Early Language Development with the Helen Doron Method
Three Short Syllables
Ta! Tha! Tha! Have you noticed how babies ‘talk’?
Throughout our pedagogic practice at Helen Doron we’ve often heard such ‘dialogues’ among the little ‘dorons’ (as we call our very young students). Our school for early English learning in Plovdiv uses the Helen Doron methodology to encourage babies’ language expression even if it sounds hilarious at first. You yourself might have seen countless funny videos of talkative babies who use just these sounds ta-tha-tha with great confidence. And even if we as adults try to interpret carefully what the little humans are saying, we often fall short of our labours.
At first reading, these short syllables might sound strange and senseless. This is probably due the fact that we have no such early memories as to remember the times when we were starting to speak. It is very likely, however, that these words were some of our first endeavours into the world of language. Although they sound quite random, in ancient Sanskrit they carry a deep meaning – Tathatha – the “isness” and simple being of things – a term referring to the true, concrete essence of things, before they are described with ideas and words.
Babies’ Language Potential
It seems like babies keep their beautiful and abstract insights about the surrounding reality secret from us.
Thanks to our scientifically proven methodology at Helen Doron Plovdiv we as teachers can support not only children’s language development but also their social and emotional progress. We know well how crucial this ability is for their lives. It is intriguing for us as professionals to observe the process of conception and formation of language in the little human. This process coincides with the very process of physical growth. Actually, both processes are co-dependent and are influenced by the surrounding environment. It is proven that babies can absorb parts of the complicated world of language already in the womb – the intonation, melody and pronunciation typical for speech. Later on, children get to meet the other faces of language too – talking, reading and writing. The first skill includes hard and complicated-to-pronounce sounds, and the rest require the memorization and practice of so many signs with curved and straight lines. 😊
The Parent as Magician in the Complex World of Language
When we get asked at the school how babies and little kids can assimilate and acquire something so complicated as a foreign language, we always emphasise the important role of parents in the Helen Doron methodology for early English language learning. Kids’ curiosity is practically boundless, their hunger for knowledge is inborn and thus needs to be fed with a rich set of information presented in a fun and intriguing way.
Parents are the first to reveal to the child that knowing a language gives possibilities for self-expression, communication, play and learning. This is why here at Helen Doron Plovdiv we recommend to our parents that they constantly speak and read to their little ones from the first moment possible, which would highly help the successful cognitive development of their children. When the child itself is capable of sensing the potential of language, then comes the moment when the straight and curved lines turn from a strange theory into a motif to be proud: I can read! I can write the letter W!
A Recipe for Early Language Development
Helen Doron presents the English language through the means of playing and positive reinforcement. By the magic of music and song, being itself a universal language, English turns into a language of emotions. This proven method counts on the natural stages of acquiring a language and encourages daily immersion into authentic English speech through passive listening. Using music, body language, nursery rhymes and visualisations like animations and cartoons, the teachers at Helen Doron make a whole new adventure out of traditional English learning. By various ways of repetition, new language formulas help the child in its cognitive development, as the famous linguist Noam Chomsky argues.
Isn’t it just that what parents are seeking? Da-Da-Da! (Bulgarian for Yes-Yes-Yes).
Author: Nikolay Slavkov
Helen Doron Plovdiv – English for babies and chilren
References:
1 Tathata
2 Зохар, Гил (11 Март 2006). Акцент Върху Толерантността. Торонто Стар. Цитирано на 19 Януари 2016 от EBSCO.
3 https://newspaper.kultura.bg/bg/article/view/19982
4 https://roditel.bg/ezikovoto-obuchenie-za-bebeta-i-detsa-pod-3-godishna-vazrast-vazmozhno-ei-dosta-polezno/