Jj is for Jottings 56. 3 More Techniques for Helping Your Child’s Language.
We used all these language techniques with our “children”, but it seems that they still have too much screen time.
This follows on from Jottings 55, so you will need to read that first. (See https://educatingalpacas.com/general-language-stimulation-technique-1-modelling/). I decided to combine the last three techniques into one article:
- EXPANSION is when the child produces an incomplete or ungrammatical utterance, and the adult responds by filling in the gaps whilst keeping the meaning the same. For example:
Child: “I falled over.”
Adult: “Yes, you fell over.”
And if this is sounding very familiar because you have read the earlier post (Jj is for Jottings 54. Should I Correct My Child’s Speech?, see https://educatingalpacas.com/should-i-correct-my-childs-speech/), then you are right, because that is exactly what FEEDING IN the correct sounds was, only this time it is with language structures instead of sounds.
- RECASTING is a type of expansion in which the adult reformulates the syntax of the child’s utterance whilst keeping the meaning the same. For example:
Child: “Angie kissed me.”
Adult: “Oh, did Angie kiss you?”
The difference between expansion and recasting is that, in recasting, the adult provides a syntactically unique sentence whilst holding to the meaning; in expansion the adult is repairing the syntax.
- EXPATIATION is simply maintaining the child’s topic but adding information. For example:
Child: “That big dog.”
Adult: “That is a very big dog. It’s black and white. It has long, shaggy hair.” (Note that there was a bit of expansion there in the first part.)
It is a good idea to think about these four helpful language techniques and reflect on whether you use them all in your interaction with your young child and, if not, incorporate the missing techniques. We want to open as many doors as possible for our children.
For the starting point of all these posts, see the book “Aa is for Alpacas”
For more Shanti pics, see https://educatingalpacas.com/rhyming-climbing-miming-part-2/http:/
/educatingalpacas.com/comments-made-by-experienced-teachers/