Understand

Understand Uu

What the Science Tells Us

From the first moment we hold our newborn, we wonder what they understand. It’s a puzzle that we will want to solve throughout their childhood and in fact throughout their life. Language can provide one of the biggest clues.

Most language users understand more than they can express. That is to say, our receptive vocabulary is much greater than our productive or expressive vocabulary. This is especially true for language learners, such as young children.

Sometimes, however, our child behaves in ways that lead us to think they understand more about language than they really do. Our baby might reach for the red block when we ask them to. We cannot assume they understand that the word “red” refers to that colour wherever it is found. We won’t know this until they reliably point at the red ball, the red car, the red dot in a book, etc.

As our child begins talking, they grow in their understanding of language. It is difficult for us to fully know how much – or how little – they understand. We are easily misled because they can take a few words they have heard and combine them with what they know about the world in a way that seems to make sense.

Ongoing conversation, however, may reveal that they have misunderstood a key concept. For instance, we may be talking with a friend about a

greenhouse we want to build in the garden. Our child may overhear and say, “Wow. I can’t wait.” Much later they may ask, “Will the family that moves into the green house have kids?”

If we say something to our child and they don’t respond appropriately, it doesn’t always mean that they weren’t listening. It might mean that they have not understood and don’t know how to answer. They may not have understood because of the words or they may not have understood because of the language structure we used.

We may not understand our child’s use of language structure either. For example, we may be concerned when our young child says, “I putted my apple core in the garbage.” In fact, this is what is known as a good error. It shows us that our child has understood the regular use of the past tense, such as “I walked” or “I dressed myself” and has generalised from that rule.

Research shows that language acquisition is a complex process. It takes a long time for our child to fully understand how all of the various bits of words and sentences relate to meaning. Even when our child produces more complicated and longer sentences, their understanding of words and affixes can be incomplete. (Affixes are those word elements that are tagged on to the beginning or ending of a word, and that change the meaning or function of the word.) For example, most children learning English produce the –s that goes on verbs, such as “I run,” “she runs” by 3 or 4 years of age. Experiments show, however, that they don’t fully understand all of the meanings packed into –s until 5-7 years of age.Their lack of full understanding can be very hard to see, though, because they seem to say things correctly.

It is always helpful to check that our child has understood what we have said. However, checking for understanding is not that simple. Instead of asking, “Do you understand?” it is more effective to ask a question that requires our child to respond with details or to do something unusual.

# Mother (to her young child): “When it is time for our new baby to be born, I will go to the hospital for a few days.  You are going to stay with Grandma so she can look after you.” # Child: “OK” # Mother: “Where will you sleep when I’m in the hospital?” # Child: “In my bed, in my bedroom”

This lets the mother know that further explanations are needed!

However, if the child says, “in Grandma’s house,” the mother knows her child has understood.

She may then want to ask, “Where will I sleep?” Her child’s response will let her know if she needs to explain “hospital.”

Conversations like these help to uncover if we are “on the same page,” that is, if we and our child understand the same thing.

Checking for understanding has additional benefits. Our child may also learn:

# A new word or sentence structure # That when we check to see if they have understood something it is because we care about them

““Show and tell” is a typical clue that helps your child understand more.

# That it’s OK not to know something # That they can always ask us for help

Our child is learning language, and so much more.

What You Can Do

In general, language users understand more than they can say. In scientific terms, their receptive language skills are greater than their expressive language skills. This is especially true for infants and young children.

Everyone uses clues to help make sense of communications. Your child does this too. No matter the age or stage of your child, you can help them understand what you are saying by giving them lots of clues.

“Show and tell” is a typical clue that helps your child understand more. You can show your child an action or item and match it with words and language. This helps all children learn and is especially helpful if your child is experiencing communication delays (see Delay). 

# You can do this outside when pointing at: • A tree • A car • A house • A dog # You can “show and tell” in the house, when you are talking about: • The carrot you are chopping • The book you are sharing with your child

In all of these situations, use lots of gestures and point to or hold up objects. This gives your child extra clues that help them understand the words you are using:

• “Look at your hands!” [point to their hands] • “Your hands are dirty! We need to wash them” [rub hands together, as when washing] • “Come!” [gesture to follow] • “Let’s wash your hands!” [rub hands together]

Matching words to what you are doing and matching the length of your sentences to your child’s language level helps them understand better.

If your child is not yet using words, has just started to use words or is experiencing a communication delay, you can support their understanding when you: 

# Keep your sentences short and simple # Highlight key words # Repeat key words often # Use gestures when you can UAKARI # Use real objects or pictures # Speak directly to your child, at a pace that is easy for them to follow

When sentences are too long, or when you speak too quickly, it’s easy for your child to tune you out. By matching the length of your sentences to your child’s language level, and speaking at a slow but natural pace, you help them understand what you are saying and it’s easier for them to pay attention.

Instead of saying:

• “Before your nap we need to clean up all those toys that are spread out all over the house so that no one hurts their foot walking on them.  We can sing our clean-up song as we do it.”

You could say:

• “Look at all those toys! (gesture to the toys all around the room) • Your toys are spread all over the house! • Someone could hurt their foot walking on those toys • First we need to clean up the toys! Then it is time for your nap! • Let’s sing our clean-up song” URCHIN

At every stage of development you can provide clues to further your child’s understanding. For instance, picture books can help a younger child see and name objects.  When your child is using more complex sentences picture books can help your child understand a more complicated story.  Even books with only words, often called “chapter books,” provide helpful clues without pictures. They develop story lines and include details about the personalities of characters in the book that help children understand unfamiliar words and worlds.  It takes time and practice, and lots of missteps, for you and your child to correctly understand each other. In fact, it takes a lifetime. Checking for understanding from early in life is a great habit.