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An English-Speaking Prekindergarten Teacher for Young Latino Children: Implications of the Teacher–Child Relationship on Second Language Learning

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Abstract

This case study was designed to describe how an effective English-speaking prekindergarten teacher develops strategies for communicating with and teaching young English language learners. The teacher’s classroom practices to enhance her own relationship with the children promoted opportunities for the Latino children to become full participants in the classroom community. At the end of the year, the Latino children showed progress in formal and informal measures of receptive vocabulary in both English and Spanish. Findings from the study suggest the importance of the affective and social nature of second language learning in young children. Implications for practice and research are discussed.

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Acknowledgments

The author would like to thank the Foundation for Child Development for supporting the work described in this paper. Also she would like to thank Kelly Maxwell, Debra Skinner, and Virginia Buysse for their thoughtful comments on an earlier draft of this manuscript, and Dina Castro, Giselle Crawford, Cathie Feild, and Jill Fitzgerald for insightful comments on this study.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. FPG Child Development Institute, University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, 105 Smith Level Rd., Chapel Hill, NC, 27599-8180, USA

    Cristina Gillanders

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  1. Cristina Gillanders
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Correspondence to Cristina Gillanders.

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Gillanders, C. An English-Speaking Prekindergarten Teacher for Young Latino Children: Implications of the Teacher–Child Relationship on Second Language Learning. Early Childhood Educ J 35, 47–54 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10643-007-0163-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10643-007-0163-x

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