Teacher language quality in preschool classrooms: Examining associations with DLLs' oral language skills

Abstract

Teachers’ use of language in the classroom (i.e., teacher talk) can have a positive impact on young children's oral language skills. This study examined the relationship between types of teacher talk and Spanish-English preschool dual language learners’ (DLLs) oral language abilities. Classroom observations were conducted in 64 preschool classrooms serving students from low-income backgrounds with a high number of DLLs (N=401) using the Language Interaction Snapshot. Across classrooms, high quality teacher talk occurred infrequently with few instances of observed responsive and decontextualized language interactions. The most commonly observed types of teacher talk in English included giving directions and contextualized language. Results indicated that teachers’ use of responsive language demonstrated the strongest relationship to DLLs’ English language outcomes, despite its low occurrence in classrooms. Our results suggest the need for increased teacher training on the benefits of high-quality language interactions for children's language development, especially for young DLLs. Training should focus on responsive language strategies that preschool teachers can use when teaching DLLs.