Summary
All the children made progress in their language abilities. The intervention children made more gains in their language abilities than the control children. These gains were statistically significant for their ability to convey information as well moving their understanding from 2ICW to 3ICW and 3ICW to 4 ICW.
Practitioners, parents/carers and intervention children reported positively about their experiences and perceptions of the EYBIC programme.
The study shows the effectiveness of the EYBIC programme, when delivered by trained early years practitioners, in supporting the speech, language and communication abilities of pre-school children with low language scores.
The study contributes to the limited evidence base about the effectiveness of Information Carrying Word (ICW) approaches. ICW approaches should be considered a valuable tool in supporting children in early years settings.
Why evaluate ICWs?
Principles of ICWs from the Derbyshire Language scheme are used by 98% of UK speech and language therapists (Morgan L, Marshall J, Harding S, Roulstone S. 2013), but until now there has been no robust evidence for the approach. Training early years practitioners helps to ‘reach’ many children with low language ability to facilitate their language development. It is important to know if and how training Early Years Practitioners has an impact on the language development of children.
EYBIC Word Pack
EYBIC Word Pack is a resource written by Henrietta McLachlan and published by us at Elklan. The principles are based on the Information Carrying Words (ICW) approach used in The Derbyshire Language Scheme (Knowles, W. and Masidlover, M. 1982). EYBIC is a functional approach which includes activities that are child-centred and fun.
We asked this research question:
Is the EYBIC Word Pack delivered by Early Years Practitioners effective in facilitating the language development of preschool children with low language scores (LLS)?
How did we answer this question?
A pragmatic randomised controlled trial to compare children who received EYBIC with children who do not receive EYBIC in usual, everyday settings (real life).
Summary of the details:
- Recruited 196 children with low language scores from 38 mainstream early years settings
- Children were randomly assigned to an intervention arm or a delayed control arm
- Early Years Practitioners in each setting completed EYBIC training
- The trained practitioners delivered EYBIC to the intervention children only
Outcome:
- All the children made gains on receptive as well as expressive language measures
- The children in the intervention group made more gains on both measures than the control children
- Analysis showed significant statistical evidence for children moving from 2ICWs to 3ICWs and 3ICWs to 4ICWs
- The difference in their ability to convey information was also statistically significant
- Early Years Practitioners, parents and the children all perceived EYBIC positively. This indicates that EYBIC is an effective, evidence-based intervention for young children
You can download and read the full report:
EYBIC Word Pack is available from the Elklan Shop
Purchasers of EYBIC Word Pack will have full access to EYBIC Digital Resources, including Training Documents, Colour Activity Sheets, Lotto Sheets, Record Sheets and Home Activities.
There are three purchasing options in the shop:
- EYBIC Set: Hard copy manual and pre-cut laminated pictures pack. All other digital features included.
- EYBIC Manual: Hard copy manual. All other digital features included.
- Picture Pack only: Pre-cut laminated pictures, for those who already have the manual and want extra.
Purchase yours today from the Elklan Shop
There is also a video of EYBIC in action in the Elklan Shop
