Introducing Makaton
Makaton is a language program that uses signs and symbols to help people communicate. It is designed to be used alongside speech, in spoken word order. Makaton appears to be growing in popularity, with recent coverage in the media and in SEND education. If you explore its , you will see that over 100,000 children and adults use it every day. It is a fantastic way to and support your pupils to develop language skills.
When you start to use Makaton, children can take a more active part in life. are the keys to everything we do and learn from learning to read to developing our . The benefits of Makaton are endless, but here are a few reasons why it can be so useful for supporting communication in the classroom.
Being visual offers another 鈥榟ook鈥� or cue that children can latch their language learning onto.
Makaton can really help to focus the attention of children, particularly little ones. If you are signing as you talk or sing you are immediately more dynamic, expressive and exciting to look at!
Makaton is very easy to learn. I have known many teachers who have been able to pick up the core signs quickly. Many of the signs are logical and easy to remember.
It is functional and flexible. To begin with, it鈥檚 a good idea to sign key ideas or words in a sentence, for example, if you were saying 鈥榠t鈥檚 time to line up鈥� you would just sign 鈥榣ine up鈥�. It can also be built into any element of the school day; from circle time to music lessons, snack time, lunchtime, when teaching new words, giving instructions or helping children problem solve or understand emotions. You name it, signing can support it.
You can start using Makaton early! Baby signing has lots of similarities to Makaton and if used consistently from a young age, some babies may even sign before their first words. As a first time Mum, I have been using signs with my baby since she was tiny! On the flip side, it鈥檚 never too late to start introducing signs with older children too.
It鈥檚 great for children with English as an Additional Language (EAL). Makaton can be a fantastic universal cue for students who are finding themselves in an environment with a new or unfamiliar language. Of course, we have to be aware of any cultural sensitivities and make sure the signs we use are appropriate. In my first year as an Early Years teacher, I will always remember one of my Chinese students with very little English signing 鈥榮ad鈥� to me when she saw her peer crying.
Signing can take away the frustration of being unable to communicate meaningfully or effectively. In any classroom, there is likely to be a range of development in the children we teach, students who might be experiencing a delay in , difficulties expressing themselves, finding the right words or have can all benefit from learning and using signs to communicate.
It can support . Makaton also uses 鈥榝ingerspelling鈥� where each letter of the alphabet has a corresponding sign. These can be used to develop children鈥檚 awareness of the sounds in words and to attach a sign to people鈥檚 names
And finally, and perhaps most importantly, it鈥檚 fun! Children love learning new signs, it鈥檚 like learning the actions to new songs. There are some great resources out there too!
There are so many fun ways to introduce signing to your setting. The best thing to do is always start simple. There is no need to do everything at once, start with a few signs and build it up from there. Let me give you some examples of the best tips and ideas to get you started.
Start with some songs and rhymes; learning a few signs to go along with your favourite nursery rhymes is a great idea. 鈥極ld McDonald鈥� and 鈥業 can sing a rainbow鈥� are good ones for learning and using animal and colour signs.
Consider having one or two 鈥榮igns of the week鈥� which all staff and students can focus on. Start with what鈥檚 important to your school e.g. functional language that will help children follow instructions, curriculum vocabulary, class names, days of the week, weather etc.
So there you have it! You are almost set for signing success but before you go, let me answer a couple of common questions that I have heard teachers and parents ask;
No. Many children will drop the signs naturally at their own pace, as they develop speech. Some findings have also shown that some older children who are taught non-verbal communication systems show a spontaneous increase in oral communication. So in a nutshell, it does not hinder, it helps!
A lot of signs are quite logical and what you would expect them to be so you can often hazard a guess and you won鈥檛 be far wrong! Then just keep it consistent, ensure you and your classroom team are using the same signs for the same words and your children will soon begin to pick it up too.
What鈥檚 the worst that can happen? You have children that don鈥檛 need to rely on the signs to support their communication, but there will always be some that do. So, there really is no excuse! Get signing!