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The One-Hand Rule for Language Development
The One-Hand Rule for Language Development
Every time you make a comment, you’re teaching your child something. Think of it as making a deposit into their language bank. Every time you ask a question, you’re testing them. Think of questions like making a withdrawal from their language bank. We all know that making too many withdrawals from our accounts leads to there being not much left!! The more we put in the more we have. Not to mention that too many withdrawals (questions) puts a lot of pressure on anyone’s account.THE BEST STRATEGY FOR LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT.The one-hand rule is an approach you can use to monitor yourself and ensure you’re being more of a teacher than a tester. It takes some practice!Imagine you’re looking at a cow. Instead of saying “what’s that?!” Or “what noise does a cow make?!” - use your fingers to count out 4 comments before you ask a question. E.g.
- “Look! There’s a cow!”
- “She’s all white with black spots!”
- “Cows have 4 legs”
- “And they like to eat grass”
- “What noise does a cow make?”
Can you see how by using this approach you’re teaching your child so much more and filling them up with the answers to future questions by making more comments?IT WORKS FOR ALL AGES AND SITUATIONS!This strategy works for all ages. All children are learning language and it’s never supportive to just bombard them with questions. Nobody likes a pop quiz. It also works in all situations. Try it when you’re looking out of the window on a car journey, when you’re looking at books, when you’re playing cars together etc.I HAVE A WHOLE YOUTUBE VIDEO ON THIS!Head to my website and check out my YouTube video about making more comments and asking fewer questions. It’s a total GAME CHANGER for language development.Tag a parent who is looking to expand their child’s vocabulary!
