English Language Learners and English-Only Learners' Response to Direct Vocabulary Instruction

Abstract

We examined data from an 18-week kindergarten vocabulary intervention study to determine whether treatment outcomes had differential effects that favored English language learners (ELLs) or English-only learners (EOLs) and whether the relationship between initial English general receptive vocabulary knowledge and response to vocabulary intervention differed as a function of language status. Participants from 3 northeastern U.S. elementary schools within 3 separate school districts were assigned to either a treatment condition (ELLs, n = 31; EOLs, n = 49) or no-treatment condition (ELLs, n = 17; EOLs, n = 25). Trained interventionists delivered direct vocabulary instruction using 1 storybook twice per week in 20- to 25-min sessions. Results from 2 × 2 analyses of variance indicated that participants performed better if they were (a) in the treatment condition rather than the no-treatment condition and (b) categorized as an EOL rather than an ELL with evidence of an interaction effect on a target-word knowledge measure (TWKM). Regression analyses indicated that (a) the centered pretest Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test–III (PPVT–III) accounted for a statistically significant proportion of the variance in posttest measures for treatment participants and (b) language status did not explain any additional variance in posttest measures. Each of the 3 mediation models for the dependent measures TWKM, PPVT–III, and listening comprehension, using the independent variable language status and the mediating variable centered pretest PPVT–III, resulted in full mediation. Findings indicate that treatment ELLs and treatment EOLs would most likely perform equally well on posttest target-word and general receptive vocabulary measures if they had similar initial English general receptive vocabulary knowledge.