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Cited by 226Language Development and DisordersChild and Animal Learning DevelopmentHearing Impairment and Communication

Parent coaching increases conversational turns and advances infant language development

Open access
Ferjan Ramírez, Naja, Lytle, Sarah Roseberry, Kuhl, Patricia K.·2020·Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
DOI 10.1073/pnas.1921653117PMC PMC7035517
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Abstract

Parental language input is one of the best predictors of children’s language achievement. Parentese, a near-universal speaking style distinguished by higher pitch, slower tempo, and exaggerated intonation, has been documented in speech directed toward young children in many countries. Previous research shows that the use of parentese and parent–child turn-taking are both associated with advances in children’s language learning. We conducted a randomized controlled trial to determine whether a parent coaching intervention delivered when the infants are 6, 10, and 14 mo of age can enhance parental language input and whether this, in turn, changes the trajectory of child language development between 6 and 18 mo of age. Families of typically developing 6-mo-old infants ( n = 71) were randomly assigned to intervention and control groups. Naturalistic first-person audio recordings of the infants’ home language environment and vocalizations were recorded when the infants were 6, 10, 14, and 18 mo of age. After the 6-, 10-, and 14-mo recordings, intervention, but not control parents attended individual coaching appointments to receive linguistic feedback, listen to language input in their own recordings, and discuss age-appropriate activities that promote language growth. Intervention significantly enhanced parental use of parentese and parent–child turn-taking between 6 and 18 mo. Increases in both variables were significantly correlated with children’s language growth during the same period, and children’s language outcomes at 18 mo. Using parentese, a socially and linguistically enhanced speaking style, improves children’s social language turn-taking and language skills. Research-based interventions targeting social aspects of parent–child interactions can enhance language outcomes.

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Crossref · 10.1073/pnas.1921653117

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  • Coaching parents to produce high-quality IDS during the sensitive period (6-12 months) produces a significant intervention-related benefit in language development up to 30 months.

    “Further, by coaching parents to produce high-quality IDS during the sensitive period (6–12 months), researchers have demonstrated a significant intervention-related benefit in language development, when measured through both examining daylong audio recordings in infants’ home environments and parental surveys up to 30 months [29,30].”

    From Tracking Acquisition of Language in Kids (TALK) study protocol: A longitudinal investigation of infants at high vs. low risk for atypical speech and language development (2026) · cites this paper as [29]

    The Present Study and Discussion report that coaching at 6, 10, and 14 months increased parentese and conversational turns, with improved child language outcomes measured through home recordings and a parent survey at 18 months. They do not report outcomes measured up to 30 months; 30 months is the upper age for which the survey instrument is designed. (LLM, conf=0.90)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

  • Infants who are not exposed to highly intonated IDS engage less in sustained social interactions.

    “The importance of IDS has been demonstrated empirically in studies showing that infants who are not exposed to highly intonated IDS engage less in sustained social interactions; and that infants who experience less IDS input show poorer language development by the second year of life [8–10].”

    From Effect of maternal depression on infant-directed speech to prelinguistic infants: Implications for language development (2020) · cites this paper as [10]

    The Results (Trajectory of Change in Parent Language, Parent–Child Turn-Taking, and Child Vocalizations; page unavailable) report greater increases in both parentese and conversational turns in coached families than in controls. But the study did not compare infants exposed to IDS with infants unexposed to it, or measure whether social interactions were sustained, so the claim goes beyond its findings. (LLM, conf=0.85)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

  • Modulated IDS pitch and the timing of vocal responses have recently been shown to enhance early language abilities in intervention studies with non-PND mothers.

    “Notably, these differences were observed in components that have recently been shown to enhance early language abilities in intervention studies with non-PND mothers [8,10], such as modulated IDS pitch and the timing of vocal responses.”

    From Effect of maternal depression on infant-directed speech to prelinguistic infants: Implications for language development (2020) · cites this paper as [10]

    The Discussion (page unavailable) reports that coaching increased parentese and conversational turns, while children produced more words at 18 months. It describes pitch modulation as a feature of parentese, but does not show that pitch modulation or the precise timing of vocal responses independently enhanced language abilities. The passages also do not establish the mothers’ non-PND status. (LLM, conf=0.84)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

  • Infants who experience less IDS input show poorer language development by the second year of life.

    “The importance of IDS has been demonstrated empirically in studies showing that infants who are not exposed to highly intonated IDS engage less in sustained social interactions; and that infants who experience less IDS input show poorer language development by the second year of life [8–10].”

    From Effect of maternal depression on infant-directed speech to prelinguistic infants: Implications for language development (2020) · cites this paper as [10]

  • Exposure to speech and the level of involvement that infants have with early conversations is associated with early language development.

    “This finding is important because exposure to speech, and the level of involvement that infants have with early conversations is associated with early language development [8,10,15,16,18].”

    From Effect of maternal depression on infant-directed speech to prelinguistic infants: Implications for language development (2020) · cites this paper as [10]

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Research works printed but not linked: 7

  1. [12]Bergelson E., Bergmann C., Byers-Heinlein K., Cristia A., Cusack R., Quantifying sources of variability in infancy research using the infant-directed speech preference. PsyArXiv Preprints, 10.31234/osf.io/s98ab (14 April 2017). · DOI
  2. [13]McCarthy D., “ Language development in children” in Manual of Child Psychology, Carmichael L., Ed. (Wiley, 1954), pp. 492– 630.
  3. [14]Newport E. L., Gleitman H., Gleitman L. R., “ Mother, I’d rather do it myself: Some effects and non-effects of maternal speech style” in Talking to Children, Snow C. E., Ferguson C. A., Eds. (Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK, 1977), pp. 109– 149.
  4. [32]Weisleder A., Fernald A., Talking to children matters: Early language experience strengthens processing and builds vocabulary. Psychol. Sci. 24, 2143– 2152 (2013). 24022649 PMC5510534
  5. [54]Bates E., Dale P., Thal D., “ Individual differences and their implications for theories of language development” in Handbook of Child Language, Fletcher P., MacWhinney B., Eds. (Basil Blackwell, 1995), pp. 96– 151.
  6. [63]Baldwin D. A., “ Understanding the link between joint attention and language” in Joint Attention: Its Origins and Role in Development, Moore C., Dunham P. J., Eds. (Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 1995), pp. 131– 158.
  7. [71]Tomasello M., “ The key is social cognition” in Language and Thought, Gentner D., Kuczaj S., Eds. (MIT Press, 2003), pp. 47– 58.

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Authors
Ferjan Ramírez, N., Lytle, S. R., & Kuhl, P. K.
Affiliations
  • Department of Linguistics, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195;
  • University of Washington (US)
Corresponding author
Kuhl, Patricia K.
ORCID
Kuhl, Patricia K.
Venue
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Publisher
National Academy of Sciences
Published
2020-02-03
Volume
117
Issue
7
Pages
3484-3491
ISSN
  • 0027-8424 (ISSN-L)
  • 1091-6490
DOI
10.1073/pnas.1921653117
PMC
PMC7035517
OpenAlex
W3004481867
Cited by
226
References
49
Citations by year
2026: 23 · 2025: 34 · 2024: 44 · 2023: 52 · 2022: 28 · 2021: 31 · 2020: 13
FWCI
46.81
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Funders
Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (P50HD103524)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Developmental and Educational Psychology › Language Development and Disorders
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Developmental and Educational Psychology › Child and Animal Learning Development
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Developmental and Educational Psychology › Hearing Impairment and Communication
Keywords
parent coaching, infant language development, parental language input, home language environment, linguistic feedback, parent-child interaction, early intervention, conversational turns
MeSH terms
Adult, Child Development, Child Language, Female, Humans, Infant, Male, Parent-Child Relations, Speech

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