Development of Language at West Hove Infant School
At West Hove Infant School we believe effective language and communication skills are essential. Spoken language is the medium through which children learn and understand the world around them. We believe language to be essential to accessing literacy and the wider curriculum and promote the development of vocabulary, speaking, listening and communication through everything we do. In addition, the promotion of vocabulary development and language skills is key to tackling disadvantage and ensuring equality for all pupils.
Your child will be learning:
- attention and listening skills
- understanding language
- using language
- speech sounds and phonological awareness
- interacting with others in pairs and groups
- speaking fluently and confidently
- new vocabulary related to their play, reading and learning
They do this through:
- small group work
- guided group activities
- structured conversations
- strategies to encourage discussion and collaborative learning
- project and investigative work
- speaking and listening strategies such as hot-seating, story-telling, drama and role-play
- reading widely for purpose and pleasure
- practical and first hand experiences
In the classroom we develop communication, interaction and vocabulary by:
- teaching children about effective speaking and listening (making eye-contact, focusing on the speaker, taking turns)
- explicitly teaching core and subject specific vocabulary in each lesson
- supporting language with signs, symbols and photographs
- adults modelling language they would want to hear
- adults supporting children to ask and answer key questions
- adults introducing, explaining and using new words for learning
- children using discussion to explore and extend their ideas
- children being encouraged to articulate, explain and justify their thoughts and opinions
- children sharing ideas and experiences
The table below gives an overview of how we develop children’s language at West Hove Infant School.
