What if there was one simple thing you could do to make sure your child reads well and enjoys reading?

What if that thing didn’t cost a dime?

Would you be interested?

Of course you would. Here it is. The only thing you can do to improve your child’s reading is to significantly increase the amount of speaking and listening.

That is all.

Too easy, you say? No, research shows that children who are read aloud and spoken to learn patterns of language and meaning that they remember when they read. In fact, what they do is reflect the language in the printed word.

It works like this. A child learns a word and its meaning by hearing it, that is, he experiences the word. When they learn to read, they draw on that meaning or experience. If the child has a deficit in oral language experiences, she will have less to contribute to reading. The word has no meaning for him because he has not felt (experienced) it.

The richer the oral language experience, the faster and better the child reads. Researchers call oral language experiences orality. Just as literacy is the ability to read and write, orality is the ability to speak and listen.

Here is a big surprise. The most important aspect of children’s language experience is its quantity. Betty Hart and Todd R. Risley, authors of Significant Differences in the Everyday Experiences of Young American Children, conducted a longitudinal study in which they recorded a full hour of each word spoken at home between parents each month for two and a half years. and child in 42 families, categorized as professional, working-class, or welfare families.

At the age of three, the vocabulary of children from professional families was dramatically higher by several hundred words than that of children in a welfare family. Hart and Risely estimate that in one year, a 3-year-old from a professional family will hear 11 million words, while a child from a welfare family will hear only 3 million.

What are the implications? Amazing, if you imagine that orality is the key to lasting literacy. These authors reviewed the children again at age nine. They found profound differences in the level of learning, literacy and social maturity.

What kinds of oral language experiences are best? Ordering or demanding certain behaviors from your child is not the type of orality we are referring to. The best kinds of experiences include genuine sharing and dialogue.

Here are some: Reading high-quality literature aloud (this is a must every day) Nursery rhymes and fairy tales Word games, such as tongue twisters and silly sayings Telling stories you make up Enjoying a magazine together, where you ask Have your child tell you about the photos.

Other ways are: Use open questions instead of making statements. (For example, it’s a beautiful drawing you made, can you tell me about it?) Talk about the process of making something while you’re doing it. (For example, when you go to the store, cook, or repair, talk to your child about what he or she is doing.) Any activity that allows your child to both talk and listen.

Remember, it’s the simple things in life, like talking and listening to your child, that make the difference. In this case, the difference lasts a lifetime.