Support children’s growing ability to express a wide range of feelings orally, and talk about their own experiences.
Introduce and repeat new words in a range of contexts and encourage children to use them in their own talk
Encourage conversation with others and demonstrate appropriate conventions: turn-taking, waiting until someone else has finished, listening to others and using expressions such as please, thank you and can I…?. At the same time, respond sensitively to social conventions used at home.
Show children how to use language for negotiating, by saying May I…?, Would it be all right…?, I think that… and Will you…? in your interactions with them.
Model language appropriate for different audiences, for example, a visitor.
Encourage children to predict possible endings to stories and events.
Encourage children to experiment with words and sounds, e.g. in nonsense rhymes.
Encourage children to develop narratives in their play, using words such as: first, last, next, before, after, all, most, some, each, every.
Value children’s contributions and use them to inform and shape the direction of discussions.
Encourage opportunities for conversations between small groups of children. Support these moments and act as a facilitator when appropriate.
Listen to language and conversation that emerge through play, particularly play that is led by the child.
