Building Toddlers' Language/Literacy Proficiency Through Parental Interventions During the Pandemic

Abstract

This chapter will review research on early language development of toddlers from casual talk (CT) used in the home. Around age two there is the transition to academic talk (AT), which has a significant effect on later academic performance. AT requires embedding academic vocabulary (word level), complex syntax (sentence level), decontextualized topics (discourse level), and analytic and reflective discourse. The process of reading to toddlers embedding written academic language (WAL) can be expanded through encouraging storytelling narratives (STN).