ERIC Number: EJ1078810
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2015
Pages: 40
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1934-5747
EISSN: N/A
Effectiveness of Supplemental Kindergarten Vocabulary Instruction for English Learners: A Randomized Study of Immediate and Longer-Term Effects of Two Approaches
Vadasy, Patricia F.; Sanders, Elizabeth A.; Nelson, J. Ron
Journal of Research on Educational Effectiveness, v8 n4 p490-529 2015
A two-cohort cluster-randomized trial was conducted to estimate effects of small-group supplemental vocabulary instruction for at-risk kindergarten English learners (ELs). Connections students received explicit instruction in high-frequency decodable root words, and interactive book reading (IBR) students were taught the same words in a storybook reading context. A total of 324 EL students representing 24 home languages and averaging in the 10th percentile in receptive vocabulary completed the study (Connections n = 163 in 75 small groups; IBR n = 161 in 72 IBR small groups). Although small groups in both conditions made significant immediate gains across all measures, Connections students made significantly greater gains in reading vocabulary and decoding (d = 0.64 and 0.45, respectively). At first-grade follow-up, longer-term gains were again greater for Connections students, but with smaller effect sizes (d = 0.29 and 0.27, respectively). Results indicate that explicit Connections instruction features designed to build semantic, orthographic, and phonological connections for word learning were effective for improving proximal reading vocabulary and general decoding; however, increases in root word reading vocabulary did not transfer to general vocabulary knowledge.
Descriptors: Kindergarten, Elementary School Students, English Language Learners, Instructional Effectiveness, Receptive Language, Vocabulary Skills, Vocabulary, Vocabulary Development, Decoding (Reading), Grade 1, Intervention, Second Language Learning, Beginning Reading, English, Reading Programs, Reading Skills, Tutors, Small Group Instruction, Urban Schools, Comparative Analysis, Fidelity, Student Evaluation
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Kindergarten; Primary Education; Early Childhood Education; Elementary Education; Grade 1
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A