CRITICAL IMPORTANCE OF ORAL LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT

CRITICAL IMPORTANCE OF ORAL LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT

It is very important that you talk to your child as much as possible for both academic and behavior reasons.

According to research by Betty Hart and Todd Risley(2003), children from higher social and economic status families have heard thirty million more words than children from underprivileged families by the age of three.

Follow-up data indicates that the number of words a 3-year old has heard strongly correlates with language test scores at ages nine and ten in areas of vocabulary, listening, syntax, and reading comprehension.

Strong language skills also correlate with fewer behavior problems. Over 50% of parents who reported concerns regarding their children’s language skills also reported concerns regarding their child’s behavior (Long, 2008). 

Reference

 Hart, Bl., & Risley, T.R. (2003). The early catastrophe: The 30 million word gap by age 3. American Educator, 27 (1), 4-9

Long, C., Gurka, M., Blackman, J. (2008). Family stress and children’s language and behavior problems. Topics in Early Childhood Special Education, 28, 148-156.