Small Talk

Small Talk: Activities for Language Development in Preschool Learners was written to fill a void for teachers who have little-to-no background in childhood language development, but wish to play an important role in language growth among preschool children. Small Talk: Activities for Language Development in Preschool Learners pushes aside drill exercises and provides caring teachers with language development activities that require easy to acquire materials/ingredients for food preparation, art and crafts, and game experiences that are designed to stimulate receptive and expressive language building experiences. Additionally, after the easy to follow activity steps, there is a listing of Small Talk Suggestions that is comprised of ideas that teachers can use to encourage conversations between themselves and their preschoolers. In this way, before, during, and after the language activity, the adult is able to provide a rich language model for the young language learner within a natural, meaningful social context. In essence, Small Talk: Activities for Language Development in Preschool Learners is intended to engage adults and preschoolers in the process of developing age-appropriate receptive and expressive language skills while having fun.

Charles Reid Taylor is currently an Associate Professor in the Special Education Department of New Jersey City University (NJCU). In addition to teaching graduate and undergraduate courses at NJCU, he provides diagnostic and therapeutic services as a speech-language pathologist in private practice, using the Small Talk activities.