On 15 March 2004, the Trust held a conference exploring the relationship between television and early language development.

The conference also marked the launch of a research review, commissioned by the Trust, of published research evidence on the impact of television viewing on children's early language development.

You can read the executive summary or download the document in full from below.

Television and language development in the early years: a review of the literature

Television and language development in the early years: a review of the literature
Dr Robin Close, March 2004

Executive summary

This literature review investigates the relationship between television and language development in children from birth to age five.

The aim of the review is to summarise international research pertaining to television and early language and identify the effects of high exposure (quantity of viewing) to television. It also considers caregiver roles in realising potential benefits or mitigating negative effects of television viewing. The research literature was analysed in the four headings listed below with their main findings.

The relationship between television and language development in the early years

• A child's age and linguistic maturity, the suitability of the content for his or her age group, the quality of the content viewed, the amount of television viewed, and the involvement of parents during viewing all inform the likelihood of language learning from television.
• Given the right conditions, children between the ages of two and five may experience benefits from good-quality educational television. For this group of children there is evidence that attention and comprehension, receptive vocabulary, some expressive language, letter-sound knowledge, and knowledge of narrative and storytelling all benefit from high-quality and age-appropriate educational programming. The literature has not, however, established whether children develop grammar, phonological awareness, and knowledge of literacy from viewing such programming. Although there is evidence that children's entertainment television provides opportunities for verbal interaction and talk, there is also evidence that children who are heavy television viewers have lower expressive language scores. Children's programmes can enhance expressive language by encouraging talk, but more evidence is required to demonstrate long-term effects. And, although there is a correlation between low expressive language scores and television viewing, specific cause and effect relationships have not been identified.
• For children under the age of two, the literature is far less certain about the language benefits of the current crop of children's television. There is some evidence that children at 18 months will be attentive to the visual stimuli of such programmes and respond verbally to them, particularly if the content is of high quality. Other evidence suggests that children under 22 months acquire information, or learn first words, less effectively from television than from interactions with adults. This research questions the extent that children under two understand television content as opposed to being entertained by it. Evidence is strongest that by 24 months of age, children comprehend content and may extend their language by viewing television. In all cases, the individual characteristics of the child, such as age and linguistic maturity, will determine how a child will respond to television and what he/she will acquire from it. More research is required on this age group.
• Viewing by children of programming aimed at a general or adult audience is correlated with poor language development in pre-schoolers. Evidence suggests that children who are frequently exposed to such programmes tend to have a lower vocabulary, poorer expressive language and to engage in less TV-talk (i.e. talking about television) with adults. This is attributable to both the quality of the content on offer and the quantity of exposure to television more generally.

The characteristics of television programmes that stimulate or hinder language development in their target audience

• The optimal television viewing experience for language development is one that includes exposure to age-appropriate content, to new and familiar words, and which offers possibilities for interaction and adult co-viewing and teaching.
• Factors associated with a positive viewing experience include the following: minimal visual or auditory stimuli for programmes targeting infants, a balance between new and familiar words, interesting material for adults to encourage co-viewing, use of some sophisticated language, formats that offer possibilities for interaction and participation through songs and questions, and the age-appropriateness of the programmes.
• Conversely, the factors associated with a negative viewing experience include excessive visual and auditory stimuli (for under-twos), complex narratives, the presence of older siblings during viewing, language-poor content and extensive co-viewing with adults of adult programming.
• Co-viewing with adults is not necessary for vocabulary development when children are viewing high-quality and age-appropriate programming and confronted with familiar words and their meanings. Some evidence suggests, however, that co-viewing aids oral ability and comprehension of unfamiliar words and meanings.
• Where televisions are located in a child's bedroom, this is associated with reduced opportunities for co-viewing with parents and also with increased viewing of general or adult programming. The newness of the trend means that research has yet to fully explore the effects of children's viewing and behaviour patterns while watching television in their bedrooms.
• Repetition of content by video has been shown to support learning from educational programming. The optimal quantity of video viewing, however, is yet to be identified.

The quantity of television that enhances or detracts from language development

• A variety of studies have demonstrated that children who are heavy viewers of television are more likely to be linguistically underdeveloped, although a direct causal relationship has not been established.
• Children's consumption of television increases as a result of children's age, the availability of the television in the home, particular family circumstances (low education of the parents, young parents, low socio-economic status of the family, low IQ and male gender of the child), children's time spent in the home, carers' positive views on the role of television, and high frequency of parent-child co-viewing of general audience programmes.
• Reduced exposure to educational television is associated with low time spent at home, presence of older siblings, low socio-economic status, children's poor language ability and male gender.
• The correlation between high quantity of general television viewing and poor language ability may be attributable to the quality of content viewed and/or the time spent viewing. More research is required to understand what happens in situations where children are not attending to television when it is on for extended periods in a day. Similarly, more research is required on the effects of decreased interactions with adults who are heavy viewers of television.
• More research is required on the optimal quantity of both educational and general audience television.

The kinds of activities in the home that maximise benefits and minimise the adverse effects of television

• The literature has not identified specific activities in the home that work best to maximise benefits and minimise the adverse effects of television, although some conclusions can be drawn on ways to ensure an optimal viewing experience and to regulate the quantity of viewing.
• Carers should select high-quality, age-appropriate educational programming in television and video formats; programmes that offer opportunities for verbal responses and a balance between familiar and new content. They should select children's programmes that can be enjoyed by both adult and child, and programmes with minimal stimuli, such as a single adult speaker, for children under two.
• Carers should ensure that younger siblings are not prevented by their older siblings from viewing age-appropriate educational programming.
• Carers should interact with children while viewing, explain and model familiar words, repeat content by way of videos, and locate the television in a room where co-viewing is likely to occur.
• Carers should limit exposure for the under-twos in favour of other one-to-one language enhancing activities, encourage viewing of high-quality, age-appropriate educational television for children aged two to five, choose educational programming over children's entertainment programmes, limit adult and family viewing of general audience television, and make television less readily available in the home.

Conclusion

• Although there are many promising findings from the studies conducted on children over two, more needs to be learned about the relationship between television viewing and language development for the under-twos.
• The research has yet to identify either the effects or implications of a medium that does not modify its output in response to child verbalisations on either receptive or expressive language compared to conversational settings.
• More research is required on the optimal quantity of both educational and general audience viewing for children, and the effects of sustained exposure to background television. Specific effects and causal relationships, such as whether heavy television viewing actually harms language development, require further study. Comparative analysis of programme content to identify the markers of high-quality programming should also be undertaken.
• Television, although beneficial under certain conditions, should be seen as one of many activities that offer opportunities for language learning. Television can promote talk, but this talk needs to be harnessed by an adult if the learning experience is to extend beyond the airing of a programme.
• At the same time, until optimal quantity is known, television viewing should be closely monitored to keep it to a minimum, especially for the under-twos. Given the uncertainty within the literature, the cautious guidance of the American Academy of Pediatrics, which advises strictly limiting the exposure of under-twos to television, seems prudent.