Classroom Quality, Classroom Composition, and Age at Entry - Experiences in Early Childhood Education and Care and Single and Dual Language Learners’ German Vocabulary

Oct 15, 2026

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Study investigates how early childhood education and care experiences relate to children’s German receptive vocabulary, emphasizing independent and interactive links among classroom process quality, classroom composition, and age at entry. Data include 2,231 children across 177 classrooms in 95 ECEC centers, comparing single language learners and dual language learners with differing German exposure at home. Results show classroom process quality predicts German vocabulary only for DLLs with low family exposure, while earlier entry relates to larger vocabulary for all children, strongest among low-exposure DLLs; classroom composition shows no predictive effect.

LanguageEnglish

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Classroom Quality, Classroom Composition, and Age at Entry

ECEC experiences and German receptive vocabulary

Sample, measures, and study focus

ECEC process quality and children’s language skills

AERA Open January-March 2019, Vol. 5, No. 1, pp. 1–16 DOI: 10. 1177/2332858419832513 Article reuse guidelines: [sagepub.com/journals-permissions](sagepub.com/journals-permissions)[ ](sagepub.com/journals-permissions)© The Author(s) 2019. [http://journals.sagepub.com/home/ero](http://journals.sagepub.com/home/ero) Classroom Quality, Classroom Composition, and Age at Entry: Experiences in Early Childhood Education and Care and Single and Dual Language Learners’ German Vocabulary Katharina Kohl Jessica A. Willard Alexandru Agache Lilly-Marlen Bihler Birgit Leyendecker Ruhr-Universität Bochum We examined independent and interactive links among three central characteristics of children’s experiences in early childhood education and care and the German receptive vocabulary of single language learners and dual language learners (DLLs). We allowed for possible differential effects depending on children’s language background. Our sample included 2,231 children (n = 1,555 single language learners, n = 371 DLLs from families in which German was frequently spoken, n = 305 DLLs from families in which German was less frequently spoken). Children attended 177 classrooms in 95 early childhood education and care centers and were 30 to 80 months old. We found that classroom process quality predicted German vocabulary only for DLLs with low exposure to German in the family. An earlier age at entry was linked to a larger German vocabulary for all children, but the link was stronger for DLLs from families with low exposure to German. Classroom composition did not predict German vocabulary. Keywords: child care, immigrant children, Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (PPVT), Classroom Assessment Scoring System (CLASS), bilingual, monolingual Being able to speak and understand one or more languages is part of the human experience. Language skills are not only essential for everyday communication but also crucial for literacy development and academic achievement (Bleses, Makransky, Dale, Højen, & Ari, 2016; Lee, 2011; Prevoo, Malda, Mesman, & van Ijzendoorn, 2016) . However, children differ enormously in their language skills and therefore start school with different preconditions for future educational success. While the home and the family are undoubtedly key contexts for language development, in many countries a majority of children also attend out-ofhome child care before being enrolled into elementary school (Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, 2016). Thus, one major present-day question is whether and how experiences in early childhood education and care (ECEC) can support children in their language development—an important part of which is building abroad vocabulary. The present study examined how three central characteristics of children’s ECEC experience are connected to children’s German receptive vocabulary: ECEC process quality, classroom composition, and the age at which children enter into ECEC. We are interested not only in overall associations but also in how the effect of one characteristic may depend on another. Moreover, certain ECEC experiences may be more consequential for some children than others. In North America and Europe, an increasing number of children are from immigrant families (United Nations, 2015) . Many of these children grow up being exposed to another language at home, in addition to or instead of the societal language. Growing up as a dual language learner (DLL) is a valuable resource, and maintaining the heritage language is vital for the relationship between children and their parents (De Houwer, 2013; Fillmore, 2000; Oh & Fuligni, 2010) . However, DLLs also potentially face challenges, especially in countries such as the United States and Germany, where high skill levels in the societal language are essential for everyday interactions as well as educational success (Baumert & Schümer, 2001; Hoff, 2013; Kempert et al., 2016; Prevoo et al., 2016) . On one hand, DLLs m

FAQs

Which ECEC characteristics were examined in relation to children’s German receptive vocabulary?

The study examined ECEC process quality, classroom composition, and the age at which children entered ECEC, and how the effects of one characteristic may depend on another.

How did classroom process quality relate to German vocabulary for dual language learners?

Classroom process quality predicted German receptive vocabulary only for dual language learners with low exposure to German in the family.

Did classroom composition predict children’s German vocabulary?

No. Classroom composition did not predict German vocabulary in the study’s analyses.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Stanley