Teacher talk: Infant vocal cues affect non-lead infant teachers’ responding

Abstract

Infants’ prelinguistic vocalizations have measurable influence on parents’ responsiveness, yet the efficacy of babbling for eliciting caregiver responses in childcare settings is unexamined. This study used a microanalytic experimental design to investigate the real-time influences of infant babbling on 32 non-lead infant teachers’ responses. Teachers provided a verbal response to prerecorded stimuli manipulated for acoustic quality and vocal directedness. While teachers could perceptually differentiate vocalizations of varying acoustic quality, the maturity of the vocalization did not impact the rates or content of teachers’ responses. Object-directed vocalizations elicited more contingent and sensitive responses than undirected vocalizations. Hours per week spent with infants did not predict responding. Understanding the effects of infants’ behaviors on non-lead infant teachers can guide professional development programs to improve language learning opportunities in childcare settings.