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Activities to help develop understanding of language

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Activities to help develop understanding of language

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If a child has difficulties with understanding language they might:

Have difficulty attending and listening to language.

Not pay attention within group times at nursery and school.

Not follow instructions that others the same age would be able to follow.

Respond to questions by repeating what you say instead of giving an answer.

Find it difficult to listen to stories.

Give unusual answers to questions.

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                                        Understanding of Language

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                                        Understanding of Language

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This is the ability to gain information and meaning from words and language.

Children can usually understand things from a variety of clues such as;

1. Routine (e.g. we have finished our breakfast so next it is time to get dressed)

2. Visual information within the environment (e.g. mum holding her keys means that we are going to get the car, a green light means go),.

3. Sounds and words (e.g. a siren means a fire engine is coming down the street, the word ball means a round bouncy thing we play with),

4. Concepts such as size, shape, colours

5. Grammar (e.g. plurals: cat/s,  past tense: climb/ed)

6. Written information (e.g. signs in the environment like “no climbing”, written stories).

Some children who have difficulty understanding oral language (words and talking) may appear to be understanding because they may be able to pick up key words and get visual information from the environment or from gestures.

Children who have difficulty understanding language may find it challenging to follow instructions at home or within the educational setting and may not respond appropriately to questions and requests. It  may lead to attention and listening difficulties and/or behavioural issues. As most activities require a good understanding of language, it may also make it difficult for a child to access the curriculum or engage in the activities and educational tasks .

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                             Following Instructions

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                             Following Instructions

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Understanding instructions are part of everyday life. At home, parents ask their children to do things around the house e.g.“Put the cup on the table" and at nursery they may be may asked “Put your coat on and line up by the door”   When they are 4-5 they may give their friend’s instructions in play e.g. “Let’s make the train go to the station”.

As a Guide, children of;
1 – 2 years of age: Can follow simple 1 step instructions (e.g. “Give me the cup ”).

2 – 3 years of age: Can follow 2 part commands (e.g. “Go and get your coat and a hat”).

3 – 4 years of age: Can follow 3 part instructions (e.g. “Point to the cat, dog and monkey”).

Click on the advice sheet right for more information and tips to develop this area.

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Concepts help a child to understand about direction, location, position, number, quantity, sequence, attributes, dimension, size and similarities and differences.

They are words that all children need to understand in order to help them access everyday activities in various environments - at home, at school, at the park, or in social situations and enable them to learn more.

The building blocks needed to learn concepts are

Hearing:

Attention and concentration

Play skills:

Understanding of language

Click on the advice sheet below for more information and tips to develop this area.