20.500.12556/RUL-190030 Language environments in Slovenian early education centers examining preschool teachers' speech across daily classroom activities Early childhood represents a unique window for language learning. Previous research has established reliable links between parental speech and the pace of children's language development; however, much less is known about children's naturalistic experiences in early education centers. We utilized longform recordings and the LENA technology to examine the variation in preschool teacher speech and its links to children's productive vocabulary in government-run early education centers in Slovenia. The sample included 80 children (2.5–4 years, 38 girls) and ~350 h of naturalistic data from 8 classrooms. Children's language environments were shaped by activity context, with “Morning Circle” being the most interactive and “Indoor Play” the least interactive activity. Adult words varied primarily at the classroom level, while conversational turns varied primarily at the individual child level. Conversational turns, but not the sheer amount of adult speech, were associated with children's productive vocabularies. Many children worldwide spend a significant amount of time in early education settings; our results underscore the importance of considering these contexts in debates around providing supportive language environments for all children. conversational turns early childhood education language LENA technology longform recordings preschool vocabulary preschool teachers speech children language development vzgojitelji govor otroci predšolsko izobraževanje besednjak razvoj govora true false true Angleški jezik Slovenski jezik Članek v reviji 2026-10-21 04:19:09 2026-10-23 10:38:17 2026-10-24 04:36:49 0000-00-00 00:00:00 2026 0 0 9 str. iss. 4, art. e70062 Vol. 20 Nov. 2026 0000-00-00 Zaloznikova Objavljeno NiDoloceno 0000-00-00 0000-00-00 0000-00-00 159.922.72:373.2.011.3-051 1751-228X 10.1111/mbe.70062 301692163 Fekonja_Language_Environments_in_Slovenian_Early_Education_Centers_Examining_Preschool_Teachers__Speech_Across_Daily_Classroom.pdf Fekonja_Language_Environments_in_Slovenian_Early_Education_Centers_Examining_Preschool_Teachers__Speech_Across_Daily_Classroom.pdf 1 635D377FD8BC19BE353B6CBAAC9E9787 12a33daae0da8eace71e30862612174de3f8c2fca94c4ad253265f8c35680627 8392c000-cebc-11f1-aea2-0050569b8976 https://repozitorij.uni-lj.si/Dokument.php?lang=slv&id=251356 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/mbe.70062 1 a12c666f-ccf5-11f1-8bc5-0050569b8976 https://repozitorij.uni-lj.si/Dokument.php?lang=slv&id=251018 Filozofska fakulteta 0 0 0