Co-Investigators: Schatschneider, Christopher; Wood, Carla

Purpose: This study examined second grade teacher language use and its relation to student language and literacy achievement as well as conditions that moderated this relation. The research team collected teacher language use across content areas, examined class and teacher characteristics that may have influenced teacher language use, and produced a conceptual framework of the relation between teacher language and student language/literacy outcomes including conditions moderating this relation (e.g., initial student oral language performance at the individual and classroom level).

Project Activities: Researchers investigated teacher language use, the relationship of class and teacher characteristics with teacher language use, and the relationship of teacher language use to student end-of-the-year language and literacy outcomes. This team utilized descriptive and correlational designs to explore associations between the potentially malleable teacher language use during the school day and student outcomes. Members of the research team collected language samples from each participating teacher twice per month throughout the school year. On the assigned dates each teacher recorded all their language for the entire school day when they are with students. The team transcribed the audio recordings and analyzed them for key features of teacher language form, content, and use. The team measured student oral language, reading, and writing outcomes in the fall and spring of the school year.

Key Outcomes: The main findings of this exploratory study are as follows:

• Second grade students heard a large amount of teacher language during each hour of the school day, including a large number of different words. The large majority of words were the most common words in the English language. On average, there were few academic or grade level vocabulary words used, but there was a wide variation among classrooms in the use of these words. (Wanzek et al., 2022)
• There was a significant difference in the proportion of academic word use between classes that differed in percent of students on free or reduced price lunch. Teachers in classes of students from higher socioeconomic backgrounds used more academic words. Class vocabulary level significantly predicted the proportion of academic word use and the proportion of grade level vocabulary use. However, initial class vocabulary and reading levels did not predict teacher language beyond the percent of students on free and reduced lunch. (Wanzek et al., 2022)
• There was also a significant relation between the proportion of facilitative and directive language teachers used and class level SES. Classrooms with a high proportion of free/reduced lunch eligibility were associated with high proportions of directives by teachers during the school day. We also found that teacher expressive vocabulary levels were related to the number of different words even after controlling for class reading and vocabulary levels and class percent of free and reduced lunch. (Garcia-Salas et al., 2023)
• The proportion of academic words used by teachers during the school day significantly predicted students' end of year vocabulary. Teachers who used more academic words had students with higher vocabulary achievement at the end of the school year even after controlling for teacher vocabulary levels. This relationship was not moderated by student initial vocabulary level. There were no other significant relationships between teachers' language and student language and literacy achievement. (Wanzek et al., 2022)

Structured Abstract

Setting: Participating elementary schools across North Florida and Tennessee.

Sample: Study participants included 64 second grade teachers teaching 60 second grade classes and 619 second grade students from diverse elementary schools. Students represented a range of socioeconomic levels.

Malleable factors: Features of teacher language use which could lead to development of an intervention.

Research Design and Methods: This research team utilized descriptive and correlational designs to explore associations between the potentially malleable teacher language use during the school day and student outcomes. Researchers collected language samples of teachers for each teacher twice per month throughout the school year. Each teacher recorded the entire school day when they are with students on the assigned dates. For each teacher and each day of recording, researchers randomly selected one 15-minute segment from each core content area taught and two 15-minute segments from times outside of the core content areas to analyze. The team transcribed the audio recordings of these segments and analyzed them for key features of teacher language form, content, and use. A total of 1,113.25 hours of language were coded across teachers.  Student oral language, reading, and writing outcomes were measured in the fall and spring of the school year.

Control Condition: Due to the exploratory nature of the research design, there was no control condition.

Key Measures: Primary measures included systematic coding of teacher language including the total amount of language, number of different, sophisticated, academic, and grade level vocabulary words, complexity of language, and amount of direct vocabulary instruction. Student measures included Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test-4, Expressive Vocabulary Test-2, Clinical Evaluation of Language Fundamentals-5: Receptive Language and Expressive Language, Gates-MacGinitie Reading Comprehension, Woodcock-Johnson Tests of Achievement IV: Letter Word Identification and Passage Comprehension, and writing samples.

Data Analytic Strategy: This study utilized a series of standard and random-effects regression models according to each specific aim. In a moderator analysis, the study will examine whether teacher language use interacts with student fall levels of oral language to produce differential language and literacy change across the school year.

PRODUCTS AND PUBLICATIONS

ERIC Citations: Find available citations in ERIC for this award here.

Publicly available data: Data will be available by July 1, 2024. Contact the PI for additional information.

Selected Publications:

Garcia-Salas, M., Wood, C., Wanzek, J., & Schatschneider, C. (2023). Second-Grade Teachers' Use of Praise during ELA Instruction: Frequency, Types, and Differences. Education and Treatment of Children, 46(2), 121–134.

Wanzek, J., Wood, C., & Schatschneider, C. (2023). Teacher Vocabulary Use and Student Language and Literacy Achievement. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 66(9), 3574–3587.

Wanzek, J., Wood, C., & Schatschneider, C. (2022). Elementary classroom vocabulary experiences. Remedial and Special Education, 43(3), 147–159.

Wood, C., Schatschneider, C., & Wanzek, J. (2020). Matthew effects in writing productivity during second grade. Reading and Writing, 33, 1377–1398.

Wood, C., Wanzek, J., & Schatschneider, C. (2022). The Relation between Teachers' Communicative Behaviors and Class-Level SES. The Elementary School Journal, 122(4), 534–556.