An App to Support Language Development in Children

This innovative tool was developed by researchers from the Universities of Bologna, Padua, and L’Aquila to help parents support the linguistic development of children. PAROLA is an app, available online free of charge, offering interactive games, activities, and podcasts to stimulate communication and language skills.

Linguistic challenges for children are on the rise, exacerbated by increasing economic and educational inequality as well as the prolonged social isolation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, underscoring the importance of early language intervention.

“The PAROLA app is designed with three main objectives,” explains Annalisa Guarini, a professor in the Department of Psychology “Renzo Canestrari” at the University of Bologna and one of the project coordinators. “First, it provides information through a podcast series. Second, it helps parents monitor their children’s language development. Finally, it offers shared activities that parents and children can enjoy together in a fun and engaging way. Parents will find downloadable and printable materials, music and rhythms to dance to, and stories to act out and narrate.”

The prevalence of children aged 24 to 36 months classified as “late talkers”—those with very limited vocabularies and difficulties combining words—is estimated to range between 9% and 21%. While some late talkers eventually catch up, others face persistent challenges that can have cascading effects on linguistic, emotional, and educational development.

“Some children between 24 and 36 months may show delays in word production and sentence formation,” confirms Simonetta D’Amico, a professor in the Department of Clinical Sciences Applied to Biotechnology at the University of L’Aquila. In some cases, linguistic skills can be regained in a supportive and linguistically rich environment. Unfortunately, in others, linguistic challenges may persist.

Parents play a crucial role in observing their child’s development and fostering a communicative environment that supports language growth. This realization inspired the creation of PAROLA. The app was developed using a co-design approach, combining insights from national and international literature with input from parents, paediatricians, teachers, and educators.

“We gathered feedback from caregivers through surveys and focus groups,” explains Maja Roch, a professor in the Department of Developmental and Social Psychology at the University of Padua. “This app can only be truly effective if it is embraced by everyone involved in observing and supporting a child’s linguistic development.”

Designed and developed by the cooperative Indici Opponibili in close collaboration with the university teams, PAROLA targets parents of monolingual, bilingual, and multilingual children aged 24 to 36 months. The app features innovative, interactive, and technologically advanced activities to enhance children’s linguistic, motor, and socio-emotional skills, helping parents enrich the home environment and adopt effective strategies to support language development.

This project was funded through a nationally significant grant from the Italian Ministry of Universities and Research (PRIN 2022). It brought together experienced researchers, including Annalisa Guarini, Maja Roch, Simonetta D’Amico, Alessandra Sansavini, Chiara Suttora, Mariagrazia Zuccarini, Irene Leo, and Maria Chiara Pino, as well as young researchers such as Laura Menabò, Caterina Verganti, Raffaele Dicataldo, Claudia Bellani, Marco Giancola, and Marta Sannino. This intergenerational and interdisciplinary collaboration led to the creation of a scientifically grounded app that is both vibrant and innovative.

Currently available on the project’s website, the PAROLA app is being actively promoted in the Bologna metropolitan area through collaboration with the Municipality of Bologna, particularly the Division of Education, Instruction, and New Generations. This effort involves the Coordination, Innovation, and Qualification unit for integrated 0-6 services and parental support. Dissemination among local paediatricians is coordinated by Marina Govoni and Michele Torella.