Linguistic interactions at nursery school as a protective factor for promoting language development of toddlers from low-income families

Toddlers from low-income and language-minority immigrant families are at risk for difficulties in the acquisition of the majority or societal language due to early disparities in the quality of communicative and linguistic interactions in the home environment (Hoff, 2013; Leung et al., 2020). However, little is known about the linguistic interactions of these toddlers in the school environment. The present longitudinal study extends previous research by investigating communicative modalities and functions used by nursery teachers with monolingual and bilingual toddlers from low-income families (Aim 1), and their effectiveness in promoting toddlers’ linguistic production (Aim 2) and vocabulary development (Aim 3) between 18 and 30 months. Participants were equivalent low-income monolingual (n = 20) and bilingual (n = 22) toddlers and their nursery teachers (n = 20). Linguistic interactions between teachers and small groups of toddlers at 18, 24, and 30 months at nursery school were videotaped and coded for communicative modalities and functions in CHILDES. Children’s vocabulary in the majority language was assessed at 30 months by nursery teachers, using the Italian version of the MacArthur-Bates CDI. Data were analyzed through linear mixed models (Aims 1 and 3) and sequential analyses (Aim 2) Main results showed that teachers used bimodal utterances (gesture + speech) to a higher extent with bilinguals and language scaffolding strategies to a higher extent with monolinguals from 18 to 30 months (p < .01; Aim 1). Bimodal utterances and language scaffolding strategies used by teachers promoted toddlers’ initiatives at all ages and in both groups (p =. 01; Aim 2) and vocabulary development from 18 to 30 months (p < .01; Aim 3). Linguistic interactions in the school environment act as protective proximal environmental factor for stimulating and favoring the acquisition and development of the majority language by toddlers from low-income and language minority families.