A Study On Classroom Language Environment Supporting Early Childhood Children’s Vocabulary Development

The early childhood children’s vocabulary development has become a critical topic in children’s language development and education research field.In recent years,numerous international studies have delved deeply into the effective factors of a highquality classroom language environment on children’s vocabulary development.However,research in the Chinese context has not yet provided solid evidence regarding two essential aspects: “what does the classroom language environment consist of”“what critical role does the teacher play in the classroom language environment”.This study has employed standardized language tests,teacher surveys,and classroom video analysis to investigate the components of the classroom language environment that support children’s vocabulary development.The aim of the study is to furnish crucial research findings that contribute to the enhancement of the classroom language environment,which,in turn,supports the development of children’s language skills and strategies.The key findings of this study are presented below.Firstly,the general environmental quality factors in the classroom influence children’s vocabulary development.The study selected five inner classroom quality indicators,including class size,teacher-child ratio,teacher’s teaching years,teacher’s educational background and professional certification,and used the latent category analysis to classify the classes into high,ordinary and low-quality.Then,the study compared the children’s vocabulary development in these three types of classes.(1)There are significant differences in the overall outcome of children’s receptive and expressive vocabulary development in these three types of classes,with the pattern being “high-quality>ordinary-quality>low-quality”.(2)Significant differences in receptive and expressive vocabulary development outcome are observed among the 3-4,4-5,and 5-6 age groups across the three types of classes,with the same “highquality>ordinary-quality>low-quality” pattern.(3)Children in three types of classes have significant differences in the acquisition of different types of words(nouns,verbs,adjectives),and children in low-quality classes significantly lagged behind of each type of words.Secondly,the quality of the structural language environment factors also plays an important role in promoting children’s vocabulary development.The study reveals that the structural language environment supporting children’s vocabulary development primarily encompass three key factors: teaching resource conditions(picture books),the usage of instructional language(the proportion of Mandarin usage),and the diversity of language activities(core language experience activities).The analysis indicates that these three factors are relatively well-structured and can contribute to children’s vocabulary development.However,these critical structural language environment quality factors of the three types of classrooms are significantly different,with the pattern being “high-quality>ordinary-quality>low-quality”.The teaching resource conditions and the usage of instructional language are important factors significantly influencing children’s vocabulary development.Further analysis suggests that the impact of classroom picture books on children’s vocabulary development is not solely about quantity;rather,it lies in the effective guidance provided by teachers.For instance,in high-quality classrooms,teachers excel in stimulating interest in reading,catering to individual reading needs,providing clear instructional guidance,and setting precise teaching goals.In contrast,in ordinary and low-quality classrooms,there is a noticeable lack of age-appropriate picture book selection and effective teaching guidance,which hinders the effective support of children’s vocabulary development.Thirdly,the quality of the process language environment,particularly in terms of teachers’ language use,plays a significant role in enhancing children’s vocabulary development.The study reveals that the process language environment quality,supporting children’s vocabulary development,comprises three key dimensions:interactive,linguistic and conceptual.Notably,teachers in classrooms of varying quality levels exhibit notable differences across these dimensions.(1)In terms of the pragmatic communication strategies of teacher-child interaction,In classrooms of high quality,teachers demonstrate proficiency in employing pragmatic communication strategies during teacher-child interactions,presenting a centralized model.In contrast,teachers in ordinary and low-quality classrooms adopt a distributed model,resulting in challenges in maintaining effective communication channels with children.(2)Highquality classroom teachers use complex lexical and syntactical structures within diverse contexts and with high frequency.They also emphasize language learning goals.Conversely,teachers in ordinary and low-quality classrooms tend to provide language input that is less complex,fragmented,and scattered,often neglecting language learning goals,which make it difficult to support children’s vocabulary development effectively.(3)In terms of vocabulary instruction,the pattern emerge with “highquality>ordinary-quality>low-quality”.Teachers in ordinary and low-quality classrooms exhibit limited capacity to support children’s vocabulary development.After conducting the analysis presented above,we can draw the conclusion that the classroom language environment is a complex and integrated system.This system encompasses various aspects,spanning from overall structural quality to the finer details of structural and process classroom language environment factors.Among these components,the general structural quality factors encompass class size,teacher-child ratio,teacher education background,years of teaching experience,professional certifications,and other internal quality factors.These factors primarily establish the foundational quality required for children’s language development.The structural language environment quality factors include teaching resource conditions,the use of instructional language,and the diversity of language activities,facilitating children’s language learning.The quality of the process language environment is at the core of supporting children’s language development,mainly involving the interactions between teachers and children through language use.To establish a high-quality classroom language environment that nurtures children’s language learning and development,it is crucial to enhance the monitoring of general structural quality factors,as well as improve the overall quality of both structural and process language environment factors.Special attention should be devoted to the language used by teachers during their interactions with children.In summary,there are three key steps to enhancing the classroom language environment.Firstly,we must maintain the base line quality of the general structural environment quality,which involves ensuring the quality of internal classroom quality factors and implementing strong policy support.Secondly,the teachers’ training should focus on bolstering teachers’ knowledge and understanding of essential experiences in children’s language development and integration of various aspects of children’s development,by providing teaching training aligns with children’s language learning paths.Lastly,studies should adopt a more focused approach to analyze teachers’ language teaching approaches,helping teachers to engage in selfreflection and fostering the sustainable growth of their teaching skills.We firmly believe that by improving the quality of the classroom language environment,we will create a better language developmental environment for every child,ultimately leading to the high-quality development of children’s language skills.