Just Being in the Same Classroom Is Not Enough: How to Promote

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Just Being in the Same Classroom Is Not Enough:

How to Promote Peer Interactions That Benefit

Children’s Language Skills

By Lauren Lowry

Hanen Certified SLP and Clinical Staff Writer

When a child is not developing language as expected, many parents are encouraged to enroll

their child in an early childhood setting. The reason given is that their child will benefit from the

language they hear in the classroom, both from the teachers and from the other children.

But in order to learn from their peers, children with delayed language skills need to interact

regularly with children with stronger language skills. Researchers wanted to see if this was

happening in inclusive preschool classrooms, which include both children with typical skills and

children with delayed development. They looked at whether children with delayed language

skills were interacting with peers with strong language abilities, or whether they were playing

mostly with children with language skills similar to their own.

Who are children interacting with at preschool?

To answer this question, researchers from Ohio State University and Lehigh University studied

children’s “peer language resources” [1]. A child’s peer language resources is the amount of

language they are exposed to through their interactions with their regular playmates.

The study included 448 children in 58 inclusive preschool classrooms, and 178 of the children

had identified disabilities (including speech-language impairments, autism, developmental delay,

and other diagnoses).

The researchers:

• measured all of the children’s language skills

• collected information about who each child played with regularly

• used this information to calculate each child’s peer language resources

• looked at how much these resources influenced each child’s language growth during the

school year (between October and March)

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Here’s what they discovered:

• There was a lot of variety in children’s peer language resources, even within the same

classroom.

• Children with stronger language skills were interacting with peers with stronger

language skills (they had more peer language resources).

• Children with weaker langauge skills and children with disabilities were interacting with

peers with weaker language skills (they had fewer peer language resources).

• Peer language resources had a bigger effect on the language growth of children with

disabilities than it did for other children.

Who children interact with has an impact on their language input

Children with stronger language skills had more peer language resources because they were

spending more time with children with strong language skills. Children with weaker language

skills had fewer peer language resources because they were spending their time with children

with language skills similar to their own. This means that even though some of the children in a

classroom have strong language skills, children with delayed language skills may not benefit

from their input if they are not interacting with them regularly. Interestingly, even though

children with disabilities had access to fewer peer language resources, further analysis by the

researchers showed that language input from peers made a bigger difference in their language

growth over the year than it did for other children. This means that children with lower

language abilities may benefit more than children with stronger abilities from having highly

verbal classmates.

How can we support children with delayed language in the

preschool classroom?

This study shows us that we can’t assume that a child with delayed language will benefit from

their more skilled peers just by being in the same classroom. There’s a good chance they will

interact with other children who don’t have strong language skills.

The authors of this study suggest that teachers can promote the language development of

children with disabilities by encouraging interactions with peers who have strong language

skills [1].

This article may not be further copied or reproduced without written permission from The Hanen Centre

There are many ways to encourage interaction between children with different language

abilities. One way is to choose materials and activities that encourage interaction and that all

children can enjoy.

Provide activities that encourage children with different abilities

to interact

For children who need help with language development to benefit from peer language input,

they need to be near each other and playing together. This is possible when activities and

materials are provided that encourage social play and are appropriate for children with varying

language and play abilities. Once children are in the same space using the same materials, there

will be opportunities for interaction and language learning.

Here are some things to think about when selecting classroom activities to promote interaction

between children with different abilities:

1. Encourage face-to-face interactions

Children who are developing their language skills benefit from being able to see others while

they’re interacting (including their peers). Seeing someone’s facial expressions, gestures, and

actions helps a child understand their messages and tune in to what they’re saying. By

positioning children so they are face-to-face, they can benefit from these nonverbal cues. They

can sit across from each other during snack or while sitting at a creative table. Moving water or

sand tables away from the wall enables children to stand on either side, facing each other.

Making sure there is ample space in other activity centres so that children can play facing each

other (instead of beside each other) also encourages face-to-face interactions.

2. Set up an environment that brings children together through shared

interests

Children need to be near each other and engaged in the same activity in order to interact and

learn from each other. We can look for children’s shared interests when thinking about how to

group children together. For example, one child may enjoy pretending with vehicles (like

pretending cars are going to the car wash), while another child may enjoy pushing cars back

and forth along the floor. Even though these children play with cars differently, they share an

interest in cars. Setting up some cars near materials to make a car wash can encourage both

children to play in the same space with similar toys.

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3. Provide a variety of toys and props for all developmental levels

Children with delayed language skills sometimes also have delayed play skills. We can adapt

activities for children with different play abilities by including a variety of toys and props in

activity centres. For example, a child who is new to pretending may need realistic props in

order to pretend. Ensuring there is a mix of both realistic and open-ended props in the dramatic

centre can encourage children with a variety of pretend play and language abilities to have fun

together. If the dramatic centre is set up as a grocery store, it could include some real food

packaging (e.g., empty cereal boxes) and real coins, as well as some open-ended props like

shoeboxes, Tupperware or small blank pieces of paper (to use as paper money).

1. Provide duplicate toys

Having duplicates of toys available makes it more likely children will imitate each other.

Imitating is an important way children learn new things (such as language and play skills). When

they’re doing the same thing and using language while they play, there are opportunities for

children to hear the language that matches their play interests. Think about having duplicates

of toys in the sandbox and water tables (multiples of cups, shovels, etc.), at the creative centre

(multiple pots of playdoh and tools), and duplicates of floor toys (vehicles, dolls, etc.)

2. Encourage interaction through outdoor group activities, physical play, and

large equipment

Certain activities and equipment tend to bring children together and can accommodate

children with a variety of language abilities. Running around outside, sliding down the slide, or

climbing on the playground structures are activities children can do together, regardless of their

language abilities. Similarly, certain types of large indoor equipment can promote interaction

just by encouraging children to be in the same space. Examples include rocking boats, indoor

slides, large playhouses or tents, couches in the book centre, or large vehicles with seats for

several children. These types of activities and equipment usually encourage play with very

simple rules (if any) with limited language demands, which helps children with different

language abilities participate together and interact.

Interested in learning more about how to encourage peer interaction in early childhood

settings? We have a new e-seminar that can help! Boosting Peer Play: How to Support

Interactions in Early Childhood Settings explains the importance of peer interaction for

children’s development, the different levels of social play, and a variety of strategies to support

peer interactions in the classroom.

If you support children in early childhood settings, you might also be interested in our other

resources and workshops geared towards Early Childhood Education Consultants and Trainers.

Many of the ideas above come from Learning Language and Loving It™ - The Hanen Program®

This article may not be further copied or reproduced without written permission from The Hanen Centre

for Early Childhood Educators, which provides early childhood educators with practical

strategies for helping all children in the classroom build language and social skills.

References

1. Chen, J., Justice, L. M., Tambyraja, S. R., & Sawyer, B. (2020). Exploring the mechanism

through which peer effects operate in preschool classrooms to influence language

growth. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 53, 1-10,

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecresq.2020.02.002

Weitzman, E. & Greenberg, J. (2002). Learning Language and Loving It™: A Guide

to Promoting Children’s Social, Language and Literacy Development in Early

Childhood Settings. Toronto: The Hanen Centre.

About The Hanen Centre

The Hanen Centre is a Canadian not-for-profit charitable organization committed to supporting all the

important adults in young children’s lives to build the best possible social, language and literacy skills. This

includes children with or at risk of language delays/disorders, autistic children, and children who may benefit

from social communication support.

Visit www.hanen.org for more information.

The Hanen Centre is a Registered Charitable Organization (#11895 2357 RR0001)