Closing the 30 Million Word Gap

In a story from PBS NewsHour, a Rhode Island organization is drawing attention to the importance of fostering children’s language development, particularly in lower income families.  Research has shown that children of low income families hear significantly fewer words each day than children of higher income families.  In fact by age 4, lower income children have heard about 30 million less words overall and it has become known as the 30 Million Word Gap. Providence Speaks, based in Providence, RI, is working to bridge this gap, one family at a time.

Providence Speaks has been conducting an experiment with 55 low income families in which they record the number of words spoken to the child each day with a digital word counter.  The goal of the project is to use the analysis of the word count to coach parents on how to be more verbally engaging with their children.  Early intervention through Providence Speaks hopes to improve verbal interaction at home before it causes serious problems for language development and academic performance.  Check out the video from PBS NewsHour for the full report.

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