooling and of broader academic and vocational success.How to apply this practice in your setting:
Keep front of mind the importance of kaiako modelling language and promoting children’s vocabulary through reflective practice and curriculum design.
Connect with whānau to understand what phrases, sayings, and language routines (including non-spoken) are used at home or in the community.
Encourage children to make connections between words and their meaning. Use specific words and descriptions, rather than general terms, e.g. “Pass me the ball” rather than “Pass it to me”; “You’ve used red, blue, and green” rather than “That’s very colourful”.
Intentionally support children’s growing vocabulary by integrating new words and their meanings as opportunities arise. Use these new words along with meanings often to aid comprehension. Support this as a team by creating and using word webs on a range of topics that include a variety of words such as names, actions, descriptors, questions, feelings, and locations.
Regularly document children’s growing language understanding and use. This can include written, audio or video records. Draw on these to inform ongoing assessment, planning, and communication with whānau.
Combine spoken language with non-spoken communication such as pointing, facial expression, gestures, body movement, sounds, images (including AAC), textures. Use intonation to draw children’s attention to new words as you say them.
When using an AAC system such as a core board, model key words as you speak by pointing to specific symbols. Ensure children who use AAC systems to communicate have access to them all the time, e.g. if several children are using core boards, kaiako can wear these on straps so they are easily available around the centre.
Encourage children to connect meanings across languages by exploring equivalent words in, for example te reo Māori, NZSL and children’s home languages. Build your own understanding of children’s home languages.
Why is this practice important?
Varied experiences provide mokopuna with opportunities and motivation to learn new vocabulary and communicate. Mokopuna are more likely to retain meaning when words are connected to their lived experiences.How to apply this practice in your setting:
Provide a variety of resources, experiences, and spaces within the every-day learning environment – both inside and out – that reflect the interests, lived experiences, and cultural references of mokopuna.
Make available a range of books (fiction and nonfiction) that reflect the changing interests and lived experiences of mokopuna, as well as some that offer new topics and ways of seeing the world.
Include the use of non-spoken communication by having story books that contain mokopuna who use sign or Alternative and Augmentative Communication (AAC), or photos of mokopuna using sign and AAC.
View excursions, visitors, and events as opportunities to introduce and expand vocabulary.
Use music, songs, chants from heritage and home languages.
Create with, and for, mokopuna – books and stories about their experiences. Use images to prompt memory and discussion.
Why is this practice important?
Learning how words combine in different ways to convey meaning (e.g. syntax, semantics) helps mokopuna to be and become confident communicators.How to apply this practice in your setting:
Reflect as a team on how mokopuna learn about the way language works and is used to make meaning (such as syntax and semantics) in the context of everyday communication and a play-based curriculum. How confident are kaiako in relation to these concepts? What strategies can be shared about how children learn social words, requesting words, early pronouns, prepositions?
Model an enjoyment of rich language use. Share with mokopuna things that interest and excite you about words, languages, and their uses. Share whakataukī, poems, waiata, rhymes and stories that you enjoy.
Develop relationships with whānau and encourage them to speak their strongest language(s) with their mokopuna at home. Provide information about the benefits of a strong first language and the abilities of mokopuna to learn multiple languages when they have consistent exposure to them.
Consult hapū/iwi and learn local dialects and integrate kupu, phrases, sentences into routines and everyday interactions.
Build kaiako language capability in the languages used by mokopuna. Learn some basic words and phrases in the home languages of mokopuna and use them meaningfully in daily interactions, such as care routines.
Expand mokopuna communication attempts by modelling more complex sentences as part of the conversation. Use speech along with expression, intonation, and body language to support your message. Tune into children’s non-spoken cues and verbalise these.
Expand the communication of mokopuna who use sign or Alternative and Augmentative Communication (AAC). Respond to their non-spoken communication by modelling a sign or word on their AAC system. When they sign or use their AAC system, model back and add on another sign/word/symbol.
Why is this practice important?
By integrating te reo Māori into everyday communications, routines, and regular events mokopuna are supported to learn and appreciate te reo Māori as an official language of Aotearoa New Zealand.How to apply this practice in your setting:
Collaborate with whānau, hapū and iwi to create goals and a shared vision for te reo Māori and tikanga in your setting.
Reflect and regularly review how you use te reo Māori (including pronunciation). Check in with whānau to learn how to pronounce mokopuna and whānau Māori names correctly.
Develop individual and team goals to strengthen, extend and actively use te reo Māori in your setting, with attention to correct pronunciation. Record and celebrate your progress individually and as a team.
Integrate te reo Māori and tikanga meaningfully into everyday routines, play and experiences. Use a range of transitional and commonly used phrases to build vocabulary and sentences, e.g. “Ko te wā mō te… (it’s time for…) … kai o te ata (morning tea) … kai o te rānui” (lunch).
Provide plenty of opportunities for mokopuna to experience and learn te reo Māori through waiata and kēmu/games.
Create a language rich environment by listening to waiata Māori and pūrākau from native Māori speakers, drawing on community and online resources.
Include and/or review the use of written te reo Māori throughout the learning environment. How and when is it used by kaiako and by mokopuna or whānau?
Why is this practice important?
Communicating effectively with others is an essential life skill. Social communication has many benefits including connecting with others, building relationships and friendships and supporting mokopuna to feel valued and respected and feel a sense of belonging. Engaging mokopuna in back-and-forth, ‘serve-and-return’ patterns of communication from birth plays a vital role in building neural pathways for language and laying foundations for social communication, as well as overall wellbeing.How to apply this practice in your setting:
Model the back-and-forth, ‘serve-and-return’ patterns of social communication. This involves tuning in to what mokopuna are focussed on, using more comments than questions, and pausing to give mokopuna time to think about what has been said, consider their response, and then reply.
Observe the focus and interests of mokopuna. Engage in conversations that make connections to these.
Provide gentle guidance to support mokopuna to engage in social conversation (spoken or non-spoken) with each other, e.g. “Mari is trying to say something to you. First listen to what Mari is saying, before you reply… Do you want to tell Mari what you think?”
Ensure mokopuna who use sign or Alternative and Augmentative Communication (AAC) can actively contribute during group experiences, directing questions and comments to them, then waiting expectantly, reminding other mokopuna that they may need extra time to respond.
Praise mokopuna when they use positive communication in their interactions with others.