Investigating the Role of Teacher Sensitive Responsiveness in Children’s English Language Learning

• In Event: Language as a Learning Tool: Teacher Talk in Early Math and Literacy

Abstract

Theoretical Background 
Adult-child responsiveness during the first five years plays a crucial role in shaping children’s language outcomes (Bruner, 1983; Hirsh-Pasek & Burchinal, 2006; Tamis-LeMonda et al., 2001). As more children enroll in center-based preschool programs, high-quality teacher-child communication has shown positive effects on children’s language skills, especially for those from culturally and socioeconomically diverse backgrounds (Harris et al., 2011; Kane et al., 2023; Vatou et al., 2023). Responsive classroom interactions may support children’s comfort in communicating their learning and emotional needs, promoting language development (Halle et al., 2014; Kerch et al., 2020).

Objectives
This study investigates how sensitive teacher responsiveness affects children’s language development, with a focus on potential differences between monolingual English learners and Dual Language Learners (DLLs). While DLLs benefit from strong classroom language supports, it remains unclear whether interactional supports like responsiveness are especially impactful for them (Raikes et al., 2019; Partika et al., 2021). Therefore, the study addresses the question: 

Is ECE teacher responsiveness associated with children’s language outcomes and does this differ for monolingual English and DLL preschoolers?

Data & Methods 
This study draws on secondary data from the Educare National Evaluation, which continuously collects data from participating children, families, and staff to evaluate program quality, implementation, and outcomes across schools in the national Educare Network enrolling children and families from low-income and underrepresented backgrounds.
The analytic sample includes 3,653 monolingual English speakers and 1,422 Spanish-speaking DLLs from 19 cohorts across 21 schools (2009–2019).
Two-level hierarchical linear modeling analyses were conducted separately on monolingual English and DLL children to investigate the predictive relationship between sensitive teacher responsiveness and children’s language skills during their second year in Head Start. Teacher responsiveness was measured using the Classroom Assessment Scoring System (CLASS) Teacher Sensitivity dimension,  while standard PPVT scores were used as measures for children’s receptive vocabulary skills. Multiple imputation methods were used to manage missingness in the dataset. 

Results & Significance   
Results from the hierarchical linear models observed significant differences in the role that teacher responsiveness plays for English language learning among monolingual English speakers and dual language learners. For monolingual English speaking children, it was found that having teachers who exhibit high levels of sensitive responsiveness in the classroom increases students’ vocabulary scores by 0.49 standard points (p < 0.05), while for dual-language learning children, teacher sensitive responsiveness did not significantly predict children’s English language outcomes (p > .05). This raises important questions about cultural alignment in classroom teacher-child interactions, particularly whether existing assessments of classroom interaction quality, such as the CLASS, adequately capture the types of responsive support that dual language learners need to foster their language development. It is also important to consider the potential influence of missing data, as the high proportion of missingness among dual language learners may have affected the robustness of the observed results.

Author

• Michelle Rose Madlansacay, University of Chicago