Addendum to ‘Increasing early childhood educators’ use of communication-facilitating and language-modelling strategies: Brief speech and language therapy training’

The purpose of this addendum is to include within our discussion the findings of Girolametto et al. (2007), a randomized controlled trial of Teacher Talk training, an adapted version of Learning Language and Loving It (LLLI) (Weitzman and Greenberg, 2002). Teacher Talk does not include the coaching and video feedback elements of LLLI. Girolametto et al. (2007) report a statistically significant increase in the modelling of some, but not all, types of abstract language by a group of early years educators (ECEs) following training. The authors report individual variation in responses to training, in that six ECEs increased their use of strategies for modelling abstract language, while two ECEs did not. Overall, this RCT shows that ECE training that does not include coaching or video feedback can have some positive impact on ECEs’ skills at modelling abstract language.

Given the balance of evidence in the area of SLT training for ECEs, we conclude that the implications for clinical practice, theory and research from our article remain broadly similar. While Girolametto et al. (2007) provide some evidence that LLLI-based training without coaching or video feedback can have a positive effect for some ECEs, the balance of quantitative evidence and novel qualitative evidence reported in our article suggests that SLT training providers should include video feedback and coaching in ECE training when possible. We reiterate the need for further research to directly compare different versions of LLLI training to increase our understanding of the relevant contributions of the different elements of LLLI.