Practitioners as well as language approach and language development scholars need to work together to create an environment in which research-based learning methods can be put into practice with developmentally appropriate content. Inadequate attention has been given to the crucial language skills that underpin children's language and literacy development because of a traditional focus on method of teaching. Critical language skills include early vocabulary knowledge, narrative skills and phonological awareness. Highlights of why these skills are important (with reference to research findings from the fields of language acquisition and developmental psychology) are followed by an illustration of how these skills can be incorporated into preschool English lessons.