Use Real Language

To celebrate my son's 2nd birthday,we visited the Indianapolis Children's Museum this weekend. It is a tradition that we started last year and one that I hope to continue (unfortunately, now that he has reached the ripe old age of two I am henceforth required to pay for his admission). As we wandered the museum, I was immediately reminded of my experience during the recent "literacy dig" I took part in and wrote about on January 20th. A children's museum is a prime example of numerous forms of literacy, with a multitude of signs, posters, placards, and video kiosks around every corner. What I found most interesting was observing how language aimed at  younger museum patrons is constructed.

In many cases, the various exhibits were accompanied by text that used straightforward and fairly technical vocabulary. Words like "geologic," "habitat," and "buoyancy" were used without simplifying the language to use words like "rocks," "homes," or "float." Yet, in other instances I found that some language was "dumbed down" in a sense. For example, in the dinosaur exhibit the words "carnivore" and "herbivore" were accompanied by or interchanged with the words "meat-eater" and "plant-eater."

In a conversation with Dr. Elizabeth Baker for Voice of Literacy, Dr. Susan Neuman discusses how simplifying or "dumbing down" vocabulary for young children is an all too common mistake. In fact, Dr. Neuman suggests that using interesting and unusual words is more effective when engaging young children as they tend to "perk up" when they hear these words.While we may often underestimate them, Dr. Neuman suggests that "kids can learn much more difficult words than we assume." In Reading with Meaning, Debbie Miller shares a similar view as she insists, "use real language and standard terminology when talking with children... what you say and how you say it becomes what they say and how they say it!"

This attitude toward vocabulary is one that I personally hold. I make a conscious effort to not "dumb down" the language I use with young children. My son is currently exploring a very active interest in trains (the origins of which are a complete mystery to me). While we were at the children's museum, we spent an great deal of time perusing the steam engine exhibit. He is unfamiliar with the term "choo-choo."