Conversational Skill Development

This packet provides information on how to develop a child’s conversational competence. It describes the elements of the 4 stages of conversational skills. This description is followed by forms used for tracking the development of conversational competence at each of these 4 stages. Examples are provided throughout to familiarize the family or educator who is less familiar with Brown’s Stages of language development. Finally, this packet includes intervention strategies for improving conversational competence, including providing clarification, role-switching, requesting clarification and prompting. Examples of each of these strategies is provided. There are scenarios then provided to allow teachers/families with ideas for how they can shape the conversational competence of the child.