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Language Development & Communication
Promoting Communicating & Speaking
WiseTip: LD-COM-M0818-E01A

Provide books and print materials. Look at them with your baby. Point to the pictures and say the names of the people, places and things in the books.

8-18 months
Environment
WHY IT MATTERS

Studies have found that creating literacy-rich environments will help build vocabulary and speech structures for communicating and speaking.

A study carried out in Singapore on creating literacy-rich environments for children from infancy showed that children begin to benefit in early language and literacy skills, when regular reading begins as early as 8 months with reading routines that include sensitive and responsive, language-rich interactions. Creating a literacy-rich home environment from infancy (e.g. exposing a child to be read to) helps children to be more interested in books and reading at 12 months.

1
  1. Mascarenhas, S. S., Moorakonda, R., Agarwal, P., Lim, S. B., Sensaki, S. & Chong, Y. S. (2017). Characteristics and influence of home literacy environment in early childhood-centered literacy orientation. Proceedings in Singapore Healthcare, 26 (2), 81-97.
This was found in a Singapore study of 523 infants in the Growing up towards Healthy Outcomes (GUSTO) studies, who were followed from 2010 to 2012. The study showed that a literacy-rich home environment impacts child-centred literacy orientation at 12 months. Hence, reading to children will help them communicate, speak and be motivated towards literacy.

Listening to music is an exercise in

receptive language skills

Receptive and Expressive Language - Between 18 and 24 months of age, children can understand and use of language in communication. By the end of the second year, children can communicate intentionally through words to influence the behaviour of others. For this to work, children are simultaneously learning to use both facets of language: Receptive and Expressive language.

Receptive language is what one hears directed at oneself, “You are good at keeping your toys!”

Expressive language is what one says (to others), “No, mine!”1

1. Kostelnik, M. J., Soderman, A. K., Whiren, A. P., Rupiper, M., & Gregory, K. M. (2015). Guiding Children's Social Development & Learning: Theory and Skills (8th ed.). Stamford, CT: Cengage Learning.

(words that children understand but may not yet be able to say). Music gives children easy access to practice language and decipher meaning. Songs and musical activities have been shown to increase children’s vocabulary as new words are introduce through the lyrics.
2
  1. Moyeda, I. X., Gomez, I. C., & Flores, M. T. (2006). Implementing a musical program to promote preschool children's vocabulary development. Early Childhood Research and Practice, 8(1). Retrieved from http://ecrp.uiuc.edu/v8n1/galicia.html