Prof. Sieneke Goorhuis-Brouwer: 'Toddlers and preschoolers benefit more from an understanding teacher than from a programme'.

Politicians are becoming concerned about language deficiencies in children. Many children from ethnic minorities hardly speak any Dutch when they go to school and the fear is that they won’t be able to catch up with their contemporaries. In addition, children in group eight (11-12 years old) do not have adequate reading and writing skills. The Cabinet is therefore planning to introduce special teaching programmes for all toddlers and preschoolers. This is a bad idea, thinks Sieneke Goorhuis-Brouwer, professor of Language and Speech Disabilities at the University of Groningen. In her opinion, children are diagnosed with a language deficiency far too fast.

Goorhuis-Brouwer has noticed that politicians and the media think that children from ethnic minorities have a language deficiency because they don’t speak Dutch at home. ‘But they may be very advanced in their mother tongue, and then there’s no question of a language deficiency. Last year I saw a photo in the newspaper of a Turkish boy with the caption Ahmed going to school with a language deficiency. Why didn’t they write Ahmed is starting to learn Dutch?’

Multilingualism

According to Goorhuis-Brouwer, it’s not a problem if children learn a different language to Dutch before they go to school. ‘Multilingualism is not a problem for young children. They have a fantastic ability to learn languages. Children who start school in group one (4 years old) will learn Dutch very fast and catch up without any problem. What is a problem is that pupils at “black schools” often speak to each other in their own language. You have to ensure that Dutch is spoken there consistently so that they are exposed to the language.’

Very small group

So children from ethnic minorities actually don’t have a language deficiency. But who according to Goorhuis-Brouwer does? ‘About eight percent of children perhaps have a language deficiency if you screen them at age 2 or 3. That may be because they have a hearing problem or that they have difficulties learning.’ In both groups this language deficiency is eventually overcome. ‘But there is a very small group with a specific language deficiency. They comprehend fewer words, are not able to construct sentences very well and have difficulty articulating sounds. These children benefit from individual treatment.’

Insecure and afraid of failing

It has also been ascertained that children in group eight have inadequate reading and writing skills. This is behind the idea to start teaching these skills to toddlers and preschoolers. In Goorhuis-Brouwer’s opinion this is a dangerous development. ‘Politicians are afraid that children are starting to learn to read and write too late. But you can also start too soon, and that’s often much more harmful because you’re asking children to do things they’re not yet ready for. That can make them insecure and afraid of failing.’ Goorhuis-Brouwer explains that toddlers and preschoolers are in a so-called preoperational thought phase where they learn to speak and comprehend language. ‘This is a completely different process to reading and writing. They are only ready for that from group three (6-7 years old), when they are in the operational thought phase.’

Social and emotional skills

Goorhuis-Brouwer: ‘You must not throw a teaching programme at toddlers and preschoolers. They should be exposed to language in a playful way, through talking, being read to and learning nursery rhymes and songs. If you emphasize cognitive skills like reading and writing you run the risk that the development of social and emotional skills gets snowed under. It is very difficult to learn those skills later, whereas you can always still learn to read and write. So don’t invest any money in teaching programmes for toddlers and preschoolers – use the money to create smaller classed so that children can have more individual attention. Children benefit more from an understanding teacher than from a programme.’

Curriculum Vitae

Prof. Sieneke Goorhuis-Brouwer (1946) studied Orthopedagogy at the University of Groningen while simultaneously training in speech and audio therapy. She joined the Ear, Nose and Throat discipline group at the UMCG in 1977. In 1988 she gained her PhD with research into language development disorders in children. In 1999 she became Professor of Speech and Language Disorders in children (endowed chair). She conducts research into the epidemiology of speech and language problems and the effects of speech and language problems on the socio-emotional development of children.

Contact

Via the UMCG press office, +31 50 361 22 00

 

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