Communication & Language in EYFS — Knowledge Organiser

Two ELG strands

1. 1 Listening, Attention and Understanding By ELG: children listen attentively and respond in a range of situations; make comments about what they have heard and ask questions; hold conversation when engaged in back-and-forth exchanges.
2. 2 Speaking By ELG: children participate in small group, class, and one-to-one discussions; offer their own ideas, using recently introduced vocabulary; express their ideas and feelings using full sentences with past, present, and future tenses.
3. 3 The word gap Significant evidence shows children from advantaged backgrounds arrive at school with much larger vocabularies than children from disadvantaged backgrounds. The gap matters — vocabulary predicts later reading and academic success.
4. 4 Adult-child talk The single most powerful intervention for C&L development is high-quality back-and-forth conversation between adults and children. Open questions. Wait time. Real responses to children's ideas.
5. 5 Story time Daily reading aloud — twice or more — exposes children to language they don't hear in everyday conversation. Repeat favourite stories often. Read with expression. Discuss before, during, and after.
6. 6 Vocabulary teaching Specific, deliberate teaching of new words. Repeat new words across the day. Use them in context. Make displays of interesting words children have encountered.
7. 7 WellComm assessment A widely-used EYFS C&L assessment tool. Identifies children who need additional language support early. Worth knowing about, even where not used routinely.