Listening to Head Start teachers: Teacher beliefs, practices, and needs for educating dual language learners

Choi, Ji Young; Ryu, Dahyung; Pay, Craig K. Van; Meacham, Sohyun; Beecher, Constance C.

doi:10.1016/j.ecresq.2020.08.005

Cited by 14 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 38 publications

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“…This demonstrates that they had low self-efficacy and lacked the competence required for successful self-directed learning. These findings are in tandem with what other researchers found about learners in South Africa and elsewhere (Cheng and Lee 2018;Choi 2021;Mukuna and Aloka 2020). The data also revealed that the closure of learning facilities due to the pandemic impeded English FAL learners' self-directed learning.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 86%

Impact of COVID-19 on Self-Directed Learning: Perspectives of Rural English First Additional Language Teachers

Mokoena

2022

EaC

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Since the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic, there have been changes in the ways teaching and learning occur in most classrooms, including English first additional language classrooms. Teachers spent less contact class time with their English FAL learners to comply with the COVID-19 safety protocols, such as social distancing. More than ever, learners in rural schools faced the responsibility of learning independently for extended periods. The focus in this article is on how the learners’ efforts to learn independently were disrupted and how teachers assisted these learners in overcoming these challenges amid the pandemic. The article explores the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on rural English FAL learners’ self-directed learning. The findings confirm the existence of COVID-19-induced challenges that impeded rural English FAL learners’ self-directed learning. These included a lack of motivation and a negative attitude towards self-directed learning, closure of learning facilities and a lack of learning material, overdependence on the teacher, poor physical learning environments and limited parental support. The study also reports on strategies that English FAL teachers used to enhance learners’ self-directed learning during the COVID-19 pandemic. These included strengthening home-school partnerships, providing emotional support, and simplifying learning activities. The article concludes that the COVID-19 pandemic negatively impacted self-directed learning in South Africa.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 86%

Impact of COVID-19 on Self-Directed Learning: Perspectives of Rural English First Additional Language Teachers

Mokoena

2022

EaC

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“…Considering that all lead teachers in our study were EMs, teachers could also be more comfortable conversing with EMs than DLLs. Preschool teachers have shared that communication difficulties are one of the main challenges they experience in educating DLLs (Choi et al, 2021). Such discomfort and difficulty may be exacerbated when children initiate the conversation, a situation wherein teachers have less control.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Preschool language exposure and use: A comparison study of dual‐language learners and English monolingual children

Choi

Pay

Beecher

2023

Infant and Child Development

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This study explored the language experiences of dual language learners (DLL; n = 19) and English monolinguals (EM; n = 13) in preschool classrooms where English is the primary language of instruction and many home languages are present. Using the Language ENvironment Analysis™ system as a primary tool, we quantitatively analysed an average of 34 hours of recordings collected over 5–8 days for each participating child (Mage = 52 months) in six classrooms. Results showed that, during a typical preschool day, DLLs spoke as much as EMs but received less adult talk overall and had more 5‐min segments with zero adult–child conversations than their EM peers. Follow‐up analyses revealed that teachers generally talked less when children initiated the conversations than when adults initiated the conversations, and this pattern was particularly evident for DLLs. Study implications and future research are discussed.

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“…It may be that teachers had more comfort in conversing with EMs than with DLLs in their classroom. Indeed, literature points to difficulties in communication as one of the main challenges Head Start teachers experience in educating DLLs (Choi et al, 2021). This discomfort and difficulties in communication may be exacerbated when the conversation is initiated by children, a situation wherein teachers have less control.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Preschool Language Experience of Dual Language Learners and English Monolingual Children

Choi¹,

Pay²,

Beecher³

2021

Preprint

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This study explored the quantitative language experiences of dual language learners (DLLs; n = 19) and English monolinguals (EM; n = 13) in preschool classrooms where English is the primary language of instruction. Using the Language ENvironment AnalysisTM system as a primary tool, we analyzed an average of 34 hours of recordings collected over 5 to 8 days for each participating child (Mage = 52 months) in 6 classrooms. Results showed that DLLs spoke as much as EMs but heard less adult talk overall and had more 5-minute recording segments with zero adult-child conversations than their English EM peers during typical preschool days. When we focused on adult-child conversational contexts, DLLs, relative to EMs, heard less adult talk during conversations that were child-initiated but not during conversations that were adult-initiated. Follow-up analyses also showed that teachers talk more and longer when they initiated conversations than when children initiated conversations for both DLLs and EMs, while children spoke more in child-initiated conversations. Study implications and future research are discussed.

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Listening to Head Start teachers: Teacher beliefs, practices, and needs for educating dual language learners

Cited by 14 publications

References 38 publications

Impact of COVID-19 on Self-Directed Learning: Perspectives of Rural English First Additional Language Teachers

Impact of COVID-19 on Self-Directed Learning: Perspectives of Rural English First Additional Language Teachers

Preschool language exposure and use: A comparison study of dual‐language learners and English monolingual children

Preschool Language Experience of Dual Language Learners and English Monolingual Children

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