ERIC Number: EJ987671
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2012
Pages: 19
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1523-5882
EISSN: N/A
Function, Type, and Distribution of Teacher Questions in Dual-Language Preschool Read Alouds
Gort, Mileidis; Pontier, Ryan W.; Sembiante, Sabrina F.
Bilingual Research Journal, v35 n3 p258-276 2012
This exploratory study investigated the nature and distribution of dual-language preschool teachers' questions across parallel Spanish- and English-medium read-aloud activities. The notions of comprehensible input (Krashen, 1985) and language output (Swain, 1985), along with a reciprocal interaction model of teaching (Cummins, 2000), guided our understanding of teachers' use of questions to engage students in book-based extended dialogue in each target language. We utilized digital video recordings and field notes to capture the naturally occurring teacher-child interactions of read-aloud activities in two dual-language preschool classrooms over a period of two months. Findings revealed that teachers asked a variety of questions, exhibiting a multitude of functions and levels of cognitive challenge; however, question types were not equitably distributed across the two instructional languages as teachers asked significantly more "inference-based" and "factual" questions during Spanish-medium read alouds and more "experience-based" and "word-focused" questions in English-medium read alouds. Implications for practice are discussed. (Contains 2 tables.)
Descriptors: Inferences, English (Second Language), Video Technology, Preschool Teachers, Reading Aloud to Others, Bilingual Education, Spanish, Second Language Learning, Linguistic Input, Dialogs (Language), Teacher Student Relationship, Language of Instruction, Teaching Methods
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Preschool Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A