Fricke, S., Bowyer-Crane, C., Haley, A.J. et al. (2 more authors) (2013) Efficacy of language intervention in the early years. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 54 (3). 280 - 290. ISSN 0021-9630
Abstract
Background: Oral language skills in the preschool and early school years are critical to educational success and provide the foundations for the later development of reading comprehension.
Methods: In a randomized controlled trial, 180 children from 15 UK nursery schools (n = 12 from each setting; Mage = 4;0) were randomly allocated to receive a 30-week oral language intervention or to a waiting control group. Children in the intervention group received 30 weeks of oral language intervention, beginning in nursery (preschool), in three group sessions per week, continuing with daily sessions on transition to Reception class (pre-Year 1). The intervention was delivered by nursery staff and teaching assistants trained and supported by the research team. Following screening, children were assessed preintervention, following completion of the intervention and after a 6-month delay.
Results: Children in the intervention group showed significantly better performance on measures of oral language and spoken narrative skills than children in the waiting control group immediately after the 30 week intervention and after a 6 month delay. Gains in word-level literacy skills were weaker, though clear improvements were observed on measures of phonological awareness. Importantly, improvements in oral language skills generalized to a standardized measure of reading comprehension at maintenance test.
Conclusions: Early intervention for children with oral language difficulties is effective and can successfully support the skills, which underpin reading comprehension
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2013 The Author(s). This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. |
Keywords: | Intervention; language; mediation; reading; education |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Sheffield |
Academic Units: | The University of Sheffield > Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health (Sheffield) > Department of Human Communication Sciences (Sheffield) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Sheffield |
Date Deposited: | 20 Aug 2015 09:52 |
Last Modified: | 16 Dec 2015 10:36 |
Published Version: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/jcpp.12010 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Wiley |
Refereed: | Yes |
Identification Number: | 10.1111/jcpp.12010 |
Related URLs: | |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:88748 |