Paper Example. Introduction to Early Childhood Education

The article, Language Gap between Rich and Poor Evident in Toddlers, focuses on the language gaps between the rich and poor children. One of the findings includes the fact that kids from more deprived backgrounds were likely to lag in their language skills as opposed to the wealthier kids. By the age of 18 months old, the children from poor backgrounds are likely to face different challenges in their language, and by the age of 2, such children tend to be six months behind the children from wealth and better-off families (White, 2013). Mainly, this means that children from less-advantaged families could be lagging in their speech. Besides, by the age of two, a child from a poor background could have the same language skills with 18 months old child from a wealthy family.

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The second finding obtained from the study was the fact that the delayed speech witnessed among children from less-advantaged families could be associated with the fact that kids from low-income families are likely to hear fewer words from their caregivers as opposed to their affluent peers (White, 2013). The research implies the existence of limited talk or linguistic support for children born in low-income families as compared to those from wealthy and well-off families. As a result, children from affluent families tend to have a high processing skill and develop extensive vocabulary in their language, which is not the case for children born in less-advantaged families.

The third finding is that the language disparity between children from wealthy and those from deprived backgrounds have cannot be assumed to be a delay in transition. Instead, the language speaking differences could persist as the child grows (White, 2013). Eventually, it could translate to either school successes, especially for the children from well-off backgrounds and school failures for children from less-disadvantaged families, particularly those with delayed speech development.

Educators have a role to play in increasing language development skills among learners in early childhood classes. The first suggestion would be reading aloud, and encouraging follow-up conversations in the learning environment, which Connell (2014) indicates has a significant role in increasing the vocabulary of a learner. Besides, it creates a shared literacy learning experience and evokes discussions among the learners as well. In addition to that, reading aloud exposes a student to language and words that they are not likely to read and understand while learning on their own. The second suggestion includes the use of word walls, which Connell (2014) defines as organized displays that serve as a visual reference for learners. Word walls are usually rich in vocabulary and could aid in language development. Educators should change the words in the word wall at least once a month and use pictures to allow for active language development among early childhood students. Such suggestions would have a role to play in solving the issue of language disparities between children from rich and poor backgrounds.

References

Connell, G. (2014). 12 Steps to Creating a Language-Rich Environment | Scholastic. Retrieved from https://www.scholastic.com/teachers/blog-posts/genia-connell/12-steps-creating-language-rich-environment/

White, R. (2013). Language Gap Between Rich and Poor Evident in Toddlers. Retrieved from https://www.centerforhealthjournalism.org/2013/10/08/language-gap-between-rich-and-poor-evident-toddlers