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Language Skills

Meaning of Language Skills
A skill is ability
...
In communication there is expression, negotiation as well dialogue
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This means the ability to listen, the ability to speak, the ability to read
and the ability to write
...
Children’s language skills are in the
beginning elementary but all the same a foundation on which language building blocks can
laiding
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Some will classify them
into two; oral and literacy skills, others into three; oral, reading and writing, while others will
have four categories namely listening, speaking, reading and writing
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Further categorization of language skills
can be comprehension and production skills
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There is a systematic learning of any skills
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Therefore, in language
oral skills comes before literacy skills and comprehensive skills comes before productive skills
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The main focus therefore is human voice
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This does not mean that the non-linguistic sounds
should not be utilized in training children to listen
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The
articulation of speech entails the tone, melody, mood, rhythm, stress and voice among others as
will be discussed in another lecture
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Therefore,
listening and speaking are closely related oral skills
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These include:(i) Voice – there is no speech without production of voice
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This entails the articulation and fluency
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The speaker must be aware and demonstrate the
awareness of the audience by maintaining of contact (eye, physical and involvement)
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They shouldn’t be used if they do not add value to the
speech
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The message must be meaningful, relevant and
timely
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Hearing
Meaning of Hearing
Hearing is the act of detecting sounds, distinguishing them and being able to remember what has
been heard
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Sounds can be both verbal and non-verbal (see
the meaning of these terms)
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This
is the clarity to recognize and perceive sounds
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Hearing is preliquisite to listening
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Screening for Hearing Ability
For a child to benefit from environmental sounds and human voice it is prudent that hearing be
tested
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The
following are two common ways of testing for hearing:
(i) Non specialist hearing screening test
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Have the child face away from you and
whisper simple questions with obvious answers such as questions ‘what is your name?’
Gradually move away from the child and ask the same questions
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This will help in placing the child in the
classroom
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This is a reliable test given by a specialist
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The test can be
requested based on the procedure in (i) above
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There may be no obvious indications to show that a child’s quality of hearing may be
impaired
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The following are symptoms of
hearing loss that a teacher should look out for in the children:


General inattention



Moving closer to the speaker



Cupping the hand to the ear



Turning the head to the side



Speaking too softly or too loudly
...
He may on the other hand speak too loudly
because he/she is trying to talk loud enough to be able to hear him or herself
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

If a child is using mechanical listening devices
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Categories of Auditory Skills
Hearing is a biological and not a linguistic skill
...
Hearing as noted earlier
is a requirement for linguistic skills
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As the child progresses
through the stages of reading development, he or she will be taught the sounds of individual
letters and words
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For example, “b” and “d”,
“b” and “p”, “v” and “f”
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This can be improved by
giving the child activities to help him concentrate on listening and the differences in sounds
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You can sing a song and ask children to repeat it after you
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Then stroked these bottles, each at a time, with a stick
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What is it game?
Ask children to close their eyes
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Then ask children to guess
what the sounds are
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This game can also be done with sounds recorded on a tape recorder
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Ask children to point out the odd one out
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Put one child in the centre with his or her eyes covered
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This game helps children to identify
the direction of sound
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Auditory memory skills
These skills have to do with being able to remember what one has heard
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A few other activities include:

Activities for Auditory Memory

The purpose is to find out whether children can remember what they heard
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Story telling
Tell children a story and then ask them questions from the story
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Then ask them to say the sounds after a short
while
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Listening
Meaning of Listening
Listening is the process of understanding what is heard
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Further it is the skill of making
meaning out of what is heard
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However, individuals with
special training on listening skills are likely to benefit more to what they hear especially in
speech
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Listening habits children formed in their
early years will most likely be retained throughout their lives
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Factors that affect listening
These factors vary from one individual to another as well as from situation to situation
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Let us now look at them based on various approaches
a) Educational level and background: Research shows that intelligence and educational experience
have high correlations with listening ability
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A child that is more knowledgeable

and experienced is in a better position to evaluate ideas and what he hears will be more
meaningful leading to better listening ability
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Well adjusted and secure children have less emotional
distractions and are better listeners
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c) Environment: Pleasant surroundings that are reasonably free from distractions make listening
easier
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Excessive movement and physical discomfort can also create distractions and
make listening difficult
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Listening to new ideas or old ideas presented in a new way encourages listening
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For effective listening, the listening content or material should be appropriate to the children’s
experiential background and level of cognitive development
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On the other hand hesitation, repetition and monotonous
voice hinder good listening
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S/he should therefore use a pleasant voice that is pleasant and encourages listening
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This can be where you serve if already working or where you are
studying for those in pre-service course
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It should not be assumed that children will learn
to listen just as they learn to walk or talk
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Listening
requires training just as reading and writing do
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Studies
have shown that listening can be improved through instruction
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Here below are some of the suggestions they give me
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After that, discuss the ones listed
here
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-

Encourage team learning among children so that those who can hear well can assist
others
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The teachers should be audible and to ensure that the learners can hear them well
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-

Eliminating all forms of distractions

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Using appropriate language

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Knowledge of the learner will help the teacher improve listening
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This helps to ensure
success in the activity
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-

Physical preparation

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Mental preparation

Physical Preparation
Physical preparations include:

a) Ensuring proper room temperature and ventilation: Listening requires concentration over
an extended period of time
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Stuffy and limited oxygen lowers concentration
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This space varies with the culture and with individuals within a
culture
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There is need to ensure, therefore, that children are not too congested in a listening activity
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c) Comfortable alert posture: Physical comfort helps children to sustain listening attention
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Posture can be
affected by body temperature and the furniture being used
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d) Elimination of unnecessary auditory distracters: Excessive noise such as loud and piercing
sounds from for example a construction site, lawn mowers, among others near the place
where the listening activity is going on will be a distracter
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Mental readiness includes:
a) Setting the mind: Motivation and anticipation are important pre-requisites for effective
listening
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He/she should also anticipate
(expect to gain) from the listening experience
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A child that is motivated and who is
expecting to gain is more likely to tune out distracters in order to listen effectively
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b) Getting oriented: Children can listen more effectively when they know something about the
topic and about the speaker
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In a story telling activity, introduction should include some
explanation of any new word that the child is likely to encounter in the story
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The purpose for example
suggests the kind of information to listen for and it helps the child to organize what is heard
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Stress the importance of listening carefully and
delivering the message accurately
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They may also answer questions from the story
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In this activity, the teacher
can say the first few words that begin the story
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This way everyone is involved in the story
construction
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d) Peer reports: Pair the children and have them interview or tell each other about
something, for example, about their family members, their interests, among other
activities
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e) Mind pictures: Collect several pictures
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Describe
one of the pictures in detail, then present the pictures to the children and ask them to pick
the picture that matches the description you have given
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You can then look at what they have drawn to see who followed or
did not follow instructions
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Suggest other activities that may enhance children listening skill
Teacher’s Role in Listening Activities
The teacher should realize that he/she is the model of listening behaviour
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He/she is the listening model that

all the children have in common
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Children copy her listening behaviour, skills and attitudes
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This will help him to have
an idea of the kind of listening model that s/he presents to the children
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As a teacher ask yourself questions such as:
a) Do I give children my full attention when they speak or when I am listening to them?
b) Do I have eye contact with the child when he/she talks to me? Eye contact helps you to
listen to the non-verbal communication
...
This is the ability to produce meaningful sounds, words,
phrases or clauses
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Components of speech
Speaking is a speech
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

Phonemes – sounds must be clearly distinguished and uttered clearly to avoid any
confusion
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Short and long vowels must
also be distinguished
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Compare with the noun
/survey/ which means a general view, examination or description of someone or
something



Sentence stress – higher weight is placed on words that carry a message, for example in
the following two sentences the underlined part of the sentence implies the emphasis in
the sentence
I am walking to town
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Identify other words that are likely to change meaning due to change
of the place of stress
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

Volume – this is the loudness or quietness of a sound
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

Intonation – This is the wave level of sounds in a sentence
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You are walking to Nairobi
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Music and poetry paces are rhythmical, for example recite this poetically and with
appropriate articulation
Since singing is so a good thing,
I will sing and sing to my soul,
So that the appetite may so die



Structure – This is the lexical and grammatical state of an utterance
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This is also referred to as the grammar – this is the
choice of right words when communicating a message
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Mtoto anacheza uwanjani
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Keywords – Akinyi, studying, school
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References
Allen, K
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(1992)
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Delmar Publishers, Albany NY
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E
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Tessier, and V
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(1987)
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Merrill Publishing Company
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and McWhinney, B
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The Handbook of Child Language
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A
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Golinkoff, M
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, and Kath, L
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How Babie3s Talk: The Magic and Mystery
of Language in the First Three Years of Life
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Lenneberg,

H
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(1995)
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Vol
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New York: The UNESCO

language

Development;

A

Schwab, S
...
H
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(1996)
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Woodbine House, Bethesda MD
Curtis, A
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(1984) Learning to read and write
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Oxford University Press; Nairobi
Kitonga E
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Early Childhood Development and Education Syllabus
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Early

Childhood

Development

and

Education

Handbook
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(1981)
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and Wanjohi, S
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Language Development in Early Childhood Education
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Wanjohi, G
...
Factors Contributing to Vocabulary Spurt in Children in Kenya

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