ABSTRACT

Evidence suggests that the quantity of linguistic input experienced by infants in early childhood centres relates to the quality of educator-infant interactions. However, little is known about the linguistic properties of mutually responsive educator-infant interactions. This study uses sequence analyses to identify patterns of educator-infant three-turn conversations, and examine whether these patterns are related to the quantity of educator words (AWC) experienced by infants. We selected 15-minute video segments representing the peak quantity of AWC experienced by 14 infants across a three-hour period. Educator initiations were coded as knowledge- or non-knowledge-based, infant responses and educator follow-ups were coded as evaluative and elaborative. Each conversation was coded as terminate or continue. Four patterns of educator-infant conversations were identified, revealing significant differences in the conversations experienced by infants in the high and low AWC cohorts. Findings inform educators on how best to engage infants in mutually responsive, language-rich and sustained conversations.

摘要

有证据表明，幼儿在幼儿中心经历的语言输入量与教育者与婴儿互动的质量有关。但是，人们对相互反应的教育者-婴儿互动的语言特性了解甚少。这项研究使用序列分析来识别教育者-婴儿三轮对话的模式，并检查这些模式是否与婴儿所经历的教育者单词（AWC）的数量有关。我们选择了15分钟的视频片段，这些片段代表了14个婴儿在三个小时内经历的AWC峰值。教育家灌顶编码为知识或无知识为基础的，婴儿的反应和教育家随访编码为评价和详尽的。每个对话都被编码为终止或继续。确定了四种教育者-婴儿对话模式，揭示了在高和低AWC队列中婴儿所经历的对话中的显着差异。调查结果告知教育工作者如何最好地使婴儿参与相互反应，语言丰富且持续的对话。