Early Childhood Educators’ Use of Language-Support Practices with 4-Year-Old Children in Child Care Centers

Abstract

The importance of encouraging language skills in early childhood has been well documented. Educators who are responsible for children in daycare services have many opportunities to use rich and stimulating educational practices that support language acquisition. The purpose of this study was to assess the language-support practices used by 22 educators in ECE centers with 174 children (87 girls and 87 boys) aged 55.7 months on average (SD = 4.2). The Teacher Interaction and Language Rating Scale developed by Girolametto et al. (Teacher interaction and language rating scale, Hanen Centre, Toronto, 2000) was translated and adapted for use in French. Analyses reveal the heterogeneity of language support provided to 4-yearold children attending early childhood education centers in Québec (Canada). Results are discussed in relation to the importance of the educational setting and specific training on language skill development provided to educators around promoting language skills in children, a fundamental prerequisite for educational success.

When Do Caregivers Talk? The Influences of Activity and Time of Day on Caregiver Speech and Child Vocalizations in Two Childcare Environments

“…Girolametto and colleagues [17] examined the effect of two activities (book reading and play dough play) in a childcare setting and found systematic differences in measures of directive language input, with book reading associated with a more directive style that inhibited the child's own productions. In a more limited study, Bouchard and colleagues [18] examined a formal characterization of Language-Support Practices by Early Childhood Educators in a group of daycares with four-year-old children in Montreal, Canada, during snacktime. Few such practices were found during this activity, though comparisons were not made with other activities.…”

Responsive communication coaching for early childhood practitioners in underserved South African contexts: Clinical perspectives

“…Responsive communication strategies were selected from LLLI (Weitzman & Greenberg, 2002) based on the needs identified by the checklist and classroom observations. This programme was selected as it is most widely used in literature (Bouchard et al, 2010; Cabell et al, 2011; Eadie, Tayler, & Stark, 2017; Girolametto et al, 2006; Glover et al, 2015). LLLI does not require specific classroom materials and can be easily incorporated into any existing preschool curriculum (Cabell et al, 2011).…”

What digital technology do early childhood educators use and what digital resources do they seek?

“…Previous research has identified a need for more professional knowledge and training around speech and language to support EC educators’ pedagogical practices around promoting children’s early language development (Bouchard et al, 2010; Degotardi, Torr & Nguyen, 2016; Girolametto & Weitzman, 2002). In speech-language pathology, apps are becoming widely used in clinical practice (Dunham, 2011) to enhance or supplement traditional speech-language therapies (Furlong, Morris, Erickson & Serry, 2016).…”