This study aims to enhance our knowledge of the associations between the quality of the language-learning environment in toddler childcare groups and children's vocabulary development from age 3 to age 5. Participants were 1,131 children (48% girls; age at T1 assessment: M = 35.5 months, SD = 2.7; age at T2 assessment: M = 60.3 months, SD = 1.4) from 206 toddler groups from 93 centres. Multilevel analysis showed that the quality of the language-learning environment experienced in toddler groups was associated with verbal ability at age 5 when controlling for verbal ability at age 3 and the quality experienced in kindergarten groups at age 5. These results indicate that toddler language-learning environments characterised by responsive staff, extended talk, and facilitating conversations promote vocabulary development. The effect, albeit small in magnitude, points to the importance of a rich and varied language-learning environment during the early years. Implications for policy and practice are discussed.

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Developing proficiency in the language(s) spoken in any given society is crucial for the inclusion and attainment of children in that society. With an enrolment rate in Norwegian early childhood education and care (ECEC) of 93.4% for children between age one and five, ECEC constitutes an important out-of-home learning environment for children in Norway. In this study, we examine how the quality of language-learning environments in toddler and preschool groups predicts children’s expressive vocabulary in the majority language depending on children’s home languages. Data from the quality rating scales ITERS R and ECERS-R were used to model quality factors related to expressive vocabulary in toddler and preschool groups. The sample included 1,078 children (876 children with parents who spoke the majority language exclusively, 104 children with one parent who spoke the majority language and one parent who spoke another language, and 57 children with no majority language speaking parents). The results show that the quality of the language-learning environment in toddler and preschool groups is positively associated with expressive vocabulary in the majority language at age three and five, but only for children whose parents spoke the majority language exclusively.

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