Evaluating the effectiveness of the oral language for literacy intervention in improving children’s language and expressive writing skills

Thesis

Oral language plays a crucial role in reading and writing development. Good oral language skills are also critical for children’s psycho-social development. Many children enter primary education with weak oral language skills, in particular, children from socially disadvantaged backgrounds. These children often require intervention and support to ameliorate their language weaknesses. For some children, difficulties related to oral language persist into the late primary school years. This thesis reports on the development and evaluation of an Oral Language for Literacy Intervention designed to improve the oral language and expressive writing skills of children aged 8 – 10 years with identified language weaknesses.

A randomised controlled trial was conducted in 50 Year 4 classes in 33 primary schools in England. The language skills of all children in participating classrooms were assessed using a language screening app, LanguageScreen. The screening identified the 6 children in each classroom with the lowest LanguageScreen scores (n=296). These children were randomised to an intervention (n=148) or control group (n=148). The children in the intervention group received the 20-week Oral Language for Literacy Intervention, delivered by teaching assistants trained in the delivery of the programme. The children in the control group received their regular classroom teaching.

Children who received the Oral language for Literacy Intervention made statistically significantly greater gains in language (d = 0.38) and expressive writing skills (d = 0.42). Substantial improvements were seen in the ability of children in the intervention group to define words taught in the programme. Children in the intervention group also improved in their ability to define words that they had heard in the passages read aloud to them, but which had not been directly taught. Qualitative feedback from participating schools demonstrated an overwhelmingly positive response to the OLLI programme and indicated that children were generalising taught language skills in the classroom.

These findings have important implications for improving the language and writing skills of children in the later primary years and for improving educational attainment. As children with language weaknesses reach the end of primary education, the Oral language for Literacy Intervention can support them to develop the language and expressive writing skills required for the secondary curriculum, a curriculum which places significant language and writing demands on young people.

Authors: Esposito, R

• DOI: 10.5287/ora-m82z5xawn
• Type of award: DPhil
• Level of award: Doctoral
• Awarding institution: University of Oxford
• Language: English
• Keywords: primary school; Writing; RCT; Language; intervention; education; oral language skills; expressive writing; upper primary school years
• Subjects: Educational intervention; Oral language skills; Writing; School children