Programme: accepted abstracts

Abstract ID: 1158

Part of Session 146: Language at school in urban European settings (Other abstracts in this session)

What preschool teachers (should) know about language – a German perspective

Authors: Ofner, Daniela; Michel, Marije; Thoma, Dieter; Tracy, Rosemarie
Submitted by: Michel, Marije Cornelie (University of Mannheim, Germany)

In many Western countries the need to support the academic language skills of children with and without an immigrant background has become a major challenge (Halle et al. 2003). In many German cities, for instance, already every second child is born into a family with a migration history (cf. German Federal Statistical Office). It is highly probable, that preschool or kindergarten is the first place where these children receive relevant input and support in German – an essential prerequisite for their future success within the educational system. As a consequence, there has been a surge of language support initiatives and intervention programs. At the same time, evaluations of many of these measures reach pessimistic conclusions concerning their overall effectiveness (Baden-Württemberg Stiftung 2011). We suggest that in order to better understand the reasons for this mismatch between obvious efforts and disappointing outcomes, it is important to take a closer look at the professional competence of preschool teachers (Darling-Hammond 2000, Dickinson 2011) including their knowledge about (multilingual) language acquisition, the structure of the target language, and communicative strategies supportive of language learning.

Hundred-fifty preschool teachers took part in a computer-based study that reflects the model of language-training competence by Hopp et al. (2010). First, we assessed basic knowledge in linguistic areas such as phonology, morpho-syntax, and language acquisition. Second, participants watched authentic video-taped child-preschool teacher interactions, were asked to make relevant linguistic observations, and to select appropriate language intervention methods. Results indicate that preschool teachers scored slightly above chance in the knowledge and observation task. Less than one third of their intervention choices were appropriate. Detailed analyses revealed interesting individual differences. Preschool teachers with high levels of secondary education scored significantly better than less educated peers. Teachers with substantial language-specific training selected more appropriate intervention methods.

The discussion evaluates preschool teachers’ performance against control groups with expected high, middle and low language-training competence, respectively. Control groups are speech pathologists, vocational school teachers, and members of highly communicative professions such as hair dressers. Our study supports the call for a (more) academic preschool teacher qualification with a substantial linguistic component. This should prepare preschool teachers better for the manifold language-related challenges of educating young children.

References

Baden-Württemberg Stiftung (Hrsg.). Sag' mal was - Sprachförderung für Vorschulkinder. Zur Evaluation des Programms der Baden-Württemberg Stiftung. Sprachförderung im Spannungsfeld zwischen Wissenschaft und Praxis. Tübingen: Narr Francke Attempto.

Darling-Hammond, L. (2000). How teacher education matters. Journal of Teacher Education 51 (3): 166-173.

Dickinson, D.K. (2011) Teachers' language practices and academic outcomes of preschool children. Science 333: 964-967.

Halle, T., J. Calkins, D. Berry, & R. Johnson (2003). Promoting Language and Literacy in Early Childhood Care and Education Settings, Washington, DC: CCEERC.

Hopp, H., D. Thoma, & R. Tracy (2010). Sprachförderkompetenz pädagogischer Fachkräfte: Ein sprachwissenschaftliches Modell. Zeitschrift für Erziehungswissenschaft 13 (4): 609-629

Sociolinguistics Symposium 19

Programme: accepted abstracts

What preschool teachers (should) know about language – a German perspective