Are Reading Interventions for English Language Learners Effective? A Meta-Analysis

Abstract

Despite concerted efforts to improve the reading skills of English language learners (ELLs), it remains unclear if the interventions they have been receiving produce any positive results. Thus, the purpose of this meta-analysis was to examine how effective reading interventions are in improving ELLs’ reading skills and what factors may influence their effectiveness. Twenty-six studies with reported outcomes for pretest and posttest were selected, and four moderators (group size, intensity of intervention, students’ risk status, and type of intervention) were coded. The results of random-effects analyses showed that the reading interventions had a large effect on ELLs’ reading accuracy ( d = 1.221) and reading fluency ( d = 0.802) and a moderate effect on reading comprehension ( d = 0.499). In addition, for real-word reading accuracy, intervention groups composed of more than five students were less effective than groups composed of two to five students, and longer intervention sessions were less effective than shorter ones. Overall, our findings suggest that reading interventions have positive effects on ELLs’ reading skills, and they should not be delayed until these students have reached a certain level of oral English proficiency.

Effects of computerized grapho-phonological training on literacy acquisition and vocabulary knowledge in children with an immigrant background learning German as L2

“…Thus, the beneficial effects of Lautarium-training on spelling found in monolingual German children (Klatte et al 2016(Klatte et al , 2017a and in classes of second-graders with and without a migration background (Klatte et al 2018) were replicated in a sample of children instructed in German as L2. This finding is in line with prior studies demonstrating beneficial effects of phonics-based literacy instruction in both L1 and L2 learners (Ginns et al 2019;Goldenberg 2011;Ludwig et al 2019).…”

“…Several studies confirmed that, for L2 learners, phonics instruction is as effective, or even more effective when compared to children instructed in L1 (Ginns et al 2019;Goldenberg 2011;Ludwig et al 2019). Importantly, this holds true regardless of oral L2 proficiency, i.e., even students with poor oral language scores profit from phonics-based instruction (Goldenberg 2011;Gunn et al 2005;Manis et al 2004).…”

“…Concerning literacy instruction in L2, research has mainly focused on English language learners. Findings indicate that the development of basic reading skills is highly comparable for L2 and L1 learners (for a recent review, see Schaars et al 2019), and that evidence-based instruction programs designed for native children are also effective in students instructed in L2 (Goldenberg 2011;Ludwig et al 2019;Richards-Tutor et al 2016). However, less evidence is available for more transparent orthographies such as German.…”

Evidence-based reading interventions for English language learners: A multilevel meta-analysis

“…Some studies have focused on specific interventions, such as morphological interventions ( Goodwin and Ahn, 2013 ), peer-mediated learning ( Cole, 2014 ), and video game-based instruction ( Thompson and von Gillern ). Ludwig, Guo, and Georgiou (2019) demonstrated the effectiveness of reading interventions for ELLs. However, they divided reading-related variables into “reading accuracy”, “reading fluency”, and “reading comprehension” and examined the effectiveness of the reading-related attributes in each of the variables.…”

“…There is a growing body of literature that recognizes the importance of quality education for learners who study in a language other than their native language ( Estrella et al., 2018 ; Ludwig et al., 2019 ). As cultural, racial, ethnic, and linguistic diversification takes place globally, the number of students studying a second language different from their native language is also increasing worldwide.…”