Report Finds Quality ECE Will Support Required Oral Language Skills

An (Education Review Office) ERO report looking at the importance of oral language skills has found that Covid-19 has had a significant impact, and that quality Early Childhood Education (ECE) can accelerate oral literacy by up to a year, particularly in low socio-economic communities.

“Education professionals are continuously wanting to improve and the latest report from ERO on the importance of oral language skills provides some useful advice on resources that the sector can use,” says Kelly Seaburg Director of New Shoots Children’s Centre and Advocates for Early Learning Excellence. “However, the report also confirms what we all know, that the impact of Covid-19 on the learning and development of all tauira in our education system has been significant. 80% of children at age 5 are doing well, but 20% are struggling with oral language.”

“A child’s vocabulary at age two is a strong predictor of their literacy and numeracy achievement at age 12, so it’s vital that we concentrate efforts early in ECE to support children’s language development and give it the focus it deserves.”

“What is clear from the research is that quality ECE can make a significant difference to oral literacy, which is defined as the ability to understand and speak words and put together sentences. These foundational skills make a significant impact on the learning of children within schools, but to build these foundational blocks, we have to ensure there are qualified ECE teachers and that they have the time and space to nurture and educate our young children,” says Mrs Seaburg.

“The research also highlights that registered teachers (teachers that are qualified through a three-year degree or university graduates that undertake a further one-year course) are a critical component of a quality service and are best-equipped to support strong language development,” says Kathy Wolfe, CE Te Rito Maioha.

“The ERO Report found qualified teachers are almost twice as competent and confident in their knowledge of oral language compared to non-qualified staff,” which further emphasises the importance of quality ECE,” says Mrs Wolfe.

To support ECE and primary teachers (and parents) to lift oral language skills, ERO have created an easy-to-follow framework along with new resources.

“A number of good oral language resources have been developed to help ECE teachers build on their teaching practice in oral language, literacy and maths across the curriculum. These include Kowhiti Whakapae, Talking Together Te Kōrerorero and Te Whāriki online. These resources are easily accessible and have the potential to contribute to teachers developing a deeper understanding of oral language development in the early years,” says Mrs Wolfe.

“We all have a role to play,” says Mrs Seaburg. “The report acknowledged that some parents might need support with oral language development, so resources have been developed for parents as well as teachers. One of the best ways in which we can support our children, is to have parents and teachers working together to talk to our children and play with language. Children don’t stop learning when they are picked up from ECE.”

“In this busy world, we should be encouraging whānau to read to their children, sing nursery rhymes, tell them about your workday and ask them about theirs, even if they are not verbal yet. The earlier you’re communicating with your child the better.”

“These are things that qualified teachers are doing every day, after all, learning begins at home. We encourage parents to take every opportunity to talk to your child about what you see, hear, feel, think, and then wait for their response,” says Mrs Seaburg.

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