A meta-analysis of teacher language practices in early childhood classrooms

Hadley, Elizabeth Burke; Barnes, Erica M.; Wiernik, Brenton M.; Raghavan, Mukhunth

doi:10.1016/j.ecresq.2021.12.002

Cited by 19 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 83 publications

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“…Foundational Vygotskian sociocultural theory posits (Gauvain, 2020) that adult talk introduces children to new ideas and words and provides an important model of syntax and prosody, potentially with systematic scaffolding (Bruner, 1960) that supports children in building new understandings. Several recent projects (Hadley, Barnes, Wiernik et al, 2022;Justice et al, 2018;Rowe & Snow, 2020) have refined the field's understanding by summarizing the literature on adult-child exchanges. Across studies, one distinct element of the learning environment, whether in the home or the classroom, is adult talk that invites and extends child talk, variously termed interactive (Rowe & Snow, 2020), communication-facilitating (Justice et al, 2018), and bridge language (Hadley, Barnes, Wiernik et al, 2022).…”

Section: Teachers' Open-ended and Closed Prompts In Classroomsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Several recent projects (Hadley, Barnes, Wiernik et al, 2022;Justice et al, 2018;Rowe & Snow, 2020) have refined the field's understanding by summarizing the literature on adult-child exchanges. Across studies, one distinct element of the learning environment, whether in the home or the classroom, is adult talk that invites and extends child talk, variously termed interactive (Rowe & Snow, 2020), communication-facilitating (Justice et al, 2018), and bridge language (Hadley, Barnes, Wiernik et al, 2022). Interestingly, Systemic Functional Linguistics theory (Halliday, 1978) highlights that language may be used in unique ways and for distinct purposes in different contexts, and relative to the home, the early childhood classroom may offer a particularly high level of explicit instruction (Hadley, Barnes, Wiernik et al, 2022), making classroom conversations fruitful vehicles for language learning.…”

Section: Teachers' Open-ended and Closed Prompts In Classroomsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Across studies, one distinct element of the learning environment, whether in the home or the classroom, is adult talk that invites and extends child talk, variously termed interactive (Rowe & Snow, 2020), communication-facilitating (Justice et al, 2018), and bridge language (Hadley, Barnes, Wiernik et al, 2022). Interestingly, Systemic Functional Linguistics theory (Halliday, 1978) highlights that language may be used in unique ways and for distinct purposes in different contexts, and relative to the home, the early childhood classroom may offer a particularly high level of explicit instruction (Hadley, Barnes, Wiernik et al, 2022), making classroom conversations fruitful vehicles for language learning. Indeed, building on other recent studies (Ronfard et al, 2018), Justice et al (2018) found teachers' communication-facilitating talk to be the primary predictor of children's vocabulary learning from preschool to kindergarten.…”

Section: Teachers' Open-ended and Closed Prompts In Classroomsmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Teacher–Child Conversations in Preschool

Hindman

Farrow

Wasik

2022

Topics in Language Disorders

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Back-and-forth conversations with adults are critical for developing children's language, and, therefore, an important part of the early childhood classroom learning environment; however, the specific nature of teacher feedback, one component of teacher-child conversations, on child language has not been widely studied. This article examined preschool teacher-child conversations during interactive book reading. We coded and analyzed the frequency and content of teacher talk, including feedback, among 20 teachers (11 who participated in a language and literacy intervention; 9 in business-as-usual instruction). Findings revealed that, particularly when teachers were guided on how to initiate and sustain intentional conversations, more conversations took place and were associated with higher overall classroom quality on a commonly used global assessment (the Classroom Assessment Scoring System); likewise, more teacher feedback occurred in intervention classrooms. The frequency of teacher feedback was uniquely linked to children's vocabulary learning on standardized measures beyond the effects of global classroom quality. Findings support the importance of understanding and supporting teacher feedback as an essential part of classroom conversations.

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Section: Teachers' Open-ended and Closed Prompts In Classroomsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Teachers' Open-ended and Closed Prompts In Classroomsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Teachers' Open-ended and Closed Prompts In Classroomsmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Teacher–Child Conversations in Preschool

Hindman

Farrow

Wasik

2022

Topics in Language Disorders

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“…Using aggregated fidelity scores is typical for intervention studies, but they may mask how specific practices contribute to the overall success of the intervention. Furthermore, given research that suggests certain language practices may be more or less successful depending on the activity in which they are used (Hadley et al, 2022), aggregating across activity settings may obscure practices that are feasible and/or successful in one setting (e.g., one-on-one shared book reading [BR]) but not in another (e.g., group read alouds). Detailed adherence data also may identify practices that teachers consistently choose not to implement.…”

Section: A Fine-grained Approach To Measuring Treatment Adherencementioning

confidence: 99%

Preschool Teachers' Fidelity in Implementing a Vocabulary Intervention

Hadley

Scott

Foster

et al. 2022

Topics in Language Disorders

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This study examined preschool teachers' fidelity in implementing a vocabulary intervention. The purpose of the study is to inform the scaling up of vocabulary interventions, identifying strategies that are both feasible for teachers and effective for vocabulary learning. We analyzed data from a vocabulary intervention in which teachers (n = 10) taught 80 new target words to children (n = 138) during shared book reading (BR) and playful learning experiences (PLEs). Teachers were asked to use core intervention strategies, which included both teacher- and child-focused practices. Results showed that teachers had higher adherence to strategies in BR than in PLEs and for teacher-focused strategies versus child-focused practices. Across settings, teachers' use of core strategies and the use of child-focused practices were significantly related to children's vocabulary outcomes. Results not only suggest the importance of child-focused vocabulary teaching strategies but also indicate the need for additional coaching in this area for teachers.

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“…Empirical evidence has suggested that teachers, who are part of the school microsystem, have a critical influence on DLLs’ language development [ 19 ]. A recent meta-analysis of teachers’ language practices in early childhood classrooms [ 20 ] showed that teachers who used more linguistically complex speech tended to use an increased amount of teacher talk. Additionally, teachers who were more responsive to child talk asked more questions and engaged in more interactive conversations with children than the teachers who were less responsive to child talk.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Teachers’ Language Use in Multilingual Head Start Classrooms: Implications for Dual Language Learners

et al. 2022

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Dual language learners (DLLs) are sensitive to teachers’ language influence in early childhood classrooms. In this mixed methods study incorporating 53 teachers from 28 preschools in Northern California, we investigated the characteristics of teachers’ language use in preschools teaching Chinese–English and Spanish–English DLLs. We further examined the links of teachers’ language use to the DLLs’ expressive vocabulary in English and their heritage language (HL), controlling for home language exposure and other confounding variables. Finally, we conducted interviews with teachers to understand how they make meaning of their daily language practices. The sample of children consisted of 190 Chinese–English (N = 125) and Spanish–English (N = 65) DLLs (mean age = 48.3 months; 48% females). The teacher survey showed that most teachers spoke two or more languages and used a mix of English and their HL during their interactions with DLLs. The results of random-intercept models showed that teachers’ language use did not uniquely predict children’s vocabulary, controlling for family-level factors. However, the teachers with more years of teaching DLLs oversaw children with a higher HL vocabulary. The interview data revealed that teachers employ several strategies to communicate with DLLs and support HL maintenance. Our study reveals the multilingual backgrounds of preschool teachers and the rich language strategies they implement in multilingual classrooms. Future directions concerning the quality and development of teachers’ language use are discussed.

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A meta-analysis of teacher language practices in early childhood classrooms

Cited by 19 publications

References 83 publications

Teacher–Child Conversations in Preschool

Teacher–Child Conversations in Preschool

Preschool Teachers' Fidelity in Implementing a Vocabulary Intervention

Teachers’ Language Use in Multilingual Head Start Classrooms: Implications for Dual Language Learners

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