Educational Leadership - September 2015

One of the most powerful educa- tional tools available to students and teachers lies hidden in plain sight, in every classroom—conversation. No matter what age the students are, or what the topic of study is, children acquire a vast range of information and understanding through even the most casual exchanges. And most children begin their formal schooling adept at the fundamentals of conversation, ready to build on what they already know.

By the time children are 2 years old, nearly all of them can hold at least a rudimentary conversation. Whether verbally adroit or struggling their way into language, the youngest conversationalists usually need a great deal of support from their dialogic partner. And they often get such support because parents intuitively provide various kinds of scaffolding, helping their children expand and improve their dialogic skills.

A toddler says, “My balloon,” and her father responds, “Yes, you had that cool balloon. What happened to it?” The toddler replies, “Bye bye,” and the father says, “You said ‘Bye bye,’ didn’t you?

Because you let go, didn’t you? Oh well.”
In this example, the father embeds his child’s
two-word starter in several more complex
sentences. This elaboration leads his daughter to
add her own detail: She said “Bye bye” because the
balloon got away. The father’s response adds useful
information about what makes a good description
(put your story in the past tense, provide details,
offer some evaluation, and add some dramatic
action). By the end of this brief exchange, they
have reminisced about a shared experience, and
the little girl has acquired some new conversa-
tional techniques.

Parents as Language Guides

Researchers who have recorded children in their homes have discovered that most parents are natural language guides. These parents provide all kinds of help without any specific pedagogical motive; they simply want to talk, exchanging ideas and sharing experiences with someone they care about. Although casual, such collaborations are invaluable to children. Children who grow up in families with more talk fare much better in school than those who grow up in language-poor environments. (Hart & Risley, 1995; Wells, 1986).