Does Teacher Talk during Shared Reading Predict Child Oral Language Development in Diverse ECEC Settings?
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| Title: | Does Teacher Talk during Shared Reading Predict Child Oral Language Development in Diverse ECEC Settings? |
|---|---|
| Language: | English |
| Authors: | Tone Sofie Røsholt Ovati (ORCID |
| Source: | First Language. 2026 46(2):234-255. |
| Availability: | SAGE Publications. 2455 Teller Road, Thousand Oaks, CA 91320. Tel: 800-818-7243; Tel: 805-499-9774; Fax: 800-583-2665; e-mail: journals@sagepub.com; Web site: https://sagepub.com |
| Peer Reviewed: | Y |
| Page Count: | 22 |
| Publication Date: | 2026 |
| Document Type: | Journal Articles Reports - Research |
| Education Level: | Early Childhood Education |
| Descriptors: | Classroom Communication, Early Childhood Education, Language Acquisition, Oral Language, Prediction, Reading Aloud to Others, Foreign Countries, Questioning Techniques, Early Childhood Teachers, Diversity, Urban Schools, Preschool Children, Small Group Instruction, Individual Characteristics, Vocabulary Development |
| Geographic Terms: | Norway |
| DOI: | 10.1177/01427237251377897 |
| ISSN: | 0142-7237 1740-2344 |
| Abstract: | This study investigated whether features of teacher talk predicted children's oral language development in diverse early childhood education and care settings, and whether the potential effects differed due to children's age or dual language learner (DLL) status. The study included 203 classrooms with 734 children aged between 25 and 59 months at onset, 56.6% of whom were DLLs. Teacher talk during small-group shared readings was recorded in the fall and coded for question types (advanced and referential wh-questions) and linguistic features (vocabulary quantity, vocabulary diversity, and utterance length), and children's vocabulary and syntactic comprehension were assessed in the fall and spring. Our findings suggest that teachers' advanced wh-questions can significantly promote children's development of syntactic comprehension, regardless of their age and DLL status. Furthermore, teachers' utterance length and diverse vocabulary use predicted children's development of syntactic comprehension, and teacher's diverse vocabulary use predicted children's vocabulary development, with some of these relationships being moderated by children's age and DLL status. These findings emphasize the importance of teachers employing strategies that elicit children's participation and activate thinking from a young age and irrespective of their language background. |
| Abstractor: | As Provided |
| Entry Date: | 2026 |
| Accession Number: | EJ1499857 |
| Database: | ERIC |
| Abstract: | This study investigated whether features of teacher talk predicted children's oral language development in diverse early childhood education and care settings, and whether the potential effects differed due to children's age or dual language learner (DLL) status. The study included 203 classrooms with 734 children aged between 25 and 59 months at onset, 56.6% of whom were DLLs. Teacher talk during small-group shared readings was recorded in the fall and coded for question types (advanced and referential wh-questions) and linguistic features (vocabulary quantity, vocabulary diversity, and utterance length), and children's vocabulary and syntactic comprehension were assessed in the fall and spring. Our findings suggest that teachers' advanced wh-questions can significantly promote children's development of syntactic comprehension, regardless of their age and DLL status. Furthermore, teachers' utterance length and diverse vocabulary use predicted children's development of syntactic comprehension, and teacher's diverse vocabulary use predicted children's vocabulary development, with some of these relationships being moderated by children's age and DLL status. These findings emphasize the importance of teachers employing strategies that elicit children's participation and activate thinking from a young age and irrespective of their language background. |
|---|---|
| ISSN: | 0142-7237 1740-2344 |
| DOI: | 10.1177/01427237251377897 |
