There is a pressing need for new teachers to understand the wider context of language development and to know how best to support children in learning to talk. This accessible text introduces you to the numerous contexts of language development. It helps you understand the many ways in which children acquire language skills. Importantly, it provides a breadth of learning about language not offered by other texts exploring typical language development, atypical language development and learning more than one language. The book also explores the current literature and research on language development for primary aged children, supporting trainee teachers with their academic study.