When a child is born, the first of the four language skills
that comes into play is listening. From
a very early age, the child hears voices around him. He may not be able to understand what is
being said, but he hears different sounds and slowly relates certain sounds
with good and bad, happy and sad.
The next language skill that comes naturally is to speak. The child attempts to put into words the sounds he has been hearing. There may be some recognition of words, such as Mama and Dada, but more often than not it is just gibberish that comes forth. Still, the child is learning to speak, especially when he is guided by a patient parent.
With improved speech comes a growing vocabulary, as the child learns how to pronounce different words. Knowing what a word sounds like makes it easier for the child to learn how to read it in a book. Simple words like “cat” and “dog” give way to “Internet” and “Minecraft”.
Recognising the letters of the alphabet allows the child to spell out a word and write it down. Early attempts at writing are clumsy and letters appear in different sizes. However, with practice, the child’s writing gets better until the script becomes legible. In some cases, the writing progresses to a beautiful handwriting style.
In summary, I have found that the four language skills are learnt in this order: listening, speaking, reading and writing.
The next language skill that comes naturally is to speak. The child attempts to put into words the sounds he has been hearing. There may be some recognition of words, such as Mama and Dada, but more often than not it is just gibberish that comes forth. Still, the child is learning to speak, especially when he is guided by a patient parent.
With improved speech comes a growing vocabulary, as the child learns how to pronounce different words. Knowing what a word sounds like makes it easier for the child to learn how to read it in a book. Simple words like “cat” and “dog” give way to “Internet” and “Minecraft”.
Recognising the letters of the alphabet allows the child to spell out a word and write it down. Early attempts at writing are clumsy and letters appear in different sizes. However, with practice, the child’s writing gets better until the script becomes legible. In some cases, the writing progresses to a beautiful handwriting style.
In summary, I have found that the four language skills are learnt in this order: listening, speaking, reading and writing.
No comments:
Post a Comment