The development of language in early childhood represents a complex and extensive process that requires appropriate professional support in cases of typical development, and especially when deviations are identified. In the United States of America, a structured and interactive technique of shared reading, which is known as dialogic reading (DR), has become established as an evidence-based practice for fostering language skills. Whitehurst et. al (1988) have developed a technique, through which a dialogue during picture-book reading is constructed. CROWD prompts, which stands for completion prompts, repeat prompts, open-ended prompts, wh-prompts and distancing prompts, and PEER sequence, that consists of prompting, evaluating child’s utterance, expanding the utterance and repetition (Zevenbergen and Whitehurst, 2003), gradually guide the child toward active storytelling. Over the past two decades, the use of this technique has expanded to other countries worldwide, where researchers, building on the original guidelines and initial findings, continue to examine characteristics of its application and expand the understanding of its effects.
Within the scope of the study, a literature review based on the comprehensive literature review model (CLR) was conducted. The process of identifying sources was systematically documented and carried out across four bibliographic databases. Using predefined keywords, a total of 657 potential sources were identified. Based on inclusion and exclusion criteria, a two-stage screening and selection process was implemented. The final sample comprised of 36 studies, which were subjected to further analysis in order to address the research questions concerning the effects of DR and the role of its individual components.
The results of the review indicate that 35 of 36 analyzed studies reported positive effects od DR, with 32 confirming its effectiveness in promoting expressive language. Of these, 24 demonstrated the effectiveness of DB in fostering expresssive vocabulary. Preschool children included in the studies were able, following the intervention, to name a greater number of (new) words and achieved higher scores on a variety of assessment measures. Fourteen studies have shown that DR supports receptive language. In addition, DR was also found to effectively support receptive vocabulary, language composits, narrative skills, listening comprehension, grammar, and verbal responsiveness in interaction. Positive trends were also observed in morphology and mathematical language. The analysis identified the (P)EER steps for engaging children as a crucial and effective component of DR. The specific contribution of individual CROWD prompts to the overall effectiveness of DR, however, remains relatively underesearched.
This master thesis includes the translation and adaptation of the story Jan’s Bus Ride, the target vocabulary, the CROWD prompts, and the implementation guidelines based on the materials from project COST Action IS1406: Enhancing Children's Oral Language Skills across Europe and Beyond – a Collaboration Focusing on Interventions for Children with Difficulties Learning Their First Language. The Slovenian translation successfully incorporated all CROWD prompts proposed by Thordadottir et. al. (2017). Particular attention was paid to preserving the focus on vocabulary instruction and the use of modelling as a supportive strategy for children with developmental language disorder. The translation process required semantic and morphological adaptations of both the story text and target vocabulary. The predominance of distancing prompts was maintained, however, the classification of six prompts had to be modified to enable more precise targeting of the vocabulary. The thesis provides Slovenian speech and language therapists with a dialogic book reading resource that can be used in both clinical practice and research to support the language development of preschool children.
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