AERA 2020 Conference

We will be sharing some of our recent work:

Head Start Teachers’ Language Use in Classrooms 

Presenter: Megan Chan, Francis Yang, Qing Zhou & Yuuko Uchikoshi 

Objectives
Rich language exposure is crucial for the development of language and literacy skills especially for Dual Language Learners (DLLs) attending Head Start centers as many do not have access to adequate English exposure at home. However, little is known about teachers’ language backgrounds and classroom language use. The goal of this study is to address these gaps.

Perspectives
DLLs are dependent on preschools to enhance their early literacy experience. Consequently, teachers play a very crucial role in helping DLLs in poverty to succeed. In order to facilitate better teacher professional development, it is critical to understand teachers’ backgrounds and language use in Head Start programs serving large proportions of DLLs.

Methods
A total of 32 teachers from 20 Head Start Centers serving large proportions of DLLs in Northern California were given a self-reported questionnaire (Bilingual Input-Output Survey; Peña et al., 2014), and asked to detail their classroom language use during a typical school day on an hour-by-hour basis. Additionally, teachers provided basic demographics, rated their own language proficiency, and outlined their classroom language use. Teachers also filled out a survey on their beliefs about emotions.

Results
The majority of teachers were female. Out of the 32 teachers, 16 were of Chinese descent, 4 Hmong, 2 Filipino, 2 from India, 1 from the Middle East, 2 were African American, and 5 were White-Hispanics. Teachers were generally highly educated, with an average of 15.83 years of education. All but two were bilingual. Within the bilingual teacher sample, 53% spoke some variant of Chinese and 23% spoke Spanish. The remaining 7 were bilingual but spoke neither Chinese nor Spanish.

The majority of Chinese-speaking teachers were comfortable in both English and Chinese. All Spanish-speaking teachers were confident in their English ability, but 3 out of the 7 teachers rated their Spanish skills as low or average.

When talking to DLL’s, 56% of bilingual teachers reported using both languages, 20% mostly English, and 23% purely English. During large group activities, 30% of bilingual teachers used both languages, 33% mostly English, and 37% only English. In small group activities, 46.67% of teachers used both languages, 16.67% mostly English, and 36.67% only English. During outdoor activities, 40% of teachers used both languages, 33% mostly English, and 27% only English. Teachers appear to use both languages more often when speaking face-to-face with DLLs. However, in group settings the teachers used a more varied combination of English and the children’s home language.


Scientific or scholarly significance of the study
Results suggest use of home language supports should be more integral in Head Start teacher training and professional development (National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, 2017). Encouraging bilingual teachers to use Spanish or Chinese to supplement may be another pathway towards effective development of language and literacy abilities in young DLLs.

Vocabulary Development of Dual Language Learners in Dual Immersion Programs​

Presenters: Emily Mak, Lu Yang, Mayu Lindblad, & Yuuko Uchikoshi

Objectives: The aim of this study is to investigate the role of morphological awareness (MA) and phonological awareness (PA) on first language (L1) and second language (L2) vocabulary concurrently and one year later among native English-speaking dual language learners (DLLs) who were enrolled in dual language immersion (DLI) programs.

Theoretical framework: Existing literature support the robust relationships between PA and vocabulary among monolingual English speakers and Spanish-speaking DLLs. Additionally, there is increasing evidence that MA contributes to vocabulary for monolinguals (Carlise, 2003) and bilingual DLLs (Kieffer & Box, 2013; Luo, Koh, Deacon, & Chen, 2018). Studies have also found an effect of cross-language transfer with Spanish MA predicting English cognate vocabulary with Spanish-speaking DLLs (Ramirez, Chen, & Pasquarella, 2013). Several studies have also found English MA predicting Chinese vocabulary with Chinese-English DLLs (Tong et al., 2018). Past studies with bilinguals have mainly been conducted with English learners. How PA and MA influence L2 vocabulary concurrently and one year later for native-English speaking DLLs who are learning an L2 (e.g., Spanish, Chinese) in DLI programs have not received much attention.

Methods: Forty-four children (29 English-Spanish, 15 English-Cantonese) were recruited from Cantonese or Spanish DLI. A comparison group of 22 general education (GE) monolingual English-speaking children were also recruited from the same school district with similar maternal education and SES. Multiple linear regressions were conducted to examine the role of MA and PA on these students’ L1 and L2 vocabulary knowledge.

Data sources: Vocabulary was measured with the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (English: Dunn & Dunn, 2007; Spanish: Dunn & Dunn, 1986; Cantonese: Lu & Liu, 1998). MA was measured in English (Apel, Diehm, & Apel, 2013), Spanish (Yang et al., 2018), and Cantonese (McBride, Shu, Zhou, Wat & Wagner, 2003). PA was measured with elision subtest of the Comprehensive Test of Phonological Processing (Wagner, Torgesen, Rashotte, & Pearson, 2013) for English, TOPPS for Spanish (Francis et al., 2001) and in Chinese (Li, Shu, McBride-Chang, Liu, & Peng, 2012).

Results: Preliminary results show that Grade 1 English vocabulary and concurrent English MA predict Grade 2 English vocabulary similarly among both bilingual students from DLI and monolingual students from GE. As for L2, after controlling for Grade 1 Spanish vocabulary, Grade 1 Spanish PA significantly predicted Grade 2 Spanish vocabulary among native English-speaking students enrolled in DLI Spanish. Grade 2 Spanish MA and PA predicted concurrent Spanish vocabulary. For native English-speaking students enrolled in DLI Cantonese, Grade 1 Cantonese MA significantly predicted Grade 2 Cantonese vocabulary. Grade 2 Cantonese MA also predicted concurrent Cantonese vocabulary.

Scholarly significance: These findings uncover the similarities and differences in the contribution of PA and MA on L2 Spanish and Cantonese vocabulary for native English speakers. Although L2 MA contributed to L2 Spanish and Cantonese vocabulary, only Spanish PA facilitated L2 Spanish vocabulary in DLI settings. By comparing native English students in DLI and GE classrooms, this study reveals the similarities of learning English in bilingual and monolingual children. Implications for classroom instruction and policy will be discussed