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Sep 13, 20234 min read

Steps to Teach Reading: Step 4 Language Comprehension



Understanding the process of teaching reading is helpful whether you are looking to teach your child to read at home or support their learning at school. Teaching children how to read is a long process that takes time and patience. Start by checking out the first three steps in these previous posts:



Language comprehension is critical because without understanding language, sounding out the words and reading them won't matter.


What is Language Comprehension?


Simply, language comprehension is the ability to understand spoken and written language. It is the ability to understand the elements of language such as syntax (how to put words together to make a well-formed sentence). It is one of the building blocks of reading comprehension.


  1. Phonological Processing

  2. Meaning Processing

  3. Context Processing

Phonological processing starts with phonological awareness, but it can be extended when children converse with others. Especially when they have the opportunity to converse with those who may speak differently (like different regional dialects). Meaning processing is when your brain analyzes the words for meaning based on your vocabulary and then assigns meaning using context processing. Context processing is your brain assigning the correct meaning using background knowledge and your understanding of the situation.


There are five key skills within language comprehension:

  1. Vocabulary

  2. Background Knowledge

  3. Language Structure

  4. Literacy Knowledge

  5. Verbal Reasoning


Vocabulary


Vocabulary is the understanding of the meaning of words. Within this broad definition, you have listening, speaking, reading, and writing vocabulary.


Children who have a larger vocabulary are at an advantage over those who have a smaller vocabulary. It is much easier to blend the sounds of a word if you recognize the word it forms when put together. It is hard to understand what you are reading if you do not know what the words mean.


Young children will mostly grow their vocabulary by hearing words but as they get older they will also grow their vocabulary through reading. Your child is building their vocabulary from a very young age without direct instruction.


How to build vocabulary indirectly:

  • Talk to/with children as much as possible

  • Read with your child daily

  • Once they are old enough, have them read on their own regularly.

How to build vocabulary directly:

  • Verbally give a clear definition for new words

  • Once children are older, they can learn new words through reading and context


Background Knowledge


Background knowledge helps children assign meaning to words. A child who has background knowledge on a topic is much more likely to understand and retain new information on that topic.


How can you build your child's background knowledge?

  • Teach new words in categories (example: fruit is one category, animals is one category, etc.)

  • Compare and contrast

  • Read many books on one topic

  • Use Multimedia

  • When possible try to let your children experience a variety of different experiences


Language Structure:


Language structure changes the meaning of words, so children need to understand language at the sentence level. Think about the word "row."


  1. Look at those people as they row down the river.

  2. There is a row of toys by the bookshelf.

  3. Those kids had a row and had to take a break from recess.


Above are three different sentences using the same word, but the sentence structure changes the meaning of the word.


There are three parts to language structure:

  1. Syntax

  2. Grammar

  3. Semantics


Children learn language structure through hearing language, being read to, reading, and direct instruction.


Literacy Knowledge


Literacy knowledge is a broad term that refers to all of the skills required to understand text including: how letters make words, words make sentences, sentences make paragraphs, reading left to right, and understanding different types of works.


There are a number of ways to develop literacy knowledge in your children including:

  • Talking with your children

  • Reading aloud to your children

  • Using a "think-aloud" to focus on a specific skill while reading aloud

  • Connect reading to your child's real experiences

  • Slide your finger across the page as you read


Verbal Reasoning


Verbal reasoning is the ability to determine the deeper meaning of words and sentences, what is both explicitly and implicitly stated. This includes understanding the meaning of idioms, similes, metaphors, and figures of speech.


When talking with your child, be sure to explain what you are saying. For example, if you say, "Dad is feeling under the weather today," immediately say, "That means that Dad does not feel well today."


This skill can take years to fully develop. Your child will not be able to make inferences about a text until they become more skilled readers. They must learn all of the other skills that come first before they are able to fully grasp this skill.


Conclusion


Language comprehension is a broad term that encompasses many skills and is made up of five main components:

  1. Vocabulary

  2. Background Knowledge

  3. Language Structure

  4. Literacy Knowledge

  5. Verbal Reasoning

While you can work on many of these skills early, they do take many years to fully develop. Teaching reading is complex and requires patience. Understanding the process is a great first step to supporting children as they learn the most important academic and life skill of reading.



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