The Power of Stories: Enhancing Oral Language Proficiency in Bilingual Kids in the Early Primary Grades
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Mentor Information
Dr. Matthew Foster
Description
Research shows that academic language can be taught explicitly using narrative language interventions before or while teaching children to read (Pico et al., 2021). Among emerging bilinguals, explicit teaching of narrative structure and language in a preschooler’s native language (i.e., Spanish) can support their second language acquisition in English (Spencer et al., 2020). The goal of this study was to measure the significance of a narrative language intervention on bilingual primary school students’ academic language. Students in kindergarten and first grade, at one charter school serving bilingual children, were evaluated using the Narrative Language Measures (NLM; Petersen & Spencer, 2012), before, immediately after, and after one month of the intervention. Twelve students participated in 14 small-group instructional units in English and Spanish using Puente de Cuentos and Story Champs (Spencer et al., 2020). ANOVA was used to measure differences across time. The findings showed that children in both grades significantly improved their skills in producing narrative structure in Spanish (F (2, 12) = 5.12, p = .025, partial n² = .46), and in English (F (2, 12) = 6.55, p = .012, partial n² = .52). They also improved significantly at comprehending stories in both Spanish (F (2, 12) = 16.44, p < .001, partial n² = .73), and English (F (2, 12) = 16.03, p < .001, partial n² = .72). Findings suggest that bilingually developing children can improve their academic language skills in a short period of time, which are likely to support their future literacy.
The Power of Stories: Enhancing Oral Language Proficiency in Bilingual Kids in the Early Primary Grades
Research shows that academic language can be taught explicitly using narrative language interventions before or while teaching children to read (Pico et al., 2021). Among emerging bilinguals, explicit teaching of narrative structure and language in a preschooler’s native language (i.e., Spanish) can support their second language acquisition in English (Spencer et al., 2020). The goal of this study was to measure the significance of a narrative language intervention on bilingual primary school students’ academic language. Students in kindergarten and first grade, at one charter school serving bilingual children, were evaluated using the Narrative Language Measures (NLM; Petersen & Spencer, 2012), before, immediately after, and after one month of the intervention. Twelve students participated in 14 small-group instructional units in English and Spanish using Puente de Cuentos and Story Champs (Spencer et al., 2020). ANOVA was used to measure differences across time. The findings showed that children in both grades significantly improved their skills in producing narrative structure in Spanish (F (2, 12) = 5.12, p = .025, partial n² = .46), and in English (F (2, 12) = 6.55, p = .012, partial n² = .52). They also improved significantly at comprehending stories in both Spanish (F (2, 12) = 16.44, p < .001, partial n² = .73), and English (F (2, 12) = 16.03, p < .001, partial n² = .72). Findings suggest that bilingually developing children can improve their academic language skills in a short period of time, which are likely to support their future literacy.
