Why do children find it so tricky to use formal language in their writing?
The answer is because they are not exposed enough to it! It is well known that children learn best from experiences. This is because the brain doesn’t necessarily remember the words spoken in a lesson, but remembers the enjoyment of the experience of learning, which then triggers it to remember the lesson content.
Furthermore, lessons to help children write are not exclusive from reading lessons, therefore some elements of reading must be incorporated in writing lessons, to contribute to the exposure of language and linguistic devices. Lessons should be sequenced around this concept (use of formal language) with roots deep in modelling language, teaching grammatical structures and the use of resources such as dictionaries. Teaching these strategies is vital to liberating students to grow in confidence and independence.
How can we as teachers create an immersive environment and lessons for maximum exposure and thus maximum impact on enjoyment (creating those memorable learning experiences), attainment and progress? I will be talking about the numerous ways to expose our children to formal language, and afford them confidence and a sense of empowerment over their use of language. This ownership feeling will nurture them to flourish in their formal language writing!
Let’s facilitate formal language writing for our young authors.
Get your free ticket here!!
Comments