Developing good communication skills among toddlers is crucial for their overall development. The best playschool in the vicinity will understand the need and help improve their communication. Listening, understanding and the use of spoken language are integral communication components.
Children rely on cognition, social interaction, along with oral-motor development for communication. They need to adhere to developmental milestones outlined below show some of the skills in these areas that mark children’s progress as they learn to communicate. It is also important to note that children develop at their own pace. As toddlers, children use body language as they lack words to express their feelings. They might tug on pants to be picked up, shake their heads, or express their needs through a smile or using their eyes. This time, encourage your child to use words to express feelings. Repeat what you think your child wants and they will imitate you the next time they want the same thing. For example, ask them ‘You look hungry. Do you want apples?’ or something that they need.
A school known as the best Preschool in Ahmedabad would format its curriculum and activities for toddlers considering communication development in their formative years. Communication involves both speech and language – verbal means of communication, with shared rules to put words together. There are four main components of language:
• Phonology – that sets the rules about language structure along with speech sound sequences.
• Semantics indicates the language vocabulary and the expression of concepts and ideas through different words.
• Grammar involves syntax, hinting at basic rules for the arrangement of words. Morphology, on the other hand, indicates concise grammatical markers that indicate the ideal use of certain words and rules
• The fourth component of language involves pragmatics that sets the rules for managing effective communication between children. The approach uses greeting, demanding, and manners that enable one to speak on their turn and not cut off others who are speaking.
The main focus of the teaching staff at The Best Preschool in Ahmedabad is to ensure that:
1. They can engage the child in conversations and encourage them to participate in discussions. They aspire to patiently listen and understand the incoherent chatter of the toddlers and teach them good words to replace the chatter.
2. They increase a toddler’s vocabulary up to 4000 words. The richer the vocabulary, the more sophisticated the child becomes in acquiring communication skills.
3. Introduce phonological awareness, which is the ability to hear and manipulate sounds in language. This understanding of oral language is divided into smaller units of sound-words, syllables, individual sounds (phonemes) and enables children to map sounds onto letters when they begin formal education.
Here are four key strategies used by The Best Preschool in Ahmedabad to provide an enriching environment for communication and to engage children in conversations in English or their home language:
1. Encourage back-and-forth exchanges between the child and the parents. Tune in to children’s interests and help them talk about them, the positive experiences and the disasters too. Take turns communicating the same ideas. Show that you are interested in their works and listen to what they say. It is essential to provide time for children to respond.
2. Develop the vocabulary of children by initiating another set of words and describing it in detail. For example, if the child knows that it is a “ball,” you can say and expand, “the blue ball is bouncing!” Restate children’s language with the help of correct grammar time and again, without losing your patience.
3. Invite children to talk about what they are doing—comment on what children are doing. Ask children questions about what they are doing, what they did before, and what they plan to do next. Make children understand what is right and what is wrong and guide them with the right possibilities.
4. Encourage higher-level thinking. Help children connect what is happening in the classroom, home or community. Explain your thinking process. Introduce new concepts or ideas.
Effective communication helps toddlers feel safe and secure in their worlds and build sound communication skills.
