Improving the odds: identifying language activities that support the language development of preschoolers with poorer vocabulary skills

The aim of the study was to find out which kindergarten language activities Norwegian children take part in and to investigate which of these activities predicted improvement in children’s language comprehension. The two research questions are: 1) What types of teacher-reported language activities take place in today’s kindergartens? 2) How are these activities associated with children’s language comprehension?

The teachers reported a variety of different language activities, from informal language stimulation in everyday situations, to more explicit language activities such as reading aloud, language games, vocabulary training and pre-school groups. Reading out loud every day predicted a significant improvement in children’s language comprehension.

The sample consisted of 134 Norwegian kindergarten children who had previously scored low on vocabulary tests. The children’s language comprehension was tested twice, the first time when they were between 4 and 5 years old, and the second time when they were between 5 and 6 years old and were about to start school. In addition, the children’s kindergarten teachers were interviewed about the language activities the children had participated in during the kindergarten year.

Hagen, Å. M. (2018). "Improving the odds: identifying language activities that support the language development of preschoolers with poorer vocabulary skills". Scandinavian journal of educational research, 62(5):649-663.