Partika Anne, Johnson Anna D, Phillips Deborah A, Luk Gigi, Dericks April
Department of Psychology, Georgetown University.
Department of Educational and Counselling Psychology, McGill University.
Early Child Res Q. 2021;56:124-138. doi: 10.1016/j.ecresq.2021.03.011. Epub 2021 Apr 27.
Dual language learners (DLLs) - children who are learning and developing two languages - are among the fastest growing groups of young children in the United States and currently compose a third of the public preschool population. Although evidence suggests that preschool education is beneficial for DLLs, little is known about which instructional supports in the preschool classroom best promote DLLs' early learning skills. Drawing on a newly-collected sample of Spanish-speaking DLLs in an English-dominant, mixed-delivery public preschool system for children in low-income families (Head Start; school-based pre-k), this paper focuses on two instructional dimensions of the preschool classroom expected to support DLLs' learning: supports for home language and supports for English acquisition. We test for associations between these classroom supports and DLLs' English language skills, quantitative reasoning skills assessed in English, and home language skills at the end of the preschool year, and whether any such associations are moderated by the proportion of DLLs in the classroom. Controlling for baseline skills, results indicate positive associations between classroom supports for home language and quantitative reasoning skills and Spanish expressive vocabulary skills at the end of preschool. Associations varied by proportion of DLLs in the classroom. Supports for English acquisition did not predict any outcomes. This study adds to an emerging body of research suggesting classroom instructional supports for DLLs' home language may be important not just for the maintenance of children's home language, but also for the acquisition of foundational pre-math skills. Additionally, findings suggest support for home language is possible even in preschool classrooms where the teacher does not speak the home language. The DLL composition of the classroom also warrants attention as a moderator of these associations.
双语学习者（DLLs）——正在学习和发展两种语言的儿童——是美国幼儿中增长最快的群体之一，目前占公立学前班人口的三分之一。尽管有证据表明学前教育对双语学习者有益，但对于学前班课堂中的哪些教学支持最能促进双语学习者的早期学习技能，人们却知之甚少。本文以一个新收集的样本为基础，该样本来自一个以英语为主导、为低收入家庭儿童提供混合教学模式的公立学前班系统（Head Start；基于学校的学前班），这些儿童是说西班牙语的双语学习者，本文重点关注学前班课堂中预期能支持双语学习者学习的两个教学维度：对母语的支持和对英语习得的支持。我们测试了这些课堂支持与双语学习者的英语语言技能、用英语评估的定量推理技能以及学前班学年末的母语技能之间的关联，以及这些关联是否会受到课堂中双语学习者比例的调节。在控制了基线技能后，结果表明，学前班课堂对母语的支持与定量推理技能以及学前班学年末的西班牙语表达词汇技能之间存在正相关。关联因课堂中双语学习者的比例而异。对英语习得的支持并不能预测任何结果。这项研究为一项新兴的研究增添了内容，表明课堂教学对双语学习者母语的支持可能不仅对维持儿童的母语很重要，而且对获得基础的学前数学技能也很重要。此外，研究结果表明，即使在教师不会说母语的学前班课堂中，对母语的支持也是可能的。课堂中的双语学习者构成作为这些关联的调节因素也值得关注。
