Concerned about write-down effect: – Concerned:

Two years of pandemic, where several children have had to attend home school for several periods, can lead to more problems for many years to come. This is what the British expert Sara Bonetti, head of the early development department at the Institute for Education Policy, says to Sky News.

She believes that delays in communication and social skills of the youngest children will affect their schooling in the future. Bonetti is particularly concerned about children’s social and mental development, interaction with classmates, behavior and self-control.

According to the expert, it can be difficult for more children to concentrate, and she points out that they are already seeing more and more language and communication delays in preschool children.

– It applies not only to the vocabulary, but also to recognizing letters, which in turn affects reading skills. Being with your parents is not the same as being with your classmates – and there are many of them who have not seen their classmates and have not been out in the world, she says

Bonetti believes that the most important strategy in the long run is to help the youngest children to make up for “the lost”.

– We will see some consequences in one way or another, which will last for several years, she warns.

– It’s too hopeless

– Will have consequences

At the beginning of 2021, the UK had an extensive lockdown that lasted over several months. Through the pandemic in Norway, there have not been as large shutdowns of society, but several school students have still had to attend home school up to several times.

Walter Frøyen is regional director of the State Special Education Service (Statsped) southeast, and he has extensive experience with child psychology, language and language development.

He also believes that closure in Norway will have a significant consequence for the language development of some children.

– Do not understand

– It is clear that it is a concern when children are taken out of a social setting. Then there is always something that will be lost. A long-term decline will have consequences for the spontaneous language development that occurs when children play together and communicate, he tells Dagbladet.

– Difficult to detect

Digital teaching can compensate for much of the academic, but Frøyen emphasizes that it can not for the social and for the spontaneous communication.

– This can also lead to us ignoring those who have language difficulties, which is difficult to detect if you do not have direct contact with the children, he says.

The government has said several times that they want to spare the children and keep both schools and kindergartens open as far as possible, and assistant health director Espen Rostrup Nakstad tells Dagbladet that there are several reasons why Norway has avoided total closure.

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– The reason is that we have had good control of the pandemic, and then it is less likely that we will close schools and kindergartens. It is incredibly important that we maintain this control, and the latest news is that we will start testing more regularly and have infection control routines in schools, Nakstad tells Dagbladet.

– We reflect in others

Frøyen explains that the foundation of the language is established when you are between four and five years old. It is established by being out among others that one can reflect on, and by different situations and interactions.

– There is a lot of good learning in reflecting on the behavior of other peers, and language is incredibly important for our social behavior. Therefore, it is very important that children can play and socialize with other children of the same age. There is no point in just being with your parents, he says.

Should there be a closure in this country, which will affect the children even harder, Frøyen believes that children will be deprived of the opportunity to develop social behavior.

– It will have consequences in the long run, and it will also affect differently, among other things related to professional and social competence among parents, he says.

Nevertheless, Frøyen emphasizes that he does not believe that this is a problem that will persist for several years.

– Constant lump in the stomach

– I do not think we will get a bunch of stupid children in the future, but if there are long descents and home school, then it will have consequences for language learning which is extremely important in social interaction and development, he says.

– It worries me

Although the corona pandemic may have affected the language learning of several children, this is not something that occurred with the pandemic alone.

Frøyen says that Statsped also received many inquiries about concerns about language development in children even before the pandemic.

– And this is one of the areas that we will work less on in the future. That worries me, he says.

Frøyen believes that there should be much more focus on language teaching in teacher and kindergarten teacher education, than there is today.

Turns off school alarm: – Very demanding

– I believe that you can become better at nuance and know when to address concerns about a child’s language development, he says.

He cites an example of children who are bilingual.

– If they have a good analytical mother tongue, then it is usually no problem then you can put established words and concepts into the Norwegian language. However, when they have a bad mother tongue and bad Norwegian, they end up with two half languages, he says and adds:

– There are several concepts and systems in the language. Children who are not “language bathed” will be at risk of poorer abstract language. Language is the tool of the mind.

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