Oral language skills underpin later literacy achievement and life prospects, and many children struggle with oral language for various reasons. Hence, it is crucial for teachers to provide a learning environment with rich opportunities for all children to practice their oral language. The aim of this exploratory study was to explore a professional development (PD) program designed to coach teachers in using communication-supporting strategies during verbal teacher-child interactions in regular classrooms. In focus were five strategies from the Communication Supporting Classroom Observation Tool. The study used a mixed-method case design with multiple observations across four time points over 10 weeks and a follow-up observation after two months. Outcome measures were collected at pre-and, post-intervention, and at follow-up. The cases were two intervention teachers and one comparison teacher in second grade in Swedish primary schools. The teachers were directly observed and video-recorded during teacher-child structured small group conversations while discussing different texts with two groups of children each. The groups were mixed and comprised both children struggling with oral language as well as more typically developing children. To further understand the verbal interactions, the teachers’ amount of talk in relation to the children was analyzed in terms of the percentage distribution of the total number of words per minute. The overall patterns of strategy use showed that the two intervention teachers applied more varied strategies from the PD program during the intervention period, but this was not maintained at the follow-up. The amount of teacher talk appeared stable over time, with individual differences in the three teachers. We also discuss the teachers’ own insights and our experience in the design of the PD program, which may guide future research and applications of the PD program.

Supporting children’s language development, particularly oral language, is crucial as it constitutes the basis for the further development of literacy skills. This study explored patterns of primary school children’s expressive language productivity over time in relation to a professional development (PD) program designed to further teachers’ use of communication-supporting strategies to promote child talk. Framed by a Tier 2 response to intervention model, teacher-child verbal interactions were observed during structured small-group conversations. The participants were 36 children (M age 8;2  years old), with and without speech, language and communication needs (SLCN) attending three mainstream classes in two Swedish municipalities. Two teachers followed a 10-week PD program, and a third teacher participated for comparison purposes. We  measured the children’s expressive language productivity in relation to the teachers’ strategy use pre-intervention, post-intervention, and at a two-month follow-up. In the results, we found a tendency that when the teachers used the strategies frequently, the children’s expressive language productivity seemed suppressed. Although the results showed a large variation in the children’s expressive language productivity, a tentative conclusion is that the children with SLCN may also be stimulated and willing to participate verbally during this type of small-group conversation. This finding suggests support for an inclusive Tier 2 approach of mixed groups with both children with and without SLCN. Based on our findings, we also suggest stressing in the PD program the need for teachers to balance their strategy use in the interactions with the children to provide ample opportunities for the children to talk and express themselves.