12. Communication

Jump to: Reflective Activities | Further Reading

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Reflective Activities

• To consider the extent to which you listen attentively to the children in your setting
• To consider how children are supported to extend and develop their oral language within your setting
• To analyse a language episode in your setting or placement
• To investigate whether your setting or placement setting provides a stimulating, welcoming, language-rich environment
• To investigate your use of questioning within your setting
• To investigate whether your setting provides a participatory, active, language-rich environment
• To reflect upon how you can use questioning to extend young children’s thinking

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Further Reading

Overview

Communication is vital in any ECEC setting:

Wyse, D., Jones, R., Bradford, H., and Wolpert, M. A. (2013) Teaching English, language and literacy (3^rd edition), London: Routledge.

Wyse, D., and Bradford, H. (2008) ‘Speaking and Listening’ in Whitebread D. and Coltman P. (Eds.) Teaching and Learning in the Early Years (3^rd edition), London: Routledge.

Massey, S. L. (2004) 'Teacher-child Conversation in the Pre-school Classroom’, Early Childhood Education Journal, 31 (4)

Bruner, J. S. (1983) Child’s talk: learning to use language, Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Wells, G. (1986) The Meaning Makers: Children Learning Language and Using Language to Learn, London: Hodder and Stoughton.

Kuhl, P. (2004) ‘Early language acquisition: cracking the speech code’, Neuroscience 5, p.831-843.

For practical support on developing communication in your setting see:

Bradford, H. (2009) Communication, Language and Literacy in the Early Years Foundation Stage, London: Routledge. 

Cooper J. (2010) The Early Years Communication Handbook: A Practical Guide to Creating a Communication Friendly Setting, London: Practical Pre-school Books.

Related articles

• Children using language modelled by adults
• Makaton