Childhood literacy begins at home

As Queensland students return to school this week, some parents may face childhood literacy problems as their children struggle to cope with schoolwork.

Parents needn't feel helpless however according to University of Southern Queensland (USQ) education lecturer Dr Kathie Young, as there is plenty they can do to develop their child's literacy.

Dr Young said parents begin the process of literacy by assisting their children to speak and later to use language to read and write.

'As parents you are already assisting your child to understand how language works to effectively communicate,' Dr Young said.

'When you are together you can write a card for a grandparent or talk about the best parts of a favourite story.

'These experiences are fun and satisfying and encourage your child to want to read and write more in real life.

'In real life it is difficult to split speaking and listening, reading and writing, but it is easier to think about them as one skill at a time.'

Dr Young said most children were good talkers but parents may feel they were not good listeners, especially when they wanted to tell them something important.

'The best way you can help children develop their oral language skills is by providing good role models.

'When your child first begins school you can set aside 10 to 15 minutes a day to discuss what happened during the day, ask and answer questions and talk about topics of mutual interest.

'You can also talk to them about different print forms in magazines, comics and books. Always make sure meal times allow all of your family members to talk and if you can join a community library.'

Dr Young said a child's oral language skills can also be improved by parents.

'Take time out to discuss school work, interests and personal experiences. Introduce specialised vocabulary when talking about topics such as current affairs and provide opportunities to speak and listen for different purposes such as describing, explaining, predicting and justifying.

'You can talk about school topics or assignments and assist your child to locate and organize information as well as talk about the layout of the text such as the topic sentence, index and glossary.

'Buy word puzzles to play together and game books and talk about word relationships such as between bicycle and tricycle as well as how to spell words.

'If you are really an active listener and sensitive responder, your child will learn from you and become a more effective communicator.

'It is people who communicate well who make a success of their work and their lives,' Dr Young said.

Dr Kathie Young is a lecturer in the Faculty of Education at University of Southern Queensland Springfield campus.

USQ Springfield offers the Bachelor of Education (Primary and Middle Schooling) and (Special Education).

Media Contact: Jo-Ann Sparrow, USQ Media, +61 7 3470 4119 or 0428 102 979