The Developing Reader

Infants, babies, and toddlers all have an important goal, to learn language and communicate. A young child’s brain is designed to produce this outcome, the spoken word. This is accomplished with the daily language experiences provided by their parents and caregivers. Each language learning journey begins with The Developing Reader!

  • Language to Literacy

    Language and literacy are connected, but only the spoken aspect of language is natural. Each child at birth comes equipped with the necessary wiring for the development of oral language. Multiple parts of the brain are hardwired together to produce this essential communication system. Listening and speaking are two of the major components of early language learning. Literacy […]

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  • The New Arrival

    The first beginnings of language start when the child is inside the womb. Before birth, a baby eavesdrops on the outside world, voices and noises are absorbed. At arrival, small tiny ears are already tuning into the sounds being produced by their parents. Dr. Karen Mulak, at MARCS Institute and the Center of Excellence for […]

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  • Language Listening

    Listening is the receptive part of language, it’s the hearing and understanding of what the spoken word means. A baby is a captive audience of one, ready and able to hear voices and surrounding sounds. They are the receivers. Their ears are like antennas, always taking in the flow of sounds and words. It’s too early […]

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  • Language Speaking

    Speaking is the expressive part of language, it is communicating one’s wants, needs, thoughts and ideas . A baby does this almost immediately! Not speaking but producing vocal sounds. Crying is one of the first ways an infant will let a parent know a “need”. Feed me or change me are at the top of their list! Later […]

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  • Language Listening & Speaking

    Early language development has two key components: listening and speaking. These elements were presented separately, but they operate in conjunction with each other. Listening leads the way, since the auditory system is ready to go at birth. Speaking is in the metamorphosis stage — like a chrysalis evolving into a butterfly. The body of a […]

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