Matching Up: Examining Teacher Self-Reports of Language Supportive Practices and their Associations with Dual Language Learners’ Observed Behavior

• In Event: Better Together: Delving into Multiple Methodologies to Assess DLL Children and Their Classroom Contexts

Abstract

Exposure to language-rich environments facilitated by engaged adults have been found to be beneficial for young children, including those who speak more than one language, often referred to as dual language learners (DLLs) (August et al., 2005; Helman, 2016; Hirsh-Pasek et al., 2015; McCabe & Rollins, 1994). Learning more about how to create language-rich environments is critical for teachers and more work is needed to understand not only what language is spoken, but also various instructional strategies teachers report using to facilitate communication with their DLL and non-DLL students. This includes more nuanced ways of capturing verbal and nonverbal communication, and how this connects with teacher and children’s behavior. Thus, this study seeks to examine teacher reports of their instructional strategies that support DLL and non-DLL children and their associations with the observed behavior of teachers and children.
Thirty-three preschool classrooms located in 17 program sites belonging to a nonprofit child care chain in the West Coast participated in the study. This chain serves over 4,000 children, with 98% of families eligible for free- or reduced-cost child care. Teachers consisted of mostly Hispanics/Latine (56.05%), followed by Asians (29.42%), Caucasian/White Non-Hispanics/Latine (7.60%), Blacks (6.52%), and multiracial (0.41%). The child sample consisted of 263 preschoolers (M = 4.04; SD = 0.54), 117 (44.5%) of whom are considered DLLs, 49% females, and 64.3% Hispanic/Latine.
Preschoolers were identified as DLLs if their predominant home language indicated in a parent self-report survey upon enrollment into the program was not English; non-DLLs were those children whose predominant home language is English. Understanding teachers’ reports of their instructional strategies that support DLLs were measured by asking teacher to complete a survey that had questions related to teachers’ use of DLLs’ home language, how teachers encouraged conversations among peers and the supported verbal observations. Observations of language use and instructional strategies were completed using the Differential Interactions in Spoken and Unspoken Relationships Scale-English learners (Reyes et al.,n.d.; DISCOURS-E). DISCOURS-E consists of the following sections: (1) adults’ verbal and nonverbal communication with the focal child (i.e., the child who is the focus of attention for a particular coding cycle); (2) adults’ attunement to the focal child’s communicative attempts; and (3) focal child’s behaviors (engagement, overall affect, interactions with others, and sustained conversations with others). Observers were trained how to observe and code for behaviors using practice videos until the entire group reached uniformity in coding behaviors.
Preliminary analysis suggests negative associations between teachers’ report of English use and the observed use of another language with the focal child. In addition, positive associations were found between teachers’ report of supporting conversations between peers and overall frequency of focal child’s interactions with all peers as well as teacher report of encouraging children to make observations with other-language peers and all peer committees. Analysis is in progress to examine associations between teacher report and observation for DLLs and non-DLLs separately.

Authors

• Maria Cristina Limlingan, University of Washington
  Presenting Author

• Chin R Reyes, Yale School of Medicine