Early language development is the foundation to reading. That is why Dr. Bill Bolander, assistant superintendent of South Madison Community Schools, is excited about the implementation of a new reading intervention program, Fast ForWord, that will actually build the learning capacity of a child’s brain.

“Learning language is an early test of our brain’s learning system,” Bolander told a group of parents of first-graders recently. “Kids need to hear sounds early and need plenty of stimuli in the form of reading and being talked to.

“The more you talk to your kids and read to them, the more they are exposed to a variety of vocabulary and the better this oral language foundation becomes. It is very important that this goes on,” he stressed.

Bolander explained that children differ in their language experience. He cited a four-year study conducted in the homes of professional, working-class and welfare families, which resulted in a huge gap in their oral language bases. Researching everything that went on in the houses — speaking, interactions with children and reading — the study concluded that children in homes of professional parents heard about 45 million words during their first four years, while children of welfare families heard only about 13 million words.

“I can’t overemphasize the importance of talking and reading to your children,” said Bolander…

Bolander noted that a child with low oral language skills entering kindergarten will on average only have the reading skills of a 10- or 11-year-old by the time he or she reaches age 13. By contrast, kids who have high oral language skills when they enter kindergarten will have the reading skills of a 15- or 16-year-old by the time he or she is age 13.

“It is no fault of the child if they are behind,” said Bolander. “They are trying their very best. They just had a weak foundation to start with. What we are trying to do is bridge some of that gap.” …

Source: Anderson Herald Bulletin, IN
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