Connect-ed+Issue+46+January+2019
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Case Study: Early Years collaborating &<br />
presenting<br />
As an early years teacher, I often observe children<br />
with developing language skills who are able to<br />
work effectively with their peers through the<br />
medium of play. Whether a young child?s<br />
language is developing as a consequence of their<br />
age or because they are a dual language learner,<br />
they still manage to build relationships, negotiate<br />
and engage purposefully with one another. In this<br />
way, the language of play translates across all<br />
cultures, abilities and settings and is a powerful<br />
tool for educators.<br />
Play allows children to experiment and explore<br />
different concepts freely and on a practical level as<br />
they make sense of the world around them. It is<br />
widely accepted that there is a relationship<br />
between play and oral language development.<br />
Play is collaborative and so is language.<br />
As teachers, we must ensure that our provision<br />
and teaching provide opportunities for children to<br />
develop their language skills. In an Early Years<br />
classroom, you will usually find role play, small<br />
world and construction areas which are ideal<br />
play-based activities for children to make sense of<br />
their first-hand experiences and situations which<br />
they have observed. It is essentially rehearsal time<br />
for children!<br />
Meaningful conversations which occur between<br />
adults and children are so important to language<br />
development. These conversations take time and<br />
are not superficial or dominated by the adult<br />
asking lots of closed questions. We should plan to<br />
make time to ?serve and return?in conversation<br />
with children like we do with friends and family.<br />
In the new year, I will be launching a new coached<br />
study course on NAU which will be examining EAL<br />
in the Early Years so if you are interested in early<br />
language development, please look out for the<br />
enrollment details.<br />
Joanna?s full<br />
article is<br />
available to read<br />
on NAU, check it<br />
out here.<br />
Joanna Johnson<br />
Director of Student Welfare for Toddlers to Year 1<br />
EY & Language Acquisition Teaching Fellow<br />
British International School of Boston
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