Improving the General Language Skills of Second-Language Learners in Kindergarten: A Randomized Controlled Trial

The purpose of this study is to examine the effect of an intervention aimed at second-language learners' general language skills in their second language.

The results show that the children in the intervention group significantly improve their taught vocabulary which seems to be maintained seven months after the intervention. The intervention also seems to have an effect on the children's expressive language skills, but not on their receptive language skills. The effects are independent of the children's initial language skills, and therefore the authors conclude that second-language learners can benefit from second-language training, even though they start from a poor point of departure. According to the authors, the study generally indicates that interventions aimed at expressive language skills in a second language can be successfully implemented in kindergarten settings to improve the children's language skills before school entry.

The authors used a randomised controlled trial design to evaluate the effect of an intervention programme aimed at the general language skills of second-language learners. The programme consisted of a wide range of activities, including training in vocabulary, grammar and narrative. In addition to the structured language activities, dialogic reading was an important element of the programme. The intervention programme consisted of a total of 54 sessions: three every week for 18 weeks. Two 40-45-minute group sessions were held each week as well as one individual ten-minute session for each child. The intervention programme was carried out by kindergarten teachers who had received two days of training prior to the intervention.

The children in the study spoke Norwegian as their second language and came from 31 different kindergartens in two suburban municipalities. The study included a total of 115 children with an average age of 5.6 years who were assigned to an intervention group or a control group. In order to measure the effect of the intervention, all children's language skills were tested within taught vocabulary, i.e. words used in the intervention, expressive and receptive language skills as well as narrative skills. The children were tested before the intervention, after the intervention and at a follow-up test seven months after the intervention (when the children had started school).

Rogde, K., Melby-Lervåg M., & Lervåg, A. (2016). Improving the General Language Skills of Second-Language Learners in Kindergarten: A Randomized Controlled Trial. Journal of Research on Educational Effectiveness 9(1), 150-170.