Early language screening and intervention can be delivered successfully at scale
Evidence from a cluster randomized controlled trial
Bibliographic Data
BACKGROUND: It is well established that oral language skills provide a critical foundation for formal education. This study evaluated the effectiveness of the Nuffield Early Language Intervention (NELI) programme in ameliorating language difficulties in the first year of school when delivered at scale. METHODS: We conducted a cluster randomized controlled trial (RCT) in 193 primary schools (containing 238 Reception classrooms). Schools were randomly allocated to either a 20-week oral language intervention or a business-as-usual control group. All classes (N = 5,879 children) in participating schools were screened by school staff using an automated App to assess children's oral language skills. Screening identified 1,173 children as eligible for language intervention: schools containing 571 of these children were allocated to the control group and 569 to the intervention group. RESULTS: Children receiving the NELI programme made significantly larger gains than the business-as-usual control group on a latent variable reflecting standardized measures of language ability (d = .26) and on the school-administered automated assessment of receptive and expressive language skills (d = .32). The effects of intervention did not vary as a function of home language background or gender. CONCLUSIONS: This study provides strong evidence for the effectiveness of a school-based language intervention programme (NELI) delivered at scale. These findings demonstrate that language difficulties can be identified by school-based testing and ameliorated by a TA delivered intervention; this has important implications for educational and social policy
Cluster (spacecraft) · Cluster randomised controlled trial · Developmental psychology · Intervention (counseling) · Psychiatry · Randomized controlled trial · Scale (ratio) · Clinical Psychology · Early Childhood Education and Development · Educational and Psychological Assessments · Language Development and Disorders · Medicine · Psychology
What are the long-term prospects for children with comprehension weaknesses? A registered report investigating education and employment outcomes
Scaling up early language intervention in educational settings
Delivering language intervention at scale
Early language intervention improves behavioral adjustment in school
The Nuffield Early Language Intervention (Neli) programme is associated with lasting improvements in children's language and reading skills
Oral language enrichment in preschool improves children's language skills
Oral language intervention in the late primary school years is effective
Unequal educational outcomes for children with similar early childhood vocabulary but different socioeconomic circumstances
Do early gains deliver lasting impact? Understanding why long‐term effects of language intervention fade out
Acquisition of Multiple-Meaning Words, Including Polysemy and Homonymy, in the Expressive Lexicon of 3–5-Year-Olds, and the Impact of a Gamified Intervention Program
Reframing dyslexia
Consort 2010 Statement
Durable effects of concentrated disadvantage on verbal ability among African-American children
Estimating Effect Sizes From Pretest-Posttest-Control Group Designs
The impact of nonverbal ability on prevalence and clinical presentation of language disorder
Promoting Language and Literacy in Young Dual Language Learners
Prevalence of Specific Language Impairment in Kindergarten Children
Increasing Young Low‐Income Children’s Oral Vocabulary Repertoires through Rich and Focused Instruction
The Gap Between Spanish Speakers’ Word Reading and Word Knowledge
Sentence repetition is a measure of children's language skills rather than working memory limitations
Species Richness of Parasite Assemblages
Socioeconomic Status and Academic Achievement
Meaningful Differences in the Everyday Experience of Young American Children
Language domains differentially predict mathematics performance in young children
The mechanisms mediating the effects of poverty on children’s intellectual development
Reading comprehension and its underlying components in second-language learners
| Unique citing works | 11 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 2,75 |
| Citation span | 2022 - 2026 (5) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 11 |