‘Talking to teacher’ — using Incidental Teaching to encourage child initiations in the nursery classroom: A case study

A nursery class teacher was introduced to and instructed in the use of ‘Incidental Teaching’ procedures designed to encourage child-initiated language interactions. Instruction took the form of oral and written explanation, formal exposition, and informal discussion. In addition, samples of teacher-child language interactions were used as examples of the technique operating in the natural classroom environment. Teacher-child language interactions were sampled using a radio-microphone throughout the study, and the teacher‘s responses to child initiations were recorded, together with all child initiations addressed to the teacher. After the training session was introduced, the teacher‘s use of Incidental Teaching procedures increased markedly. Children initiated more often, and fewer initiations were ignored by the teacher. During a second intervention the strategy was targeted on a group of four children who had previously made few initiations. The frequency of Incidental Teaching sequences involving this group increased considerably. Results are discussed in terms of the suitability of Incidental Teaching as a model for developing functional language in British nursery class settings.