Nursery World - Essential Resources: C&L

How can the learning environment and the resources in it promote effective communication? Nicole Weinstein goes back to basics

Achild's early ability to communicate is consistently linked to their later outcomes. Babies use gestures before they can speak, and this, along with the ability to engage in joint attention with others, are good predictors of later language ability. As Tracy Jackson OBE, head of early years at the National Literacy Trust, says, language development in the early years is best supported through back-and-forth conversations with parents and caregivers that are ‘attuned’ to the child's needs and interests. ‘Sensitively responding to their attempts to communicate, acting as positive role models and maximising talk during everyday routines supports children's social, emotional and language development,’ she explains.

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