Assessment and promotion of language competence in preschool and primary school age

Language provides appropriation of knowledge, communication of thoughts and feelings and is central to human interaction and culture. Deficits in language therefore at the nexus between the education and health sector and thus affect both children and their relatives. A complete and concise diagnostic is necessary to instigate those measures needed for support and therapy of those affected. Further research was conducted to find out which support measures (both parent and child centered) prove effective. This dissertation therefore firstly studies means of surveying children's language levels between the ages of five and ten reliably and concisely. Study I researches the validity of standardized testing. Based on these results, study II studies the possibility of differentiating between various speech impediments. Differences between monolingually German and multilingual children were also investigated in study II. The results of both studies show that existing ways of standardized testing are feasible for valid and exact speech diagnostics. However, a survey of language competency needs to be run on multilingual children in order to allow for a differentiation between a mean average variation of language levels and distinct variations hinting at problems in language development. Based on the aforementioned studies three different supportive approaches are considered. Study III researched the effectiveness of raising phonological awareness and speech competency with regard to second graders' reading and writing abilities. Results show that the measures taken were effective. However, programs starting their support either pupils' first year in school or during a "bridge year" between pre- and primary school were particularly successful. Study IV investigated the effectiveness of additional support measures for children with speech development problems in schools. The results show a minor positive tendency but do not give conclusive evidence that the measures did indeed significantly improve language abilities. Finally, the effectiveness of two parental interventions with the intention of supporting the child development and raising the parents pedagogical abilities were studied. The results of study V show that both interventions were a positive influence in the realms self-efficacy, parental stress resistance and child development. Success in therapy and the realms of pedagogical competence and childrens' behavioral problems were reached with newly developed standardized and modular interventions. The results of this dissertation are a valuable addition to concisely surveying childrens speech development and the effectiveness of supportive measures. Further research should be conducted with regards to diagnostics and support measures for speech development and competencies of pre- and primary school children. Existing programs should be improved to be able to offer affected children and their relatives reliable support