Child Language Development

This book has been written for use by early childhood teachers, nursery nurses, special education teachers and others who want to help children who are experiencing difficulties in the early stages of language acquisition. It sets out guidelines for assessing children's current language skills and increasing their level of communicative competence through appropriate learning experiences. The language program described is derived from an interactional theoretical framework. It is organised around a developmental sequence that moves from the prerequisite skills of looking with an adult at an interesting event, to the more complex skills of asking and answering questions. Ideas for helping children progress through these levels are described and some related issues, such as the place of signing and the needs of children whose language backgrounds are other than English, are also explored.