Kindergarten Teachers’ Language Modeling Behaviors in Daily Activities and Free Play

Abstract

Teachers’ language modeling behaviors, including frequent conversation, open-ended questions, repetition and extension, self- and parallel talks, and advanced language, have significantly impacted young children’s language learning and development. This study examined 60 classrooms from 20 kindergartens in Guangzhou, China, and analyzed 62 films of daily activities and 57 videos of free play. It aims to address the research gap in existing research that pays little attention to teachers’ language modeling behaviors in daily activities and free play. The results indicate that the more frequent teachers’ language modeling behaviors, the larger the vocabulary young children use and the better their performance in lexical richness. However, such behaviors in daily activities and free play are infrequent and superficial, failing to guide young children’s language development effectively. To optimize teachers’ language modeling behaviors in daily activities and free play, they are expected to establish positive emotional bonds with young children in a kind and respectful manner and receive training. Teachers are also encouraged to frequently communicate and engage in dialogues with young children, create contexts that facilitate the use of language, increase the frequency of stimuli for vocabulary learning, and guide and encourage young children’s advanced language.

Keywords

teachers’ language modeling behaviors / young children / daily activities / free play

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