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NURTURING LITTLE LINGUISTS: STRATEGIES FOR SUPPORTING LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT IN YOUNG CHILDREN

By Omar Mohammed

Nurturing Little Linguists: Strategies for Supporting Language Development in Young Children

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Language development is a critical aspect of a child’s growth and development. It plays a vital role in their cognitive, social, and emotional development.

The Importance of Language Development

Language development begins at birth and continues throughout childhood. It is an essential aspect of a child’s development, providing the foundation for communication, social interaction, and academic success. Here are some of the key benefits of language development:

Cognitive Development: Language development supports a child’s cognitive development, including their ability to think, reason, and problem-solve.

Social Development: Language development is critical for social interaction, enabling children to form relationships and communicate with others.

Emotional Development: Language development supports a child’s emotional development, helping them express and understand their feelings.

Academic Success: Language development is essential for academic success, including reading, writing, and speaking.

Strategies for Supporting Language Development

Parents and caregivers can support language development in young children in many different ways. Here are some strategies to consider:

Talk and Listen: Talk to your child frequently, using simple and clear language. Listen to your child’s responses and encourage conversation.

Read Aloud: Reading aloud to your child is a great way to support language development, building vocabulary, comprehension, and a love of books.

Sing and Rhyme: Singing songs and reciting nursery rhymes helps children develop phonological awareness and language skills.

Play and Engage: Play and engage in activities with your child, providing opportunities for language development and social interaction.

Use Real-World Experiences: Use real-world experiences, such as trips to the store or park, to support language development and vocabulary acquisition.

Limit Screen Time: Limit screen time and provide opportunities for active, imaginative play and face-toface interaction.

Seek Support: If you have concerns about your child’s language development, seek support from your paediatrician or a speech-language therapist.

Language development is a critical aspect of a child’s growth and development, providing the foundation for communication, social interaction, and academic success. Parents and caregivers can support language development in young children by talking and listening, reading aloud, singing and rhyming, playing and engaging, using real-world experiences, limiting screen time, and seeking support when needed. By nurturing little linguists, we can help children reach their full potential and thrive in all areas of life.

Every May, global experts from public health, advocacy groups and organisations join forces to raise mental health awareness and promote wellbeing. In order to address the distinct challenges faced by the Somali community, AlAbrar with Rafiki Wema and Galbur Foundation hosted an event called ‘Mental Health is not Sihir.’ This event aims to invite experts in the field to deliver a comprehensive discourse. The audience consisted of twenty-five individuals, mainly males aged 50 and above, aiming to provide them with valuable insights and understanding to navigate their mental well-being more effectively.

Dr. Abdikadir Mohamoud, a distinguished medical practitioner within the Somali community, had the distinct honour of being the inaugural guest speaker at the event. He utilised this platform to provide an insightful educational discourse to the audience, focusing on different types of mental health disorders and their distinctive symptomatology. Dr. Mohamoud made an effort to improve their medical vocabulary by translating medical terms into Somali expressions, highlighting the importance of understanding these terminologies. Unfortunately, there is a lack of mental health disorder terminology in the Somali language. Instead, discriminatory words like ‘wali,’ which means crazy, are used.

Dr. Mohamoud narrated an intriguing story, which revolved around a person experiencing ObsessiveCompulsive Disorder (OCD). The individual went to a mosque to engage in Islamic prayers but found themselves continuously repeating the beginning of the prayer. This repetitive behaviour, a distinct symptom of OCD, was grossly misunderstood by another worshipper. The attendee mistakenly believed the individual was possessed by a ‘jinn’, a supernatural creature in Islam, and began striking him in an attempt to exorcise the supposed entity. This incident underscores the fundamental message of the event – not all peculiar behaviours are the result of supernatural influences, like ‘Sihir’, but can

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