Increasing Children’s Language and Vocabulary through Conversations

Barbara A. Wasik. Ph.D.

Temple University

Presentation at the Syddansk Universitet Conference January 22, 2012

Outline

• Role language and vocabulary development play in reading • Current problems faced in the poorest US schools, specifically Head Start • ExCELL intervention – Training – Challenges • Next steps in our research

The Role Language and Vocabulary Development Play in Reading

Importance of Developing Oral Language and Vocabulary • Predictor of success in learning to read • Predictor in overall success in school • Poorly developed language skills are highly related to poverty

Phonological Sensitivity

What Children Need to Learn to Read

Oral Language, including Vocabulary & syntax Alphabet Knowledge Learning to Read Print Awareness

How Children Develop Oral Language & Vocabulary • Conversations with linguistically competent adults • Opportunities to use language in meaningful ways • Opportunities to talk and get feedback on what they say

To Develop Vocabulary, Children Need…

• Multiple, meaningful exposures to words • Opportunities to use words in meaningful contexts • Exposure to a variety of words

Video Example

• A good conversation with some book vocabulary

Oral Language & Vocabulary in Reading

• For children to become good readers, children need well-developed vocabularies.

• So when they read a word, they don’t have to spend cognitive energy on knowing the meaning of the word.

•Ball •Mitten •Badger

Examples

Research Findings

• Children who do not have well developed oral language skills entering kindergarten and first grade are at risk for reading failure (Beck & McKeown, 2007).

• Studies show that children in poverty enter preschool and kindergarten with language and vocabulary skills nearly a full standard deviation below the national average, placing them at a high risk for academic difficulty or even failure (ACF, 2011; Lee & Burkam, 2002).

Current Problems Faced in the Poorest US Schools & Head Start

Head Start Children US Children in High Poverty • 58% are single family homes • Family income with 2 children is under $15,000 • 40% white; 29% AA • 36% ELLs • Low vocabulary and language skills

Research on Classroom Oral Language

• 93% of all talk in classrooms is teacher talk • Talk was directive and managerial • • Of children’s talk, less than 2% was children expressing ideas Dickinson & Colleagues (2007)

Research on Classroom Vocabulary Development

• Vocabulary instruction that included “strategies that introduce young children to new words and entice them to engage in meaningful contexts through semantically related activities” was virtually non-existent in early childhood curricula. Neuman & Dwyer, 2009

Head Start Classrooms

• Teachers typically don’t make the time to talk with children • Talking is not “built into” the curriculum • Vocabulary development, which is key to reading success, does not occur • Quiet classroom = “good” classroom 16

Closing the Achievement Gap • Focus on improving the quality of classrooms • Focus on increasing the quality of teacher – child language interactions, specifically scaffolding language through conversations and book reading experiences • Focus on increasing children’s vocabulary development

ExCELL

Exceptional Coaching for Early Language and Literacy

ExCELL

E xceptional C oaching for E arly L anguage and L iteracy • Professional Development Model • Designed to train teachers to implement strategies to increase children’s oral language and vocabulary

Professional Development Models • Well-researched, intensive PD interventions focused on developing language and pre literacy ( Dickinson, Justice, Landry, Pianta, Powell, Wasik) • Outcomes show improvements in pre-literacy skills such as phonological sensitivity & alphabet knowledge but vocabulary and oral language skills are difficult to change

ExCELL

• One example of an effective PD intervention • Focused on scaffolding teachers’ language interactions to provide more opportunities for children to talk and use language • Book reading plays a critical part in language development

ExCELL Components • Intensive, comprehensive language and literacy professional development (PD) intervention • Coaching- 1-3 hours weekly sessions • Monthly group trainings • Books, materials, and lesson plans that support the development of children’s language and literacy, and • Progress monitoring of children

Characteristics of ExCELL

• Master’s degrees

Coaches

• Knowledge of ECE and literacy • Fidelity training measure • Co-coaching • Weekly mentoring meetings

ExCELL

trains teachers to…

• Scaffold children’s oral language through purposeful and strategic conversations • Explicitly teach and use vocabulary in conversations

Purposeful and Strategic Conversations

• Teachers are trained to… – Ask “open-ended” questions that provide children with opportunities to talk – Actively listen to children’s responses – Provide meaningful feedback – Encourage children’s responses

Explicitly Teach Vocabulary

• Teachers use targeted vocabulary words in conversations (modeling) • Teachers create opportunities for children to use words

Video Examples

• Maybe a clip of Lori during Circle time?

Book Reading

• Key to ExCELL • Target vocabulary comes from books • Books provide the context

Beyond the Pages of the Book • Purposeful Conversations throughout the day • Use book vocabulary throughout the day

The Mitten by Jan Brett • Identify key vocabulary • Develop open-ended questions for book reading • Use vocabulary in other activities such as Morning Message, Center activities, and Circle time.

Weaving Vocabulary through Conversations

ExCELL

Research Findings

ExCELL Research

• Randomized Controlled study • Head Start Teachers and Children • In urban Baltimore City • 100% free lunch • 99% African American

Teacher Measures

• All teachers were administered: – CLASS (teacher quality) – ELLCO (literacy experiences) – Teacher belief measure – Teacher knowledge measure – Fidelity measures

Child Measures

• PPVT- III (Receptive language) • Alphabet • Phonemic awareness • All are predictors of success in reading

ELLCO- Literacy Environmental Checklist Subscale

Teacher CLASS Instructional Support Domain

Teacher Background

• Varying degrees of education • Education did not impact performance • Years of experience did not impact performance • All teachers can learn these strategies

Vocabulary

(PPVT-III)

Phonological Sensitivity

Teacher Behaviors Related to Increases in Child Vocabulary • Not the number of open-ended questions teachers asked but, • The amount of opportunities given to children to talk and use language • The more children used language in a meaningful context  increases in vocabulary

What Do These Findings Suggest?

• Teachers’ use of language is critical in developing children’s language • Teachers can change the way they interact with targeted coaching & training • Teacher behaviors impact children’s achievement

Next Steps of Our Research

ExCELL-e

• Reduce the amount of face-to-face coaching • Provide training through web-based presentations and videos • Fidelity amount of coaching

How Much Face-to-Face Coaching is Needed to Achieve Positive Outcomes?

• Empirical question • Interaction effects – Quality of coach – Teacher factors – Difficulty of content – Delivery of content – Ease of implementation

Thank you!

Barbara A. Wasik PNC Endowed Chair in Early Childhood Education [email protected]