Language and Literacy Development in Preschool Children

Long before a child begins to speak, he's already communicating with the world around him. From a very young age, a baby knows that a cry will draw a parent’s attention and that holding out his arms means “pick me up".

And long before a child learns to read and write, he has already embarked on the path to literacy. Playing with a book, pointing to a sign or scribbling on a piece of paper – all of these are signs of emergent literacy.


What the Research Says

Research shows that when adults create rich language and literacy environments and respond to a child’s communication in specific ways, they can boost that child’s emergent language and literacy development and increase the likelihood of future academic success. And the adults with the greatest potential to help are the most important ones in that child’s life: his parents and caregivers, including child care providers and early childhood educators (ECEs).


How Hanen Helps


Whether a child is developing typically or has a language delay, there is so much that parents and educators can do to promote not only his language and early literacy development, but to encourage him to be an active, confident communicator.

Guided by the most current research in early childhood language and literacy development, The Hanen Centre developed a number of user-friendly resources and hands-on trainings for helping parents, educators and speech-language pathologists maximize young children's learning. By focusing on the power of everyday routines, conversations and play, The Hanen approach makes language and literacy learning a fun and natural part of every child's day.

Browse Hanen’s language and literacy offerings at the links below: