Income Equality And Language Skill: 10 Bonus Ideas

Original blog post: https://ling-app.com/tips/income-equality-and-language/

Have you ever wondered why there are children who seem to have larger vocabularies and knowledge in complex sentences than other kids? This post will walk you through the critical concepts related to income equality and language skills and how you can break free from the same pattern and help you or your child today. No matter what background you come from, there is always a way to get a leg up, and we will give you our most recommended approaches today. If you are up for that, then let’s dive deep right into it.

The latest research suggests that the language processing speed of children is far more complex than what adults have once they reach the age of 25. During this stage of human development, the brain has a unique level of plasticity, which makes it very active as it consistently re-wires itself to suit the needs and new information. For this reason, children are found to have an impressive ability for vocabulary learning which is why several families take advantage of the early years to expose their kids to new words and even foreign languages.

However, we have to take into account that not all families have the time and resources to support their child’s language development. For this reason, children from low-income families and less educated parents have slower vocabulary growth as they acquire fewer words that are all only based on environmental influences. Such a phenomenon causes developmental delays and poor language processing efficiency which is one of the reasons why they might be left behind in terms of their academics.

While there might be significant differences between the skills of children based on their socioeconomic status, that does not mean the language processing skill of poor children should stay at that slow pace. Thanks to the developments in today’s industry, there are many free resources that help close the gaps.

Income Equality And Language Learning

When it comes to ensuring that all children have equal chances and opportunities, we cannot deny that economic equality is what we all strive for. As seen on the graph below, countries that have actively chosen to promote income equality are currently enjoying a type of prosperity like no other. And part of that prosperity is helping rich and poor children land the best type of support to solve the academic achievement gap.

Based On The 2021 World Population Review

But perhaps you are wondering… what does “equality” means in terms of language skills? Allow us to walk you through the interesting ways by which it affects language learning:

• If the basic necessities and the costs are generally lower across the board, parents will be able to stop juggling multiple jobs and focus more on responding to the needs of their children. If kids have fewer opportunities for a supportive talk with their parents, their vocabulary size will not improve.
• With equality in terms of wages, families will be able to afford and create a better home environment for their children. Researchers found that the social factors (or the words spoken around them every single day) where the child is growing affect their language use and vocabulary knowledge they know.
• If the parents can take home a higher salary per month, they can afford to hire language experts or enroll their kids in early childhood schools so that they can get the best help in boosting their skills and expanding the number of words they know.

10 Best Ways To Boost Language Skills Of Kids

Whether you belong to professional families or not, a tight budget should no longer be an excuse since there are now several ways by which you can help your kid improve holistically in terms of languages. Below are the ten best approaches you can start taking today.

1. Parents greatly influence their kid’s language and brain development, so it would be wise to engage and start a conversation regularly using appropriate words consistently.
2. Inappropriate language and foul words should be avoided, especially when you are around children.
3. Start reading books with your kid to help them build their vocabulary and expose them to different words, expressions, and sentences.
4. Help them build their own list of “familiar words” by repeating words when conversing with them.
5. Partially explain and interpret using gestures.
6. Many parents can swear by the effectiveness of encouraging their children to play with them using word games. It can be sight word games, scrabble, boggle, word hunt, or crossword puzzles for kids.
7. Play recorded voice notes or songs and have the kids follow along and repeat them. This is an interactive way to support children’s early processing skills.
8. Use language learning apps with gamified content to help them learn new words and phrases.
9. Create your own learning materials that will help in identifying letters and sounds. The material can also include pictures to help them in making connections between words, ideas, and sounds.
10. Once they are a bit younger, you can help them improve using tongue twisters.

Conclusion

As we reach this part of the post, we hope that you were able to get all the details regarding income equality and how it is related to language learning. Inasmuch as we do not want to admit it, having extra financial resources can significantly affect a child’s development, but it does not mean that that is the only way to help them learn. By taking on the 10 approaches we have listed above, you can support your child’s needs and develop their skills. At the end of the day, not everything is about money… which can truly turn your child’s life around in your presence.

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