STRATEGIES TO HELP CHILDREN WITH THEIR VOCABULARY

This month, we talked to Owen Semley, Literacy Coordinator and English teacher at The English College, Dubai. Here, he shares his top tips for supporting your child's vocabulary development at home.

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It is difficult to overstate the significant role vocabulary plays in a child’s academic success. Vocabulary, and literacy in general, is not just an issue for the English classroom. Analysis of international data suggests that a child’s ability to read and the size of their vocabulary has a profound impact on their educational success across the curriculum. This is common sense - we know intuitively that strong reading levels equate to strong study skills. If the exams we expect our children to take are written in English, whether the subject is science, mathematics, literature, or PE, then their ability to engage with these exams will be shaped by their literacy skills.

Beyond the classroom

Beyond an educational setting, the impact of reading ability is even more keenly felt. Studies have suggested that reading ability may predict the type of occupation (and salary level) a learner could expect post education. This means that your child’s reading ability will affect not only their educational attainment but may have a profound impact on their employment opportunities later in life. How then do we address the development of these all-important literacy skills?

Vocabulary pays off

Researchers have argued that, though literacy is a compound skill made up of reading, writing, speaking and listening, we should place our efforts as parents on children’s vocabulary acquisition. Words are the building blocks of language. Paying close attention to your little one’s vocabulary development will significantly affect their reading, their writing, their speaking and their listening abilities.

WHAT TO FOCUS ON