Effects of Dialogic Reading Using Picture Books on a Child with Developmental Language Delay

Early language skills play an important role in young children’s academic learning and interpersonal relationships. It is therefore important to identify effective strategies to promote the language development of children,... [ view full abstract ]

Early language skills play an important role in young children’s academic learning and interpersonal relationships. It is therefore important to identify effective strategies to promote the language development of children, including those with special educational needs. This study aimed to examine the effects of dialogic reading using picture books on the language skills of a child with developmental language delay. The dialogic reading program of this study consisted of six sessions. In each session, a new picture book was read with the child using dialogic reading techniques, and anecdotal records were used to capture the child’s reading behaviors. In addition, the target child was pre- and post-tested on five areas, including: (1) receptive vocabulary, (2) expressive vocabulary, (3) mean length of utterance, (4) listening comprehension ability, and (5) storytelling ability. Results showed that the child showed improvement in all five areas from pre-test to post-test. Besides, over the program, the child was observed to become more responsive to the questions being asked, take more initiatives to speak about the book, and speak more fluently. It was noticed that picture book reading had provided a fun context for the child to speak. The illustrations in the picture books, in particular, had facilitated the child to learn new vocabulary and understand the story. The use of dialogic reading techniques had further provoked the child to practice language skills in the zone of proximal development. These findings suggest that kindergarten teachers can use more dialogic reading techniques when reading picture books with children, including those with developmental language delay. More training can be provided to kindergarten teachers on how to engage children to become active participants during picture book reading and adjust the difficulty level of questions to address children’s individual developmental needs. (Keywords: dialogic reading, picture books, language skills, developmental language delay)