A team of researchers in the UK has shown that children who were taken to the library more often and owned more books at two years old achieved higher scores in school tests when they began primary school. The research also showed that although social background has a noticeable effect on a child's readiness for school, attending pre-school and having their parents teach them a wide range of activities have a positive effect---while extended exposure to television lowers their scores. "One message coming through loud and clear is that how a child learns in his very early years is critical   for a smooth transition into the educational system," said Professor James Law. "This is a very positive message, as it gets us away from the belief that a child's educational future is pre-determined by standard measures of socio-economic disadvantage, such as income, housing, or the mother's education." Data from the study shows that children from a positive communication environment had a better expressive vocabulary by their second birthday. These children went on to achieve higher scores in language, reading and maths tests when they entered school. In the early years, the communication environment was a better predictor of children's success with language than their general social background. Most children develop speech and language effortlessly, but some are slow to acquire these skills and go on to struggle with literacy   and academic skills throughout their schooling. This project set out to uncover what factors contributed to these problems. Professor Sue Roulstone said, "These findings are an encouragement to all parents to provide a positive communication environment for their children from the very start of their lives. The project did identify particular aspects of the communication environment, such as having children's books around and not having the television on too much. But the main message is that, as parents, we can have an impact on how our children learn to talk by providing a range of communication experiences. And the better our children are at talking by the age of two years, the better they will do when they start school." People can most probably find this passage in the   _  section of a website.
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