The barriers to effective communication in a courtroom setting are related to children's developmental and maturational difficulties with vocabulary, linguistic complexity, pragmatics, content, and comprehension. Three approaches to creating an environment in which children's memory and ability to communicate will be maximized include increasing the developmental sensitivity of questions to promote effective communication, enhancing children's answers with memory strategy instruction, and modifying the physical-psychological environment in which the questioning occurs. Future research designed to improve the quality of children's testimony will need to focus on the relationship between environment, emotion, and testimony. 1 note