Promoting language in under 3s. Assessing language development and the quality of adult intervention

This research aims to develop instruments to assess language development in under-3s and the adult interventions that support it. After an extensive literature search, observations were conducted in 17 groups of children spread over two day-care centres. In total 42 children were observed during a 30-minute slot and 25 adults during a half day. Using the 'critical incident' technique all utterances and interventions relevant for language were recorded and these 'thick descriptions' were then analysed. Processing the child's utterances leads to insights with regard to the initiator of interactions and to the addressee, the orientation towards language, the complexity of utterances, the analysis of sound, the expressiveness, and the functions of the utterance. An analysis of the adults' interventions focused on the frequency and functions, how substantial the content was, the expressiveness, the tuning into the child's level and interest and the stimulation of language production including the provision of a safe space for it. At the level of the instruments indicators for reliability and validity were satisfying, including high correlations with an external language test and significant correlations between key dimensions. With regard to the results most of our attention goes to the enormous differences between practitioners in the quality and quantity of adult interventions that are relevant for the promotion of language in young children.