Language learning begins at birth
If you're looking for a solution, you should start well before school starts Linguist Wolfgang DreszlHe (University of Vienna) asserts: “Language learning begins at birth. It is important for the child to hear the words from the first lesson – usually from the mother.
A lot depends on how much you talk to a baby and toddler Depends on social class, in which a child is born. who often put their progeny first Screen It also slows down language acquisition, as a recent Australian study shows. Linguists from the University of Vienna confirmed this by observing how mothers interact with their children for months. Wolfgang Drussler recalled a very dramatic event: “A mother lived with her child in a small apartment, which had two rooms – in each. In the room a television was on all day. The mother was in one room, the child in another room, neither of them spoke to each other.
Which will help
Therefore, the linguist wants to quickly explain to parents how important it is to talk a lot with their children from birth: “A cheap method Parent-Child PassThey were anchored for half an hour Speech They need to hear how to interact with their babies and toddlers.”
Dressler knows that this is not immediately possible: “Our team of linguists can start this in Vienna – even with lectures in Turkish or Croatian. can train linguists for other languages.” A second efficient measure is “Kindergarten teachers receive one hour of instruction Find out how they can support language acquisition.
It's not just about that Vocabulary To teach children how the words and relate to each other: “And that Complexity of language Important, so they learn to form subordinate clauses Long words to create – for example, the captain of the famous Danube steamship company,” explains Dressler.
Nursery rhymes and songs encourage language
A lot with kids Talk to them, tell stories, read to them early on – It is not only important for language development but also affects general cognitive development. Or to put it less scientifically: Anyone who talks to their children more, rhymes with them, sings children's songs and reads to them ensures that children generally become “smarter”.
The following applies: It is always best for parents to speak in their own language mother language with offspring. “If possible, children in multilingual families should start learning a second or third language early. Children can usually do this without difficulty. The only important thing is that one always speaks to the child in the same language,” says Dressler. This means: if the mother is Croatian and the father is Austrian, the mother should speak only Croatian, the father should speak only German, and at least try to understand each other's language so that family conversation can take place.
In fact, how well a child learns a language — and how well they learn later — depends on which first language they learn. “The evil caused by social class is very important here. “That really surprised us in our study,” Dresler says.
Watch videos together
By: The linguist doesn't want to completely demonize the screen: “If parents and children are targeted A valuable exportn Then talk about what was said, it definitely makes sense. ”If what you watch is not discussed, media consumption can be harmful.
Other science-based tips she has for young parents: “If possible, adults shouldn't give direct orders.” Example: Instead of saying “Close the door,” mothers should ask: “Can you close the door?” If you say something wrong, never correct them directly, but repeat what you said correctly, and use complex sentences so that the child will quickly become familiar with more sophisticated sentences. And most important: read aloud.
