In response to a recent storytime, I had someone ask me why I use such long, complicated words if I work with such young children. My response, albeit a bit sassy, was, “where do you think they are going to learn their words?” That’s rIght!! From the grownups in their life! We teach our tiny newborns that we are “mo-mma” or “na-na” or “da-daddy,” right from the start. Teaching vocabulary to young children is universal. In every culture around the world it is up to the older ones to teach the younger ones the language. Some times it is through drilling and repetitive techniques. Most of the time, however, language is simply learned by exposure. How many times have our children repeated something we wish they hadn’t learned from us?
Years ago I was driving in Quito rush hour traffic when my 5 year old foster daughter asked from her booster seat behind me, “Mami Stacey, que es ‘jackass?’” Oops! I was in the process of teaching her English as she was soon to be adopted by a family whose primary language is English. But that was certainly not a word that needed to be in her vocabulary! I felt like the donkey in that moment for sure. If you have spent any time with young children you may have a story similar to mine. It has frequently been stated that children are like sponges. Some times they soak up what we want them to soak up and some times they soak up what we’d rather they didn’t. Either way, their soaking abilities are how most of their vocabulary is learned.
If we use limited language around children, they will learn limited language. If we use negative speak they will learn negativity. If we use profanity, profanity will come out of those tiny mouths. If we use a rich, varied vocabulary they will learn a rich and varied vocabulary. This is why we definitely do not want to water down the language we use around them. My own daughter was about 20 months old when I took her to a program at the public library. The librarian was having the children clean up the play things before story time. My daughter had been quiet and the teacher asked me if she was saying any words yet or if I was interested in having her tested for a developmental delay. I told her I appreciated her concern but I actually thought my daughter had a pretty extensive vocabulary for her age. As if on cue Maya laughed right then and said, “Oh look at those dasshoppers on the carpet. I didn’t see them because they were camouflaged. The dasshoppers are deen and the carpet is deen!” The teacher’s mouth dropped open. “Did she just say and explain camouflage?!” She asked me. I shrugged. “Yeah, I think so, “ I replied. I tried to make it a point to not baby talk to my children. I had a passerby once say, “You talk to your child like she’s a little human!” Excuse me?! She IS a little human! What species did he think I had in my stroller?
Reading books with big or complex words is something I highly encourage when talking to other Early Childhood Educators. I’m not talking about reading philosophy text books to preschoolers. But also let’s not water stories down. In one of my recent blogs, Harold and his Purple Crayon Adventures I talk about Crockett Johnson’s books about Harold and his purple crayon. These are a prime example of using complex vocabulary although their target audience is clearly young. Words and phrases such as: splendid exhibition, brandishing, gorgeous, trudging, susceptible, and ermine robe can all be found within the pages of these books. Context clues help the child understand these words they may never have heard before. During thee reading, I also try to stop on these words and ask, “what might that word mean? Have you heard that word? Do you remember hearing that word before?” Encouraging children to ask the meaning when they come to an unknown word is a lifelong skill we want them to have. Asking questions when something is unknown to us should never be shamed. It should be encouraged and even celebrated! So here’s to children who will move the world with their words!
Comments