0.1 Chatterbox and early literacy in trinidad and tobago

Re-working and updating a number of our literacy modules

For the purposes of this module/article, "chatterbox" refers to a young child who talks incessantly. Attached to the meaning of this term is cuteness and the sheer parrotting of words that is not grounded in the ability of the young children to make meaning when they talk. There still exists a notion (here in Trinidad and Tobago, at least) that "a child should be seen and not heard", and a lack of understanding on the part of many caregivers,teachers and parents of the NECESSARY RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN ORAL LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT AND EARLY LITERACY LEARNING especially so in Caribbean creole-speaking environments among children who face the at-risk-literacy threat. Here we discuss what the literature says about this link and we will suggest ways of how it can be harnessed in our chatterbox youngsters for Literacy learning.

This module targets teachers and parents of young preschool age children. It will describe and lay out for discussion:

• 1. Who or what is a "chatterbox" and attitudes to chatterbox children
• 2. Oral Language and Early Literacy
• 3. Making Meaningful use of Child Chat as a Resource for Early Literacy in a Creole-speaking environment
• Points to share with regard to developing Early Literacy
• 5. Helping parents and teachers to shape chatterbox in a productive not a dismissive manner.
• 6. It seems as though we have raised more questions than we have answers for: much research is needed.

1. CHATTERBOX CHILDREN are quite "glib" according to community norms. Not a few (both boys and girls) are early talkers i.e. talking well at least by age 3 years. Their verbalizations are regarded by some adults with delight as they attempt conversation and use new words in surprising ways. On the other hand, "chatterbox" may carry a nusiance value where the child's talking "out of turn" and frequent question-asking may annoy or embarrass adults whose response to this is to silence the child or shut him/her up. If this last measure occurs too often it could have the effect of the child responding with silence in important situations where they are required to talk. It could also have a negative impact on their attempts at Literacy learning.

There are two (2) strands of thought in this module that we will consider viz. (1) That child Language and early Reading research literature is replete with evidence that Oral language facility is an advantage for the transition from language acquisition to Literacy. (2) Chatterbox children in Trinidad and Tobago belong primarily to Trinidadian Creole-speaking environments. They themselves are budding speakers of Creole English which is their home language. And instead of this being a negative attribute to be "eradicated" early, the children's creole-speaking capabilities and willingness to experiment can be a plus in their learning both to speak and to read Standard English text.