Interventions for Language Learning Impairments Professor Maggie Snowling St John’s College, Oxford

Spoken language is the foundation for learning The medium of instruction The foundation for literacy (and especially reading with understanding) The support for numeracy development, especially verbal number skills Associated with better self- regulation The strongest predictor of educational achievement Children with poor language at school entry require intervention

How can we foster oral language skills?

Reading vs. Language Intervention

Overview MeasureMeanSD CELF EV Scaled CELF SS Scaled PSRep Standard

Intervention effects on language [at post-test T5]

Outcomes at T6 (+6 months)

Oral Language mediates Reading Comprehension outcomes Language Post-Test (t5) t5 APT Info t5 APT Grammar t5 List Comp t5 CELF Vocab INTERVENTION Reading Comprehension t

York Reading for Meaning (ReadMe) trial Clarke, Hulme, Truelove & Snowling (2010)

Programme contents and features Combined All eight components Sessions contained both reading and listening comprehension Opportunities for children to encounter new vocabulary/idioms/inferences in both written and spoken language

All interventions improved Reading Comprehension

Vocabulary was mediator of outcome

Oral language work can be successfully delivered in school settings In the early years, there is robust evidence that vocabulary and narrative skills can improve significantly as can oral phonological awareness Improvements in oral language impact literacy development, especially reading comprehension BUT there is no quick fix; – Interventions need to be of high quality – Short interventions may have specific effects but little generalization Teaching assistants in mainstream schools and early years staff should be trained, supported and mandated to deliver oral language work

Credits A big ‘thank you’ to all our collaborators: Nuffield Foundation and ESRC Charles Hulme, Claudine Bowyer-Crane, Silke Fricke, Fiona Duff, Emma Truelove, Glynnis Smith, Elizabeth Fieldsend Teaching Assistants and Schools who supported the research