Speech development in preschool

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How do you help develop your child's speech?
Acquiring a new language in childhood
Advantages of multilingualism

Parental anxiety is often suppressed by widespread unreliable assessments, e.g., that a three year-old may not yet speak, or that boys start speaking later, etc. Indeed, there can be a delay in speech development due to delayed maturation of the nervous system, but functions relevant to speech development must be examined, i.e., hearing, cognitive development, understanding, and motor skills, to rule out any disorders. Each child develops speech at the right time, so if in doubt about the development of further skills, you should consult a specialist who will arrange an individual therapy plan.

How do you help develop your child's speech?

Below are some tips and practices designed to support the development of your child's speech:

Devote as much of your time as possible to your child;
Talk and listen;
Take care of the consistency of the food served, encourage biting, chewing, grinding food, let the articulation apparatus work intensively;
Make sure your child breathes through his or her nose, consult an ENT doctor if necessary;
Look at specialist books, read to your child, teach simple rhymes;
Develop your child's fine motor skills through, for instance, painting with paints, molding dough, tearing from paper, cutting out;
Do not criticize or compare.

Speech is the result of the development of the highest mental and intellectual functions of humans. Speech disorders affect a child's overall development, but also shape his or her character. Unable to communicate in the environment, children develop attitudes of submission, rebellion, or violence.

Interacting with peers, your child's involvement in the life of the preschool group is a great opportunity to enrich their vocabulary, ask questions, look for answers, and develop interests. Sometimes a combination of speech therapy exercises and participation in a peer group can create the conditions for the proper development of your child’s speech and personality.

Acquiring a new language in childhood

The question often arises as to whether a language preschool is suitable for a child who does not speak. If speech development is delayed, bilingualism in no way explains this fact. There are no studies that indicate the attempt to learn two or more languages at a young age leads to speech development disorders. These disorders occur for other reasons.

You should see a specialist to find out why. If a parent, despite diagnosed language difficulties in a child, opts for a bilingual preschool or nursery, they should receive comprehensive help from teachers and specialists, so the child achieves educational success.

In our preschool, children learn about the world around them in two languages—next to a Polish-language teacher, and throughout their stay, an English-speaking teacher accompanies them. Teachers speak their native languages consistently. Appropriate selected methods and techniques arouse the child's curiosity and help him or her acquire a new language effortlessly through play.

Advantages of multilingualism

Multilingualism improves the speed of learning, cause and effect thinking, and opens kids up to multiculturalism. So it’s worth giving a gift to your child in the form of early language learning.

There are no strict standards when a child should start learning a second language. Many children successfully acquire languages from birth, others learn them in preschool or later, and usually the effect is similar. It’s only advisable to start learning relatively early, so the child speaks without a foreign accent.

Edyta Frejek
Founder of Przedszkole Numer Jeden

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