Building Language Before School

Building language is one of the most powerful things you can do for your child before they start school. When we read, we are reading language, so the more spoken language (oral language) children understand, the more likely they are to understand books once they learn to read. Building oral language means surrounding children with words—talking with them, reading picture books aloud, listening to audiobooks or podcasts, singing, and similar activities. These expose children to richer vocabulary and more complex sentences than everyday talk, helping them form complete sentences and use more advanced words.

The Language Environment Analysis (LENA) highlights the importance of back‑and‑forth conversations with your child and provides caregivers with a report of those interactions. LENA and similar tools show why oral language development at home matters.

Many organizations support families and caregivers by making sure they have books to read to their children. Some even deliver children’s books at the right age level to your mailbox every month at no cost to you.

These are organizations that provide children’s books for free:

• Reach Out and Read
• Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library
• Little Free Libraries
• Children’s eBooks on Project Gutenberg
• The Spanish Experiment

If your child does not seem to be making progress in speaking and language development, each state has early intervention services to help. Here is a state-by-state guide to find services:

• Early Intervention Contact Information by State