ERIC Number: EJ1425040
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2024
Pages: 16
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0957-5146
EISSN: EISSN-1472-4421
Toddler-Educator Decontextualised Talk and Its Value for Toddlers' Learning
Early Years: An International Journal of Research and Development, v44 n2 p370-385 2024
In early childhood centres, decontextualised talk is often associated with literacy activities. In this study, however, we investigated toddler-educator conversations across various activities with a focus on those about topics that were not related to the immediate context. We examined the communicative purposes and linguistic features of these conversations and the opportunities they afford for toddlers' learning. A qualitative analysis of video-recorded conversations between 12 2-year-old toddlers and their educators resulted in identifying four kinds of talk: 'interview', 'story', 'inquiry' and 'rebuttal'. The findings reveal that toddler-educator conversations provide varied learning opportunities for toddlers, which are reinforced by both educators' and toddlers' conversational contributions. The participants' contributions are shaped by the extent to which a topic is removed from their immediate activity. These findings can inform more effective use of linguistic features, such as questions and narrative constructions, for supporting under-3-year-old children's learning and developing skills in using decontextualised talk.
Descriptors: Toddlers, Early Childhood Teachers, Teacher Student Relationship, Dialogs (Language), Skill Development, Speech Communication, Child Language, Language Usage, Foreign Countries
Routledge. Available from: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. 530 Walnut Street Suite 850, Philadelphia, PA 19106. Tel: 800-354-1420; Tel: 215-625-8900; Fax: 215-207-0050; Web site: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Early Childhood Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Australia
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A