Language use in indoor and outdoor settings among children in a nature-based preschool

Abstract

Research shows that experiences with nature have positive direct and indirect effects on multiple domains of child development, including language skills. However, few studies have examined the relationship between young children’s language and outdoor nature settings. In this quantitative study, we compared children’s language use in an indoor classroom and an outdoor nature setting. Language samples from 16 preschool children (including seven Dual Language Learners) collected in indoor and outdoor settings of a nature-based preschool were analyzed using the CLAN (Computerized Language ANalysis) program. Data analysis showed that for both the entire sample and the sample of Dual Language Learners, children’s language had higher syntactic complexity measured by Mean Length of Three or Five Longest Utterances in the outdoor nature setting. The implications of the study results are discussed.

Keywords:

• Language
• nature-based education
• early childhood
• outdoor nature settings
• dual language learners

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Data availability statement

These data are not publicly available in order to protect the identity of study participants.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Ekaterina Novikova

Ekaterina Novikova is a Ph.D. student in Human Development and Family Sciences at the University of Delaware. Her research interests include language and literacy development, nature-based education, and immigrant families with young children.

Annette Pic

Annette Pic, Ph.D. is a researcher at Delaware Institute for Excellence in Early Childhood at the University of Delaware. Her research interests include learning through play, and early care and education access for families experiencing homelessness with young children.

Myae Han

Myae Han, Ph.D. is a professor in the Department of Human Development and Family Sciences at the University of Delaware, a past president of The Association for the Study of Play (TASP) and Early Education and Child Development SIG at the American Educational Research Association. She is a coeditor of Play & Culture Studies V. 15 and 16, Play and Curriculum, Play and Literacy. Her research includes a play-based intervention, early language/literacy development, professional development of Early Childhood Teachers.