Let’s Play Tennis!

Caroline Erdos, Literacy Expert

Dr. Erdos is a consultant for the Sir Wilfrid Laurier School Board in Quebec and a speech-language pathology advisor for Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology Canada. Prior to this, she was ALDI Coordinator (Advancing Learning in Differentiation & Inclusion) for the 10 English school boards in Quebec, Canada, where she supported resource teachers through various professional development initiatives. Caroline has over 20 years’ experience as a pediatric speech-language pathologist in a tertiary care centre and has worked as a language and literacy consultant and a legal expert in speech-language pathology. Her areas of expertise include bilingualism and multilingualism, reading impairment, oral language impairment, foetal alcohol spectrum disorder, and craniofacial disorders. She has guest lectured at Université de Montréal, McGill University, and the McGill University Health Centre. She has also given workshops at numerous conferences across North America and has written and collaborated on several publications.

It has long been thought that children’s language development is positively correlated with the number of words they hear from others around them. The more words they hear, the better developed their language skills. Since reading to children is a great way for them to hear words, this too is a great way to boost their language skills. More recently, however, closer analysis of the conditions under which children develop language has revealed that there is more to this story.

Studies have found that it is not the number of words that children hear that is most important, but rather the number of conversational turns that take place between the child and the adult. A greater number of exchanges correlates with higher language skills in the area of vocabulary and grammar, as well as increased brain activity. More recently, this type of exchange has been dubbed “serve and return”. Just like in a game of tennis, the best exchanges are when the adult responds to the child’s initiation of conversation (return) and also initiates conversation with the child (serve). You can read more about serve and return here.

In order to make the most out of book reading, you can also serve and return during story time. Engage your child in a conversation about the story. Point things out and ask questions, then respond when he or she does the same.

Tennis anyone?