Improving the Odds: Identifying Language Activities that Support the Language Development of Preschoolers with Poorer Vocabulary Skills

Abstract

The aim of the current study is to determine what language activities Norwegian preschool children took part in, and to examine whether these language activities predict children’s language comprehension. We tested children (n = 134) with language measures at age 4/5 and age 5/6 and interviewed their teachers (n = 71) about the kinds of language activities the children engaged in during that school year. Teachers reported a variety of classroom language activities, ranging from informal language stimulation of everyday situations to more explicit language activities such as book reading, language games, vocabulary training and school preparation groups. Book reading every day significantly predicted children’s language comprehension.