How can books help children to develop language skills? Even though your child may silently sit and read their favorite books, these children’s lit picks can also help them to build reading comprehension, verbal expression, articulation and social skills!
What Are Narrative Interventions?
Narrative interventions (using books to create speech or communication improvement) are creative, flexible tools that can improve language and social outcomes. Books, including storybooks or picture books, can go well beyond helping children to identify letters or read words. Kids' lit picks engage children in ways that they might not otherwise experience—transporting them to other worlds, times, and places. And, books do this through the use of language.
What Does Children’s Literature Have To Do With Language Development?
The complexity of the written word provides the perfect backdrop for learning about the structure and uses of speech and language. Books are a form of communication that, when used correctly, can help the young child to build their vocabulary, learn about sequencing, understand human motivations, solve problems, think critically, and identify ways to communicate with others.
When thinking about how your child develops language skills, keep in mind that language doesn’t only include spoken or written words. It also includes comprehension, or the ways that the child understands literature. Books provide a way for the child to build these comprehension skills in a way that engages their mind on many different levels. As the child reads or listens to a story, they must process the words and sounds, make sense of the narrative or storyline, and comprehend the details, time-frame, and more.
Early literature experiences can also help the young child to learn about grammar and syntax. These rules help to frame language in an ordered way that will guide the child as they speak, write, and communicate with others. Without a basic understanding of grammar a child may have difficulty expressing themselves or communicating their ideas in a way that makes sense to adults or their peers.
What Type of Impact Can Books Have On A Child’s Social Development?
Book-reading may seem like a solo activity. But when used as part of a speech-language
intervention, reading becomes a form of social interaction. Instead of reading independently, the child will interact with an adult—such as a speech language pathologist or a parent.
Through an interactive approach, reading books turns into a way for children to build auditory comprehension, learn about appropriate social communication/cues (listening and then speaking, waiting or knowing when to ask questions, and engaging in meaningful discussions), and exploring, identifying, and regulating emotions.
Can Picture Books Help A Child To Develop Language Skills?
Yes, picture books (with or without words) can help children to build language, speech, and communication skills. Even though these early reader books typically have few or no words, they provide the narrative structure that children need to develop everything from vocabulary to conversational abilities.
While picture books won’t rely heavily on printed words (or spoken words if you are reading the book with the child), the story that the images tell through the use of symbols can help children to use language. Children can identify the pictures as new vocabulary words and use the words with the adult who is “reading” the book with them.
What Other Types of Books Can Help Children To Develop Language Skills?
There isn’t one book or one type of book that will provide everything a child needs to build language skills. Targeting language skills through literature activities requires the adult to thoughtfully select books that accomplish individual goals. These goals are often specific to the child and should include areas that they struggle with or could improve.
Not only should the books include age/developmentally appropriate vocabulary and narratives, these lit picks should excite, engage, and interest the child. Without at least a moderate interest level, the child may not fully immerse themselves in the language learning exchange. This makes it challenging for the adult to communicate with the child or help the child to focus on the subject matter/activity.
Can Parents Use Literature To Help Their Children?
Literacy specialists, special instructors and speech language pathologists can create targeted experiences that provide a therapeutic approach to using children’s literature as a language development tool. But the learning, exploration, and skill-building doesn’t stop with educators. Parents play a major role and are crucial in this process. So yes, you can also use kid lit to promote this type of development.
If you’re not sure what the best ways to use books are or how to make the most of story-time activities, start with your kiddos specialist. Ask the professional providing services to your child for language facilitation strategies to use at home when reading interactively with your child, vocabulary words to focus on, questions to ask/conversation starters, ways to promote recall, the parts of speech to work on, and how to foster engagement. The SLP may also provide you with specific titles to use or games/activities that can help you to expand the narrative into other language-learning interactions.