Journal Article

Oral Language Intervention in Norwegian Schools Serving Young Language-Minority Learners

Grøver, Vibeke, Lervåg, Arne, Heller, Mia C.

2019

Overview

In this randomized trial study, the authors examined the efficacy of a practitioner partnership language intervention addressing oral language learning (expressive and receptive) in young language-minority learners from multiple-language groups in Norway. Resource teachers in 16 elementary schools implemented the intervention in the first and second grades, delivering a total of 64 thirty-minute sessions over eight consecutive weeks. With a mean age of 6 years 3.34 months, 137 students were randomly allocated to an intervention group or a waiting-list control group, with the latter group receiving the intervention after posttest 1. Five assessments of oral language skills were conducted before the intervention, immediately following it, and four months later. The intervention group showed significant improvements in various oral language skills compared with the waiting-list control group. There were no significant differences between the groups at the four-month follow-up when the waiting-list control group received the intervention. The program was successful in enhancing oral language skills in young language-minority learners.

• Publisher: Wiley,Wiley-Blackwell,Blackwell Publishing Ltd
• Subject: 1‐Early childhood / 2‐Childhood / Comparative Analysis / Comprehension / Control groups / Curriculum/Program Development / Efficacy / Elementary School Students / Elementary School Teachers / Elementary schools / Experimental/Quasi‐experimental / Expressive Language / Foreign Countries / Grade 1 / Grade 2 / Groups / ILA TIMOTHY AND CYNTHIA SHANAHAN OUTSTANDING DISSERTATION AWARD FOR 2019 / Instructional strategies; methods and materials / Intervention / Language / Language acquisition / Language disorders / Language learners / Language Learning / Language Minorities / Language proficiency / Language Skills / LISREL/Causal Modeling / Multiple Regression Analysis / Norwegian / Norwegian language / Oral Language / Oral Language / Spoken Language / Pretests Posttests / Quasi-experimental methods / Receptive Language / Resource Teachers / Second Language Instruction / Second Language Learning / Skills / Socio‐cognitive / Spoken language / Teachers / Vocabulary