Relationships Between Inferential Reading Language Strategies and Young Children’s Comprehension and Expressive Language Competencies

The relationships between different types of adult-support inferential book reading strategies and young children’s language and literacy competence were examined in 18 studies that included 1134 study participants. van Kleeck’s (2006) descriptions of two levels of inferencing and different types of inferential strategies at each level were used to code and analyze the patterns of correlations between the book reading strategies and the child outcomes. Results showed that parents’ and teachers’ use of different types of inferencing strategies were related to variations in the child outcomes, and that the effects of inferencing were conditioned on the children’s ages. Implications for practice are described.