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A Systematic Review of Academic Discourse Interventions for School-Aged Children With Language-Related Learning
Amy K Peterson1, Carly B Fox1, Megan Israelsen1
1Department of Communicative Disorders and Deaf Education, Utah State University, Logan.
Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools
|June 12, 2020
Summary
Expository discourse interventions show promise for students with language learning disabilities, particularly when using explicit instruction with visual aids. However, skill generalization to new settings remains limited.
Area of Science:
- Speech and Language Pathology
- Educational Psychology
- Learning Disabilities Research
Background:
- Students with language-related learning disabilities often struggle with both narrative and expository discourse.
- Effective interventions are needed to improve discourse skills in late elementary and middle school students.
- Existing research on discourse interventions for this population requires synthesis.
Purpose of the Study:
- To systematically review and synthesize peer-reviewed studies on the effectiveness of narrative and expository discourse interventions.
- To identify effective intervention strategies for students aged 9-14 with language-related learning disabilities.
- To evaluate the transferability of learned discourse skills.
Main Methods:
- Systematic literature search for group experimental designs targeting expository or narrative discourse.
- Inclusion criteria focused on students aged 9-14 with language-related learning disabilities.
- Seven studies met the criteria and were critically appraised for quality and effect sizes.
Main Results:
- Interventions showed equivocal to small effects for far-transfer outcomes and equivocal to moderate effects for near-transfer outcomes.
- Most effective interventions involved explicit instruction of expository texts, visual supports, and student-generated materials.
- Intervention dosage of 180-300 minutes over 6-8 weeks in one-on-one or paired settings was optimal.
- Greater effects were observed in students with reading/language disorders compared to general academic difficulties.
Conclusions:
- Expository discourse interventions demonstrate potential for improving skills within the treatment setting (near-transfer).
- Generalization of learned discourse skills to other settings (far-transfer) remains a challenge.
- Explicit instruction, visual aids, and student engagement are key components for effective interventions.
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