The Nuffield Early Language Intervention (NELI) is a 20-week programme designed to improve the oral language skills of children aged 4-5 years in need of additional targeted support to develop their language. The programme is usually delivered by a trained teaching assistant (TA), or early years educator, through small group and one-to-one sessions of between 3-6 pupils.
The programme focuses on expressive and receptive vocabulary, listening and narrative skills through discussion of key thematic images and the retelling, creating and summarising of stories. During the latter half of the programme, phonological awareness and letter-sound knowledge activities are also introduced as a foundation for learning to read.