Click on the following links. Please note these will open in a new window.

Article 1: Scarinci, N., Rose, T., Pee, J., & Webb, K. (2015). Impacts of an in-service education program on promoting language development in young children: A pilot study with early childhood educators. Child Language Teaching and Therapy, 31(1), 37-51.

Learning Objective: 9.4
How does the asset support this Learning Objective? The article discusses how early childhood educators foster language development in young children.

Summary: Early childhood educators (ECEs) play an important role in fostering language development in young children. In-service education, led by speech-language pathologists (SLPs), has a potential role in educating ECEs about language development. In this pilot study, 42 ECEs attended an in-service education program and completed pre- and post-questionnaires to explore their perceptions of the impact of the in-service on their knowledge of child language development and language-promoting strategies and their confidence in this knowledge. To explore ECEs’ actual use of strategies, five ECEs also participated in pre- and post-video recordings of their interactions with children. ECEs’ knowledge of language development and language-promoting strategies increased post-program. Confidence in this knowledge and awareness of their roles also increased. Although not statistically significant, video recordings captured an overall increase in ECEs use of seven of the eleven rated language-promoting strategies. This pilot study has highlighted potential benefits of SLP-led education programs for ECEs, which is promising given the important role of ECEs in facilitating child language development.

Questions to Consider:

1. What are the different language interaction strategies types? What are examples of each?
2. What components should be in an education program for early childhood educators in order to promote the language development of children in their care?
3. What impact did the in-service education program have on fostering language development in children?
    

Article 2: Nittrouer, S., & Pennington, B. (2010). New approaches to the study of childhood language disorders. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 19(5), 308-313.

Learning Objective: 9.7
How does the asset support this Learning Objective? The article discusses the urgency to develop better theoretical accounts of the problems underlying disorders of language, including dyslexia.

Summary: Not long ago, poor language skills did not necessarily interfere with the quality of a person's life. Many occupations did not require sophisticated language or literacy. Interactions with other people could reasonably be restricted to family members and a few social or business contacts. But in the 21st century, advances in technology and burgeoning population centers have made it necessary for children to acquire high levels of proficiency with at least one language, in both spoken and written form. This situation increases the urgency for us to develop better theoretical accounts of the problems underlying disorders of language, including dyslexia. Empirical investigations of language-learning deficits largely focus on phonological representations and often ask to what extent labeling responses are “categorical.” This article describes the history of this approach and presents some relevant findings regarding the perceptual organization of speech signals—findings that should prompt us to expand our investigations of language disorders.

Questions to Consider:

1. How is perceptual psychology related to language development?
2. What do interventions for language disorders currently focus on?
3. What should the new directions focus on for understanding language disorders?