ABSTRACT

Reh Fgs: Preschool is a critical period during which children’s development and learning exert a long-lasting impact on their school adjustment and academic outcomes. Although research on monolingual English-speaking children has identified elements of high-quality preschool experiences that can serve as the foundation for teaching all young children, educators recognize that the current knowledge may be insufficient to promote dual language learners’ (DLLs) optimal learning. An area in which more research is needed to better serve DLLs in the preschool setting concerns how teachers use their students’ home language in the classroom. Using multilevel modeling, this study examined the specific ways teachers use students’ home language (Spanish) in their various verbal exchanges in the classroom (i.e., giving directions, requesting language, providing and eliciting contextualized information, and providing and eliciting decontextualized information). These conversations with Latine DLLs, as measured by the Language Interaction Snapshot, uniquely contributed to students’ language and social skills at the end of the Head Start academic year. Results revealed statistically significant relations between teachers’ Spanish talk and DLLs’ social outcomes. Specifically, teachers’ Spanish talk with DLLs and DLLs’ initial English and Spanish skills were positively associated with the latter’s interactive peer play behaviors, whereas DLLs’ initial English skills were negatively associated with their disconnected peer play behaviors. Pre or Policy: Implications for promoting more equitable language learning environments in preschool and for teacher professional development, as well as potential directions for future research investigating DLLs’ school readiness skills, are discussed.

摘要

Reh Fgs: 学前阶段是儿童发展和学习对其学校适应和学业成绩产生长期影响的关键时期。尽管对单语英语儿童的研究已经确定了可以作为教育所有幼儿的基础的高质量学前经历的要素，但教育工作者认识到当前的知识可能不足以促进双语学习者 (DLL) 的最佳学习。需要更多研究以更好地为学前环境中的 DLL 服务的领域涉及教师如何在课堂上使用学生的母语。本研究使用多层次建模，考察了教师在课堂上各种口头交流（即指示、请求语言、提供和引出上下文信息，以及提供和引出非上下文信息）。这些与拉丁 DLL 的对话，由语言互动快照，在启蒙学年结束时对学生的语言和社交技能做出了独特的贡献。结果显示，教师的西班牙语谈话与 DLL 的社会成果之间存在统计学上的显着关系。具体而言，教师与 DLL 的西班牙语交谈以及 DLL 的初始英语和西班牙语技能与后者的互动同伴游戏行为正相关，而 DLL 的初始英语技能与其不连贯的同伴游戏行为负相关。预科或政策：讨论了在学前教育和教师专业发展中促进更公平的语言学习环境的意义，以及未来研究 DLL 的入学准备技能的潜在方向。