This study investigated the impact of an emergent literacy intervention on the language quality and quantity used during shared reading interactions of 14 teenage mothers (M = 19;9, SD = 1;3) and their young children (M = 2;1, SD = 0;8). Mothers participated in a seven-week emergent literacy intervention focused on a range of behaviours they could use to enhance shared reading interactions with their children. A pre-post single group (no control/comparison group) research design was used to evaluate intervention effects on language use. Results demonstrated a significant intervention effect on most aspects of language quality and quantity measured. Number of total words, total utterances and number of different words demonstrated a statistically significant increase for both mothers and children; mothers used more rare-sophisticated words; and children used more different types of word classes. Context of talk for mothers also showed significant growth in areas of description and prediction/explanation. Results provide considerations for designing parent-focused interventions to effectively target both literacy and language development in children from at-risk populations.
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