Toddlers’ social skills and expressive vocabulary

Social skills are critical for language acquisition. In addition to other related factors, this study examined how social skills relate to language development. Data for 100 children (20 with language difficulties) were collected at age three; parents completed the ECDI-III and teachers completed the Social Skills Questionnaire (86 children). At age four, 76 parents repeated the ECDI-III. Language difficulties, maternal education, and social skills had significant concurrent effects on vocabulary. Maternal education and social skills were able to predict changes in vocabulary one year later. Emotion regulation and interaction skills supported vocabulary more than behaviour regulation. Relationship skills at age three predicted vocabulary at age four.