A Qualitative Exploration of Early Childhood Educators' Declared Practices when Supporting Preschoolers' Oral Language Development

Verbal interactions between children and educators can support the language development of preschoolers when conversations are of high quality. Educators' conversations with preschoolers are known to be responsive, but they are not always sufficiently complex. Educators' talk and topics may be too simple to propel preschoolers' oral language development. Studies on professional development programs that focused on enhancing educators' use of language-supporting practices have shown inconsistent results. A better understanding of how educators use language supporting practices could contribute to the design and implementation of more effective professional development programs. Thus, the purpose of this qualitative study was to describe the declared practices of early childhood educators when they support the language development of preschoolers. Twelve early childhood educators were interviewed individually, and a thematic analysis was conducted. Educators' declared practices are described through five themes: (1) relationships first, (2) planning the day, (3) establishing a supportive environment, (4) encouraging children to talk, and (5) talking to children. Educators are aware of many of the strategies known to be effective in supporting early language development. However, very few of them declared using strategies that specifically support the language development of 4- and 5-years-old children. Finally, findings suggest that early childhood educators could be more cognizant of the importance of their own language regarding preschoolers' oral language development.