Early Years EvidenceStore

Education
SupportingCommunicationand Language Endowment
Foundation
in the EarlyYears

Evidenceconsistentlyshowswhen educatorsuse communicationand languageapproaches,they benefityoungchildren'sdevelopment.The EEF'sEarlyYears

Toolkitestimatesthat communicationand languageapproachescan, on average,provideseven monthsof additionalprogress.
Educatorsare recommendedto use the full rangeof approaches,becauseusingone approachalone is unlikelyto secureprogress.
Activitiesthat exposechildrento rich vocabularyand languageare importantbut howthe adult engageswith childrenduringthese activitiesis key.

n
Effectiveapproachesto support
Communicationand Language What is it? Evidencesummaryof the approach Put the approachinto action

There is strong evidence that this approach improves

children's communication and language skills. Explicit
vocabulary teaching strategies have been shown to be
effective, both alone and in combination with implicit
This approachinvolveseducator's vocabulary teaching strategies. Careful selection of ExplicitPractices:
Implicit Practices:
intentionaluse of wordsto builda vocabulary to focus on can increase children's usage and • Naming and
retention. • Imitation
child'sunderstandingof, and use of labelling
• Recasting
words.This approachcan be • Explaining and
deliveredusingexplicitor implicit • Extending
Studies where children received the same vocabulary showing
practices,or a combinationof both. support showed those with more advanced language skills • Commenting
• Repetition
progress faster than both those at an earlier stage in
development and those from lower-income families.
Therefore, those more at risk may need more exposure to
this approach to make progress.

This approachinvolvesintentionally Explicit Practices:

usinglanguageto showhowwords There is strong evidence this approach benefits all children,
• Questioning Implicit Practices:
are usedtogetherto form sentences however, research lacks evidence on its specific impact on
• Explaining and
and providingopportunitiesfor particular groups of children. • Imitation
showing
childrento applyit in their own • Commenting
• Repetition
speech.Story(recountsof true Practices that may be effective can be either verbal or • Recasting
eventsor imagined)providesa physical, and the evidence suggests that combining both • Sequencing
• Narrating
usefulcontextfor practisingthese kinds has the most impact. • Recapping
skills. • Recalling

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EarlyYears EvidenceStore
SupportingCommunicationand Language
in the EarlyYears
Effectiveapproachesto support
Communicationand Language What is it?
Thisapproachinvolvesconsidered
actionsduring sharedreading
wherethe adultencouragesthe
childto becomean active
participantin 'reading'the book.
Overtime the balanceof who
'reads'or facilitatesdiscussion
aboutthe bookpasses
increasingly to the child.
Thisapproachinvolvesthe
educator
usinglanguage
or
activitiesto stimulateandextend
interactionduring a cognitively
challengingactivity.Childrenare
encouragedto hearanduse
languageby sharingideas,
providingreasons,andbuildingon
eachother'sideas
Thisapproachinvolvesproviding
opportunities for childrento learn
the societalrulesof verbalandnon-
verbalcommunication, so theycan
adjusttheirchoiceof words,volume
or bodylanguageto bestengage
withthe listenerandshowthem
theyare listening.
Education
Endowment
Foundation
Evidencesummaryof the approach Put the approachinto action
There is strong evidence this approach benefits all children, Information based
Prompt based practices
however, research lacks evidence on its specific impact on practices
particular groups of children. • Questioning
• Commenting
• Recalling of events
• Recapping and
It is hard to pinpoint which interactive reading practices are or experiences
reminding
the most influential because studies often test several • Completion
• Expanding
practices at the same time. Successful interventions usually • Posing suggestions
• Extending
involve spoken interactions between the reader and child that or problems
go beyond the text in the book; the more the child participates • Explaining
• Imitation
or responds, the more their oral language skills develop. • Repetition
This emerging approach looks promising, however, this is
based on only a few studies and these were not implemented • Recapping
in England. • Explaining and showing
• Posing suggestions or problems
From the evidence that does exist, it is difficult to be sure of • Questioning
which practices are effective; the strategies used to facilitate Making links
collaborative talk vary significantly between studies and are
• Evaluating
often one component of a broader package of support.
Successful studies often focused on developing educators' • Recall of events or experiences
skills through professional development.
There are very few studies that have looked at the impact of • Demonstrating social rules of communication or
this approach by itself on children's outcomes. However, adjustments based on context
there are some positive findings for this approach when it • Waiting
was used alongside other approaches, which suggests it
could have a promising effect.
• Body positioning
• Mirroring
• Gesturing
Due to the limited number of studies in this area, supporting
• Reminding
practices are less well-evidenced. However, mirroring,
gestures, eye contact, and teaching facial expressions • Providing opportunities for considering
appear in research that reports a positive impact on appropriate non-verbal communication
children's language and communication outcomes. • Demonstrating non-verbal communication
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