Does Teacher Talk Matter Too? A Meta-Analysis of Partial Correlations Between Teachers’ Language Practices and Children’s Language Development From Preschool to Third Grade

• In Event: What Matters in Language Development

Abstract

This meta-analysis examined the associations between teachers' language practices and children’s language development from preschool to third grade. We screened 14,852 articles. A total of 119 articles from 104 distinct studies were analyzed, comprising 415 effect sizes across 13,572 teachers and 112,533 child participants. The result of the overall analysis revealed a statistically significant relationship between teachers’ language quality and children’s language development (k = 415; rp = .11). Meta-regression analyses suggested that this relationship significantly increases in strength with the increase of children’s age, female students percentage, and when teachers’ language was evaluated via systematic coding or within the context of language instruction. However, no significant relationship has been identified between teachers’ language quantity and children’s language development.

Authors

• Yan Jiang, University of California - San Diego

• Lillie Ko-Wong, University of California - San Diego

• Brittany Kaplan, University of California - San Diego