Learning Language and Loving It™ Certification Workshop for Speech-Language Pathologists and Early Childhood Education Consultants/Trainers

If you’re a speech-language pathologist with no previous Hanen training*, or an early childhood education consultant/trainer who works in early childhood settings, the Learning Language and Loving It™ Certification Workshop can provide you with an effective framework for empowering educators to create the kinds of enriched language-learning environments that help children learn best.

You’ll discover how to help educators promote the social, language, and literacy development of young children (birth to five) using simple responsive interaction strategies that help all children learn, whether they’re typically developing, have or are at risk for language delays, or are second-language learners.

Based on best practice in the field of adult education, Learning Language and Loving It provides you with a teaching methodology that accommodates all learning styles and ensures that educators are actively engaged in the learning, maximizing their ability to both understand and effectively apply their learning during everyday routines and activities with children.

* If you are an SLP who has attended the It Takes Two to Talk Certification workshop, you may opt to attend the Learning Lanaguage and Loving It Advanced Workshop instead. While the Advanced workshop content is nearly identical to the Certification workshop content, the Adavnced workshop does not require you to complete a pre-workshop assignment.

Why Take the Learning Language and Loving It™ Certification Workshop?

►The ability to teach an evidence-based program to early childhood educators

The Learning Language and Loving It workshop certifies you to offer the evidence-based Learning Language and Loving It Program to early childhood educators and preschool teachers.

This program equips educators to facilitate the language and emergent literacy development of young children (birth to 5 yrs) during everyday routines and activities, and shows them how to become more sensitive to the individual needs and abilities of children, and to respond in ways that will be most helpful to each child.

During the program, educators learn how to implement three kinds of responsive interaction strategies that are known to promote children’s social, language and emergent literacy development:

Child-oriented strategies – These strategies encourage children to initiate and engage in conversational interactions so that educators can respond in ways that encourage the child’s continued engagement in the interaction.
Interaction-promoting strategies – These strategies encourage extended individual and group conversations between adults and children.
Language-modelling strategies – These strategies expand the child’s oral language skills and facilitate the development of decontextualized language.

Educators learn how to:

Promote every child’s language development using natural everyday activities, routines and play
Become attuned to individual children’s communication styles in order to engage every child in frequent, positive interactions
Become responsive to individual children and follow their lead
Adjust the way they talk to help children learn language and, in time, develop decontextualized language
Promote positive peer interaction, especially for socially isolated children
Facilitate language-learning in pretend play, including increasing children’s ability to engage in pretend play
Foster emergent literacy skills by making print “talk” in the classroom

Grounded in the most current research in the field of early childhood education, the Learning Language and Loving It Program has been field-tested and rigorously examined using randomized controlled trials. Its efficacy has been supported in a series of studies showing positive changes for both educators and children.

View a detailed research summary supporting the Learning Language and Loving It Program.

Find out more about how the Learning Language and Loving It Program helps educators.

►Assurance that all children in the classroom will benefit

Promoting the Learning Language and Loving It approach in early childhood settings ensures that every child receives the help and encouragement he needs. That’s because Learning Language and Loving It has a three-pronged, comprehensive approach aimed at:

Prevention of Language Delays for children at risk and second-language learners
Early Language Intervention for children with language delays
Language Enrichment for typically developing children

►The ability to effect lasting systemic change

Among ECEs who have taken Learning Language and Loving It, studies have revealed a significantly high rate of carryover, maintenance and generalization of the strategies they learn. This is because the program is based on the principles of adult learning, recognizing that adults learn best when adequate demonstrations, discussions and opportunities to practice are afforded to them.

Each program participant is videotaped practicing the strategies in the classroom, and the Learning Language and Loving It trainer then reviews the tape with the educator so she understands what she’s doing right and what she needs to improve. This feedback process is central to the success of the Learning and Language and Loving It Program because it helps educators internalize the strategies and continue to effect positive change in their classrooms long after the program is over.

►Tools to apply The Learning Language and Loving It™ approach flexibly in your day-to-day work

Even if you are unable to lead a Learning Language and Loving It Program, you can use the helpful framework you gain for working effectively with educators in the following ways:

Individual consultations with educators using the Learning Language and Loving It guidebook and/or Program Slides DVD with Embedded Videos
Offering Teacher Talk™ — a flexible series of three one-day trainings that cover the key principles and strategies of the Learning Language and Loving It Program. Click here to find out more about offering Teacher Talk to educators.

►Resources to use in your Learning Language and Loving It™ Programs, as well as in your day-to-day work with educators

At the Learning Language and Loving It workshop, you’ll receive all the materials required to offer the Learning Language and Loving It program for early childhood educators, and to work effectively with them on an individual basis. These resources include:

1. The Learning Language and Loving It™ Making Hanen Happen Leaders Guide

A session-by-session guide which outlines how to offer the entire program and includes all program handouts and checklists.

2. The Learning Language and Loving It™ Program Slides DVD with embedded video clips and the DVD User’s guide

Contains slides and embedded video examples for use in each session of a Learning Language and Loving It Program or during individual consultations.

3. The Learning Language and Loving It™ Guidebook

An easy-to-read guide to help educators effectively build the social, language and early literacy skills of preschool children.

4. Teacher Interaction and Language Rating Scale

A useful video observation rating tool to evaluate educators' use of the Learning Language and Loving It strategies before and after the program.
5. Introduction to Hanen DVD

A moving introduction to hanen Programs and the hanen approach.

Learn more about how you can use Learning Language and Loving It resources is your day-to-day work, click here.

►Professional development hours for Speech-Language Pathologists

For SLPs, the Learning Language and Loving It Certification Workshop is a great way to earn professional development hours. In the United States, for example, the workshop is ASHA-approved for 1.95 Continuing Education Credits.

►Ongoing support and professional development opportunities

As a Hanen member certified in Learning Language and Loving It, the Program Director and Hanen team will be there to support you and answer any questions you may have about leading the program or using the resources. You’ll receive frequent updates on the latest news and research concerning language and literacy development in early childhood settings and the Learning Language and Loving It Program.

You will also be eligible to attend the ABC and Beyond™ Advanced Workshop, which focuses specifically on emergent literacy development in preschoolers ages 3-5.

If you’re ready to help educators create the inclusive, supportive and stimulating learning environments that young children need to develop strong language and social skills, select one of the links below:

Find a Learning Language and Loving It Certification Workshop near you

View the Learning Language and Loving It Certification Workshop Fact Sheet