Written Language and Child

According to Dr. Montessori, the evolution of language begins with the infant’s imigiate capacity to absorb fragments of speech that form the basis for further language development. The child first discovers that sounds have meaning and then isolates parts of speech. The child’s acquisition of oral skills occurs naturally, but opportunities for equivalent patterns of written language development must be provided by parents and teachers. The only language men ever speak perfectly is the one they learn in childhood when no one can teach them anything. (http//www.brainquotes.com/maria Montessori.html)
Experiences gained from the Practical Life and Sensorial materials serve as a preparation for reading and writing. Children are given a phonetic basis for reading. The child hears the sound, sees the shape and through tracing, trains the muscles needed for writing. He or she is then ready to pursue an interest in words while cultivating writing skills at an individual pace. Through story telling, conversation and many other exercises, the child’s vocabulary grows. Eventually these preparatory activities culminate in a child beginning to write. Dr. Montessori calls this an “explosion” into writing.
The preparation for enjoying the exploration of language in life begins before birth as the child responds to the voices he hears even in the womb. For success in language a child needs confidence that what she has to say is important, a desire to relate to others, real experience on which language is based, and the physical abilities necessary in reading and writing. There are several things that we can do to help.
We can listen and talk to the child from birth on, not in baby talk, but with respect and with a rich vocabulary. We can provide a stimulating environment, rich in sensorial experiences and in language, providing a wealth of experience, because language is meaningless if it is not based on