Martine van der Pluijm

26 Chapter 2 ABSTRACT According to several meta-studies, the effects of family literacy interventions on the language development of young children are promising. However, it is still unclear which activities and strategies can successfully be used in supporting lower-educated parents to promote their children’s oral language development and what delivery modes are effective for target populations. For the present review, we analyzed 28 studies directed at the effects of interventions for lower-educated parents on the oral language development of their young children (aged 3 to 8). We introduced two groups of activities: shared reading and other home activities. Within each group, we distinguished three categories of strategies: 1) oral language, 2) responsive communication, and 3) print and code awareness. We analyzed the effectiveness of various modes of delivery for these activities and strategies. Talk and play activities that use oral language, and responsive communication strategies seem to be the most effective for lower-educated parents, especially when they mirror activities that occur in the families’ daily lives, and do not require the use of print. Activities and strategies that include the use of books and emphasize print and code awareness strategies seem less effective for lower-educated parents. The delivery of activities and strategies is more effective for lower-educated parents when parents and children are involved in coaching sessions. We present recommendations for future research to increase our knowledge of effective interventions in supporting lower- educated parents’ engagement in their young children’s language development.