Ebook: Child Language Development: Learning to Talk, Second Edition

This publication is concerned with the early stages of language acquisition and is designed for use by early childhood teachers, nursery nurses, special education teachers and others working with children experiencing difficulties in learning to talk. Procedures are described that can be used to assess a child' s current skills and plan activities to increase communicative competence.

The programme described is based on a developmental sequence that moves the early skills of joint attention, turn-taking and appropriate play to the more complex skills of asking and answering questions. Other issues discussed include sound development and intelligibility, the use of augmentative and alternative communication as stepping stones to speech, working with children and with families.

The second edition has an expanded focus on the place of communicative intentions in early language development.Content:
Chapter 1 Explanations for Language Development in Children (pages 3–13):
Chapter 2 Acquiring Language: The Developmental Sequence (pages 14–23):
Chapter 3 Contexts for Learning: Routine Events and Play (pages 24–34):
Chapter 4 Talking with Children (pages 35–46):
Chapter 5 Organizing a Language Programme (pages 49–61):
Chapter 6 Preliminary Skills: Programme Level 1 (pages 62–73):
Chapter 7 Preverbal Skills: Programme Level 2 (pages 74–80):
Chapter 8 First Words: Programme Level 3 (pages 53–73):
Chapter 9 Early Sentences and Extending Meaning: Programme Levels 4 and 5 (pages 98–113):
Chapter 10 Communicative Intentions (pages 114–127):
Chapter 11 Phonological Development and Intelligibility (pages 131–142): Christine A. Hardman
Chapter 12 Augmentative and Alternative Forms of Communication as Stepping Stones to Speech (pages 143–156):
Chapter 13 Working with Children Whose Home Language is Other Than English (pages 157–162):
Chapter 14 Working with Children in Groups (pages 163–172):
Chapter 15 Working with Families (pages 173–178):