Demystified: How to make the hyphens of children's spoken language richer, instead of just using "then"?

Today I saw a very interesting question:

How to make the hyphens of children's spoken language richer, rather than just connecting all the sentences with "then..., then..."?

Thinking about it carefully, it seems that more than just children like to use "Then... And then...", we adults also like to use it very much when we speak it, and it is natural to use it very often.

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1

We habitually use "then" to urge

The other night, Cute said he was going to tell me a story, and I lay in bed and listened.

Cute: Once upon a time, there was a shark that attacked the turtle and was thrown away by the turtle.

Me:/ And then what? /

Much cuter: It attacks the tuna swarm again, and the tuna swarm poses as a tiger shark. The shark, regardless of its shape, swallowed a large group of tuna directly into its stomach.

Me:/ And then what? /

Cute: Then it took another bite at the reef and counted its teeth (looking at the tooth marks on the stone). There are more than 50 in total.

Me:/ And then what? /

Lots of cuteness: This shark is an adult hammerhead shark.

I don't know if you find that when the child makes up the story, his thinking is intermittent, and the story may not be so fast and coherent. When anxious adults listen to stories, they always habitually use "then" to urge the child to speed up the pace to expound.

“

2

We habitually use "then" to express a twist

I originally thought that the weather was so hot, I went to the roadside stall to buy an ice cream to eat, and then, when I touched my pocket, I found that I didn't have any money...

The "then" in this scenario expresses a twist.

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3

We habitually use "then" to illustrate the results

I had planned to go shopping in the morning and read books in the library in the afternoon, but I didn't expect that the sky was not beautiful, it was thunder and rain, and then there was no "then"!

In this example sentence, the first "then" indicates that it continues the previous sentence, with an effect similar to "so". The second "then" indicates the result.

In our colloquial expressions, the role of "then" is flexible and changeable, and it is not abrupt or inconvenient to use more, and sometimes it is quite interesting. But it is not appropriate to use the same word frequently in the written language!

Illustration from A Child's Poetry Garden

Written language emphasizes the same line and the same paragraph as rarely as possible to appear the same word. If there is, you have to try to avoid it and replace it with other words with similar meanings. Only the comparative sentence is the exception. The ranking sentence is the only one that can reuse a word in a sentence or paragraph to increase momentum.

"I run toward the sun, it goes forward; I run with the sun on my back, and it goes forward; I'm asleep, and it goes forward."

If you want to enrich the connecting words when your child speaks, you can try the following methods:

Always pay attention to how the orator uses words,

How to express meaning,

How to go on with a long paragraph.

If you have the opportunity, you can let your child listen to more speeches, pay attention to how those who are good at oral expression speak, how to use connecting words skillfully, and say a whole long text smoothly. Those places that indicate undertakings and twists, especially pay attention.

In addition, you can also print out the speech, so that the child can circle the connecting words in the manuscript one by one with a pen to clarify the specific use scenarios of various connecting words.

Read more poetry collections and popular science picture books,

Enhance language expression ability in a subtle way

Illustration from A Child's Poetry Garden

skill comes from practice. The same is true of language. Written language is read more often, immersed for a long time, and naturally applied in oral expression.

The poems are short and condensed, beautiful in conception and catchy, and are the best materials for children's language enlightenment. But because there is a threshold for understanding, many children have a natural resistance to ancient poetry. Modern children's poetry is different, they are closer to the daily life of children, those that describe and praise family, friendship, games, fantasy world of poetry is easier for children to find emotional resonance, more likely to be accepted and liked by children.

"A Child's Poetry Garden" is a well-known classic in British children's literature, and is known as a "beautiful enlightenment teaching material" for children to learn languages. The children in this collection of poems are like all the children in the world, sometimes well-behaved, sometimes naughty, sometimes elated, sometimes depressed, but they are all equally innocent, clear and pure.

Cute Duo really likes to read this book of poetry, and in "Invisible Playmate", he can see his psychological world clearly.

No one knows him, no one sees him.

He's like a painting, but you can't paint it;

As long as the happy child feels lonely and intolerable;

Whether it's inside or outside, he's going to come.

In "My Treasure", he sees children who also love to collect "treasures".

This stone, gray, white, yellow,

We don't know how far we've come to find it.

I was cold and tired, so I moved it home.

Although Dad didn't believe it, it was definitely gold!

In "Looking at Picture Books in Winter", he saw children who also loved to read.

All beautiful things, waiting for children to read,

Sheep, shepherds, woods, paths...

Just open the picture books.

We can see the whole world,

Oceans and cities, near and far,

And the appearance of the elves flying,

Just open the picture books.

In order to make it easier for everyone to identify, I have all marked out the connecting words in the poem in the form of bold + italics.

"But", "as long as... "No matter", "and... Again, or...", "Although... "As long as... The use of connecting words such as "all" and "and..." makes the verses more layered and the meaning more clear.

In addition to poetry, popular science picture books are often applied to many connecting words because of the strong logical relationship between sentences and sentences, and are also very suitable for children to learn the use of connecting words.

In the name of "Come on! toad! A passage in the text is an example.

"The tip of the frog's toe has suction cups that can be attached anywhere. So, it will live on trees and meadows. Its bouncing power is also very good. If the frog is a soccer goalkeeper, it first jumps up and pounces on the ball with that amazing bouncing power, and then uses its suction cup to catch the ball, good ball! It is sure to become a famous goalkeeper. ”

"And the toad, it has neither suction cups nor bouncing power, and the goalkeeper is certainly not able to do it." Not only that, but when it falls into a deep ditch, it never wants to climb up. ”

"So" denotes the causal relationship between sentences, "first... Then..." represents a sequential relationship, "and" denotes a transition relationship, "both... Again..." indicates a juxtaposition, and "not only that" indicates a progressive relationship.

Whether it is to take children to read verses or popular science picture books, we can focus on these connecting words, encourage children to try to replace them with other connecting words, and see if there will be ambiguity in semantic expression. Through such repeated practice, children's understanding and application of connecting words can be gradually strengthened.

Illustration from A Child's Poetry Garden

Correct your language habits anytime, anywhere

When the child has literally understood the meaning of various connecting words and practiced it to a certain extent, the next step is to apply and correct it anytime, anywhere.

On this point, Ye Shengtao, the master of the Chinese Chinese, summed it up very comprehensively, and I will not repeat it:

We must demand ourselves that whenever we do not say an incomplete word, we must express a meaning when we say a sentence, so that others can understand it when they hear it; whenever we do not use a word that we do not know very well in the language, and we do not force an inappropriate word into the language. We also have to ask ourselves not to use a conjunction at any time, not to use more or less than one auxiliary. In a word, it must be "however" where it should be "however", "then" where it should be "then", "where it is needed" is not lacking in "is it", where there is no need for "no" is not "senseless".

Such exercise may seem ridiculous, but it is very essential.

The change of language habits is an extremely slow process, and it is impossible to rush it. As parents, all we can do is to accompany us with our hearts and wait for the flowers to blossom.