Parent education to improve early language development: A preliminary evaluation of LENA StartTM

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-29
Author(s):  
Marianne ELMQUIST ◽  
Lizbeth H. FINESTACK ◽  
Amanda KRIESE ◽  
Erin M. LEASE ◽  
Scott R. MCCONNELL
Keyword(s):  
Language Development ◽  
Parent Education ◽  
Preliminary Evidence ◽  
Preliminary Evaluation ◽  
Early Language ◽  
Community Based ◽  
Early Language Development ◽  
Parent Training Program ◽  
Conversational Turns ◽  
Parent Child

Abstract Parents play an important role in creating home language environments that promote language development. A nonequivalent group design was used to evaluate the effectiveness of a community-based implementation of LENA Start™, a parent-training program aimed at increasing the quantity of adult words (AWC) and conversational turns (CT). Parent-child dyads participated in LENA Start™ (n = 39) or a generic parent education program (n = 17). Overall, attendance and engagement in the LENA StartTM program were high: 72% of participants met criteria to graduate from the program. Within-subject gains were positive for LENA Start™ families. Comparison families declined on these measures. However, both effects were non-significant. Between-group analyses revealed small to medium-sized effects favoring LENA Start™ and these were significant for child vocalizations (CV) and CT but not AWC. These results provide preliminary evidence that programs like LENA StartTM can be embedded in community-based settings to promote quality parent-child language interactions.

scholarly journals Variations in the Home Language Environment and Early Language Development in Rural China

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (5) ◽  
pp. 2671
Author(s):  
Yue Ma ◽  
Laura Jonsson ◽  
Tianli Feng ◽  
Tyler Weisberg ◽  
Teresa Shao ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Language Development ◽  
Child Language ◽  
Language Skills ◽  
Rural China ◽  
Home Language ◽  
Early Language ◽  
Early Language Development ◽  
Language Environment ◽  
Conversational Turns ◽  
Home Language Environment

The home language environment is critical to early language development and subsequent skills. However, few studies have quantitatively measured the home language environment in low-income, developing settings. This study explores variations in the home language environment and child language skills among households in poor rural villages in northwestern China. Audio recordings were collected for 38 children aged 20–28 months and analyzed using Language Environment Analysis (LENA) software; language skills were measured using the MacArthur–Bates Mandarin Communicative Developmental Inventories expressive vocabulary scale. The results revealed large variability in both child language skills and home language environment measures (adult words, conversational turns, and child vocalizations) with 5- to 6-fold differences between the highest and lowest scores. Despite variation, however, the average number of adult words and conversational turns were lower than found among urban Chinese children. Correlation analyses did not identify significant correlations between demographic characteristics and the home language environment. However, the results do indicate significant correlations between the home language environment and child language skills, with conversational turns showing the strongest correlation. The results point to a need for further research on language engagement and ways to increase parent–child interactions to improve early language development among young children in rural China.

scholarly journals Effect of sex and dyad composition on speech and gesture development of singleton and twin children

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-19
Author(s):  
Sumeyra OZTURK ◽  
Ebru PINAR ◽  
F. Nihan KETREZ ◽  
Şeyda ÖZÇALIŞKAN
Keyword(s):  
Sex Differences ◽  
Language Development ◽  
Early Language ◽  
Child Play ◽  
Early Language Development ◽  
Gesture Development ◽  
Twin Children ◽  
Close Integration ◽  
Gesture Production ◽  
Parent Child

Abstract Children's early vocabulary shows sex differences – with boys having smaller vocabularies than age-comparable girls – a pattern that becomes evident in both singletons and twins. Twins also use fewer words than their singleton peers. However, we know relatively less about sex differences in early gesturing in singletons or twins, and also how singletons and twins might differ in their early gesture use. We examine the patterns of speech and gesture production of singleton and twin children, ages 0;10-to-3;4, during structured parent-child play. Boys and girls – singleton or twin – were similar in speech and gesture production, but singletons used a greater amount and diversity of speech and gestures than twins. There was no effect of twin dyad type (boy-boy, girl-girl, boy-girl) on either speech or gesture production. These results confirm earlier research showing close integration between gesture and speech in singletons in early language development, and further extend these patterns to twin children.

Does the Talkable programme improve caregiver knowledge and confidence in assisting their child’s language learning? A pilot study

2021 ◽  
pp. 183693912097906
Author(s):  
Karen Nitsche ◽  
Suze Leitão ◽  
Richard Parsons
Keyword(s):  
Primary Prevention ◽  
Language Development ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Mobile Application ◽  
Training Programme ◽  
Evidence Base ◽  
Preliminary Evaluation ◽  
Early Language ◽  
Early Language Development ◽  
Prevention Programmes

This paper reports a preliminary evaluation of the [Talkable] 10-week language learning programme. This training programme aims to help caregivers provide a rich language learning environment in a child’s first 3 years of life through the provision of evidence-based information and practical strategies to promote language development delivered primarily via mobile application. Participants in the study completed pre- and post-programme surveys on a range of questions relating to their knowledge and confidence in assisting their child’s language learning. Results indicated significant improvements in participant’s self-reported levels of knowledge about early language development and ways to assist their child’s language learning, while level of concern about their child’s language development remained fairly constant. These findings provide preliminary support for the use of [Talkable] in primary prevention, and direction for future development of the programme. Findings also add to the currently limited evidence-base for providing early language primary prevention programmes via mobile application.

Overheard: Know Your Morphemes

ASHA Leader ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 18 (7) ◽  
pp. 16-17
Author(s):  
Julie Wolter
Keyword(s):  
Language Development ◽  
Literacy Development ◽  
Morphological Awareness ◽  
Early Language ◽  
Online Chat ◽  
Early Language Development

Julie Wolter, an expert in early language development, recently led an online chat about the contribution of morphological awareness to semantic understanding and literacy development. Here's what the Leader overheard ...

Gestural Communication in Deaf Children: The Effects and Noneffects of Parental Input on Early Language Development

1984 ◽  
Vol 49 (3/4) ◽  
pp. 1 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susan Goldin-Meadow ◽  
Carolyn Mylander ◽  
Jill de Villiers ◽  
Elizabeth Bates ◽  
Virginia Volterra
Keyword(s):  
Language Development ◽  
Deaf Children ◽  
Gestural Communication ◽  
Early Language ◽  
Early Language Development ◽  
Parental Input

scholarly journals Inference and exact numerical representation in early language development

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Barner ◽  
Asaf Bachrach
Keyword(s):  
Language Development ◽  
Available P ◽  
Scalar Implicature ◽  
Numerical Representation ◽  
Early Language ◽  
Present Evidence ◽  
Early Language Development ◽  
Do So

How do children as young as 2 years of age know that numerals, like one,have exact interpretations, while quantifiers and words like a do not?Previous studies have argued that only numerals have exact lexicalmeanings. Children could not use scalar implicature to strengthen numeralmeanings, it is argued, since they fail to do so for quantifiers(Papafragou & Musolino, 2003). Against this view, we present evidence thatchildren’s early interpretation of numerals does rely on scalarimplicature, and argue that differences between numerals and quantifiersare due to differences in the availability of the respective scales ofwhich they are members. Evidence from previous studies establishes that (1)children can make scalar inferences when interpreting numerals, (2)children initially assign weak, non-exact interpretations to numerals whenfirst acquiring their meanings, and (3) children can strengthen quantifierinterpretations when scalar alternatives are made explicitly available.

scholarly journals Small Talk Comparison Report

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Constance Beecher ◽  
Craig K. Van Pay
Keyword(s):  
Child Development ◽  
Parent Education ◽  
Education Program ◽  
Comparison Group ◽  
Public Library ◽  
Community Based ◽  
Non Profit ◽  
Small Talk ◽  
Story Time ◽  
Conversational Turns

A team including university researchers, a public library, and a community non-profit agency worked together to test the effectiveness of a universal, community-based intervention to increase parents’ child-directed speech, back-and-forth interactions with their child, and knowledge of child development. The comparison group was drawn from families who regularly attended story time, had children of eligible age, but did not attend Small Talk. The curriculum utilized was LENA Start. We found that intervention families grew significantly in Adult words, Conversational Turns with child, and in Child vocalizations compared to the families who did not attend the parent education program.

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