New research from the Education Review Office (ERO) has found a damaging post-coronavirus pandemic impact: Too many children are starting school without the spoken language skills they need to thrive.
“Before children can read and write, they need to have good spoken language,” says Ruth Shinoda, head of ERO’s Education Evaluation Centre.
“Children’s spoken language in their early years is a strong driver of later academic success. Language skills also enable children to take part in class and support good behaviour.”
The Education Review Office’s research found that COVID-19 has significantly impacted the degree to which Kiwi kids develop essential language skills.
“Nearly two-thirds of teachers in early childhood education (ECE) and new entrant classes report that COVID-19 has impacted children’s language development,” a statement from ERO reads.
The coronavirus pandemic’s impact is still being felt. “Last year, over two-thirds of parents reported their child had difficulty with language skills before they started school,” the ERO statement continues.
“Teachers of new entrant classes told ERO that many children now start school without the language skills they would expect for their age. Boys, in particular, are struggling.”
“We found that ECE and new entrant teachers across the country are using these key practices every day to support children’s language development. This is crucial work,” says Shinoda.
“Teachers’ professional knowledge is valuable; ECE teachers who are very confident in their professional knowledge of language development are up to seven times more likely to be using the most effective teaching practices.”
ERO says that talking with children is key for caregivers. Shinoda says, “We need to do more to help parents support their children’s language development.”
ERO has identified raising language skills in the early years as a key priority to boost later literacy and recommends supporting teachers in using the most effective practices, helping parents understand where their child is at and how they can support them, and investing in timely targeted support for children who are having difficulties.
The ‘Let’s Keep Talking: Oral Language Development in the Early Years’ report “draws together a range of evidence to look at how well children are developing the oral language skills they need when they start school”. Read it here: https://evidence.ero.govt.nz/documents/lets-keep-talking-oral-language-development-in-the-early-years
The report found that 80 percent of children at age five are doing well, but 20 percent are struggling with oral language. ECE and new entrant teachers also report that a group of children are struggling, and half of parents and whānau report their child has some difficulty with oral language in the early years.
Of the new entrant teachers ERO surveyed, those in schools in low socio-economic communities were nine times more likely to report children having below-expected levels of oral language. Parents and whānau with lower qualifications were also more likely to report that their child has difficulty with oral language.
“Both in Aotearoa New Zealand and internationally, boys have more difficulty developing oral language than girls. Parents and whānau we surveyed reported 70 percent of boys are not at the expected development level, compared with 56 percent of girls.”
The Education Review Office (ERO) has identified five key areas to support children’s oral language development.
Focus on removing barriers to participation and enhancing the quality of ECE, including through ERO reviews and Ministry of Education interventions.
Align the New Zealand Curriculum and Te Whāriki to provide consistent progress indicators for oral language. Utilise effective tools in ECE to track language development and assess children’s oral language skills when they start school.
Emphasise evidence-based practices in teacher education for ECE and new entrant teachers. Enhance professional development, especially for non-qualified ECE teachers, to improve knowledge of oral language development.
Provide regular updates to parents and whānau on children’s language progress. Offer resources to parents, especially in low socio-economic communities, to support language development at home.
Invest in targeted programs and initiatives to prevent and address language development delays, such as the Oral Language Literacy Initiative and the Better Start Literacy Approach.
