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Background: Continued professional development (CPD) is required for updated skills and knowledge. This study evaluates the efficacy of a CPD programme for mainstream school teachers. Aims: In an 11‐week intervention programme, speech–language therapists (SLTs) presented the participating teachers with whole‐class teaching techniques aimed at creating a language and communication‐supporting classroom environment. The effects of the intervention on the language development of the students in the teachers' classes were assessed. Methods & Procedures: A total of 211 first‐ and second‐year students (Mage = 7;6, range = 6;5–8;9) underwent standardized language assessments of receptive and expressive language abilities before and after their teachers' participation in the CPD. The students were divided into intervention and delayed intervention groups to enable randomized intervention allocation. Linear mixed modelling was used to estimate the individual and interaction effects of group, time and demographic factors. Outcomes & Results: Significant effects of time, group and school, respectively, but no interaction between time and group indicates that while all students advanced between assessments, the progress was not attributable to the teachers' participation in the CPD. Conclusions & Implications: Results are discussed in light of those of recent studies of universal services to support optimal language development. WHAT THIS PAPER ADDS: What is already known on this subject: Although inconclusive, previous research indicates that intervention delivered to teachers by SLTs has the potential to improve the language abilities of the students in the teachers' classrooms. What this paper adds to existing knowledge: This study explored the language development of first‐ and second‐year mainstream school students whose teachers took part in a CPD programme aimed at establishing language and communication‐supporting teaching techniques. Results indicate that the development of the students' language abilities could not be attributed to the teachers' participation in the CPD. What are the potential or actual implications of the work?: SLTs are often asked to guide teachers and teaching staff rather than themselves conduct individual assessments and interventions. The results of this trial can be used to inform the discussion on how to prioritize between tasks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Very young children from lower socioeconomic status (SES) backgrounds often show poorer language development. Whilst there have been attempts to provide early intervention programmes, these sometimes miss the most disadvantaged groups. Aims: This report presents preliminary feasibility and effectiveness data for a novel language intervention designed for parents of toddlers in the United Kingdom. Methods and Procedures: In total, 43 UK families of 2–4‐year‐olds were recruited to the study, half of whom completed an 8‐week course (Tots Talking) focussed on parent interaction, and half of whom acted as wait‐list controls. Results and Outcomes: Results suggest that such programmes are feasible for families with 86% staying in the intervention. In addition, greater changes in underlying communication skills such as joint attention and gesture were evident compared to wait‐list controls. Conclusions and Implications: We conclude that pre‐verbal skills may be more important to measure as initial outcomes than language or vocabulary change in this population. What This Paper Adds: What is already known on the subject: Children from lower socioeconomic status (SES) backgrounds are at higher risk of communication difficulties and there is a need for community intervention programmes for very young children. What this study adds: This study suggests that such programmes can be feasible and effective, but that very early/basic communicative skills (such as joint attention) may be boosted first rather than language or vocabulary. What are the clinical implications of this work?: Children's centres and other community services could feasibly run short parent facing courses emphasising contingent communication in low SES families and other diverse groups. These may be more successful run with younger preschoolers. Joint attention may be a better focus of intervention before expecting vocabulary or language change. Community health professionals may find this information useful in referring and supporting families in need. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Learning which letters correspond to which speech sounds is fundamental for learning to read. Based on previous experimental studies, we developed a serious game aiming to boost letter‐speech sound (L‐SS) correspondences in a motivational game environment. Objectives: The goal of this study was to determine the efficacy of this game in training L‐SS correspondences in pre‐readers. Additionally, an extended version of the game was developed given the importance of handwriting in audio‐visual integration. We established whether including a motoric component in the game boosted the letter‐speech sound training on top of the effect of the game without the motoric component. Methods: One‐hundred forty‐five kindergartners were randomly allocated to play either the standard audio‐visual version of the game, the motoric version or a control math game. All children were pre‐ and post‐tested on L‐SS knowledge and reading accuracy. Results and conclusions: We found that playing the game enhanced pre‐readers' L‐SS knowledge, but not reading accuracy, after a short, intensive intervention period of 3 weeks. However, children who played the motoric version of the game did not differ significantly from either the standard or the control condition. Implications: This game was efficient in training L‐SS correspondences in pre‐readers. These results suggest that this game might be useful as a preventive evidence‐based intervention for at‐risk children in kindergarten who might benefit from a head start before learning how to read. Future studies are needed to examine whether a longer intervention period results in L‐SS knowledge being translated into reading skills. Lay Description: What is already known about this topic: Automatised and fluent reading requires much exposure and practice, but intensive teacher support for all at‐risk readers is economically and practically unfeasibleHandwriting movement likely to enhance coupling of auditory and visual informationOne way to provide high exposure is with game‐based interventionsLack of studies examining the efficacy of these interventions What this paper adds: Serious game enhances letter‐speech sound knowledge in pre‐readers after 3 weeks of intensive interventionThis effect did not transfer to reading performanceNo additional effect of the handwriting movement, possibly due to the short intervention periodIn‐game measures slightly mediated intervention progress Implications for practice and/or policy: Growing evidence of game‐based interventions as promising tools to support reading developmentGame can possibly serve as evidence‐based intervention for at‐risk children in kindergarten who might benefit from a head start before learning how to read [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]