Enhancing Language Skills in Young Language-Minority Learners: A Curriculum-Based Intervention Approach

• In Event: Sheraton Roundtable Session 35
  In Roundtable Session: Factors in the Success of Multilingual Learners

Abstract

In a randomized controlled study in Norway, the efficacy of a curriculum-based intervention addressing second-language learning in young language minority children was explored. 137 students attending first and second grade were randomly allocated to a group receiving a language-enhancing intervention program or a waiting control group. Assessments of language skills were conducted prior to the intervention and immediately following the intervention. The children in the intervention group had significant improvements in various language skills, whether assessed by curriculum-based instruments or by standardized language assessment tools. These findings indicate that a curriculum-based intervention program that target language skills in young language minority students can be successfully implemented in the early elementary school years.

Authors

• Mia Cecilie Heller, University of Oslo

• Vibeke Grøver, University of Oslo