Language Development and Young Children

Mother with son sitting on her lap. Mother is reading to her son.

"Literacy development begins early on, as children learn to communicate with others through oral language." --Rush, 1999

What We Know | Activities | Special Needs

What We Know
Age Level
Sights and Sounds (podcast)
0-1 year
Oohs and Aahs (podcast)
0-1 year
Wacky Word Games (podcast)
0-1 year
Listening Milestones: Babies
0-2 years
Talking Milestones: Babies
0-2 years
Your Baby's First Steps toward Learning to Speak
0-3 years
Tips on Helping Your Child Learn to Talk
0-3 years
Effects of Adult Verbal and Vocal Contingent Responsiveness on Increases in Infant Vocalizations (pdf)
0-3 years
Tips on Helping your Child Learn to Communicate
0-3 years
What We Know about Early Language and Literacy Development
0-3 years
The Word Gap
0-3 years
The Linguistic Genius of Babies (video)
0-3 years
More Than Baby Talk: 10 Ways to Promote the Language and Communication Skills of Infants and Toddlers (pdf)
0-5 years
Improving Vocabulary in the Age of Common Core Standards – Guidance for Early Childhood Educators (free recorded webinar)
0-5 years
Early Literacy Learning can be promoted through Experiences with Print and Language (pdf)
0-5 years
Vocabulary and Early Literacy
0-5 years
Oral Language and Early Literacy
0-5 years
Learning to Talk and Listen (pdf)
0-5 years
The Foundational Role of Vocabulary & Comprehension In Early Literacy (video)
0-5 years
The Power of Family Conversation
0-5 years
Serve and Return Interaction Shapes Brain Circuitry
0-5 years
Importance of Oral Language to Literacy (PowerPoint)
0-5 years
The Role of Oral Language in Literacy Development
0-5 years
Speech and Language Development
0-8 years
Synthesis on language development and literacy (pdf)
0-8 years
Toddlers Connecting and Communicating
1-2 years
Priming Children for Language and Literacy Success: A Focus on the Toddler Years (free recorded webinar)
1-3 years
From Babbling to Books (video)
1-5 years
Building Blocks for Literacy : 12 hours free video course to promote emergent literacy
1-5 years
Talking Milestones: Toddlers
2-3 years
Listening Milestones: Toddlers
2-3 years
Priming Children for Language and Literacy Success: A Focus on the Toddler Years (webinar)
2-4 years
Listening Milestones: Preschoolers
3-4 years
Talking Milestones: Preschoolers
3-4 years
Sagacious, Sophisticated and Sedulous: The Importance of Discussing 50-cent Words with Preschoolers (pdf)
3-5 years
Let's Give Children Something to Talk About: Oral Language and Preschool Literacy (pdf)
3-5 years
Bridging the Vocabulary Gap: What Research Tells Us about Vocabulary Instruction in Early Childhood (pdf)
3-5 years
Preschoolers' classmates influence their language skills
3-5 years
Early Literacy: Vocabulary - video
3-5 years
Causal Supports for Early Word Learning (pdf)
3-5 years
Listening Milestones: Kindergarteners
5-6 years
Talking Milestones: Kindergarteners
5-6 years
3-8 years
Language Development in the Elementary Years
5-10 years

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Activities

Age Level

Child Language Tools: Methods and Procedures for Promoting Everyday Language Learning
0-5 years
Early Literacy Practice Guides for Use with Parents
0-5 years
Activities to Encourage Speech and Language Development
0-6 years
Engaging Interactions and Language Support Strategies (training videos with supporting materials)
3-5 years
Language and Vocabulary Strategies – Florida VPK Teacher Toolkit
3-5 years
Supporting Preschoolers' Vocabulary Learning: Using a Decision-Making Model to Select Appropriate Words and Methods (pdf)
3-5 years
Parent Practice Guides for Preschool Literacy Experiences
3-5 years
Oral Language Activities that Develop Reading Readiness
3-8 years
Speech Sounds: Suggested Activities
3-10 years
5-18 years
Graphic Organizers
6-12 years
Vocabulary Enrichment (Free Rice)
8-14 years

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Special Needs

Age Level

Diaper Ch Ch Changes (podcast)
0-1 year
Using Visual Supports with Infants and Toddlers (pdf)
0-3 years
Delayed Speech or Language Development
0-3 years
EIEC Webinar: The Use of Assistive Technology in Early Intervention (webinar)
0-3 years
Assistive Technology for Communication
0-5 years
 Dual Language Learners: Effective Instruction in Early Childhood (pdf)
0-5 years
 Importance of Home Language Series
0-5 years
Late Blooming or Language Problem?
0-5 years
California’s Best Practices for Young Dual Language Learners [PDF]
0-5 years
Code Switching: Why it Matters and How to Respond
0-5 years
Supporting Young Children who are Dual Language Learners with or at-risk for Disabilities (recorded webinar)
0-5 years
What the Eyes Reveal About the Brain: Advances in Human Language Acquisition (webinar)
0-5 years
How Early Intervention Can Make a Difference: Research and Trends for Children who are Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing (webinar)
0-5 years
Enhancing Young Hispanic Dual Language Learners’ Achievement: Exploring Strategies and Addressing Challenges
0-8 years
Multilingual Children: Beyond Myths and Towards Best Practices (pdf)
0-8 years
Same, Different and Diverse: Understanding Children who are Dual Language Learners (pdf)
0-8 years
Identify the Signs of Communication Disorders
0-8 years
Adult Learning Process for Promoting Caregiver Adoption of Everyday Child Language Learning Practices: Revised and Updated (pdf)
0-8 years
Assistive Technology for Socialization
0-8 years
What Does It Mean To Use Visual Supports for Literacy?
0-8 years
The Importance of Home Language
0-10 years
Communication for Students with Visual Impairments and Multiple Disabilities (various videos)
0-21 years
My Turn, Your Turn (podcast)
1-3 years
Pecs Pictures/Icon Pages
2-18 years
Inclusion Shows Benefits for Diverse Learners
3-5 years
Assistive Technology and the Communication and Literacy Development of Young Children with Disabilities (pdf)
3-5 years
The Effects of an Intensive Shared Book-Reading Intervention for Preschool Children at Risk for Vocabulary Delay
3-5 years
Hispanic Families' Perspective on Using a Bilingual Vocabulary Kit to Enhance their Prekindergarten Children's Vocabulary Development
3-5 years
Addressing Emergent Literacy Skills in English-Language Learners
3-5 years
Colby's Daily Journal: A Home-School Effort to Promote Communication Development
3-8 years
Teaching English Language Learners: Effective Instructional Practices (podcast)
3-10 years
Essential Actions: 15 Research-based Practices to Increase ELL Student Achievement
3-18 years
Tools and Resources for Identifying all English Learners
3-21 years
AAC: Augmentative and Alternative Communication Resources
3- adult
Resources for Supporting Teachers and Administrators to Improve Outcomes for Dual Language Learners in Pre-K through Third Grade: CEELO Annotated Bibliography
4-8 years
Reading and Language Outcomes of a Five-Year Randomized Evaluation of Transitional Bilingual Education (pdf)
5-10 years
Language-Based Learning Disabilities
5-12 years
English Language Learners and Academic Language (video)
5-18 years
The Language Experience Approach: A Method to Reach Reluctant or Struggling Readers
6-12 years