Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Thesis Format

Integrated Article

Degree

Master of Science

Program

Health and Rehabilitation Sciences

Supervisor

Archibald, Lisa M.D

Abstract

Oral language is one skill known to support written language development. Story-telling or narrative skills are important oral language skills that have been found to improve with explicit teaching and predict academic outcomes. This study investigated impact of the oral narrative intervention on the oral and written language skills of first-grade children. In a cross-over design with 63 participants from two schools, whole class intervention in one class per school was conducted in twelve 25–30-minute sessions over three weeks either during phase 1 or phase 2 of the study while the other class in each school completed their business-as-usual curriculum. Children completed oral language measures before and after each study phase and written language samples throughout the study. Results indicated no significant improvements in oral or written language measures that were specifically associated with intervention phases. The two schools differed at baseline and showed different patterns of increases across repeated testing times. The findings are not consistent with many previous studies showing positive oral and written responses to narrative intervention.

Summary for Lay Audience

Oral language is one skill known to support written language development. Story-telling or narrative skills are an important oral language skill that have been found to improve with clear teaching and further predicts academic outcomes. The study investigates the impact of the oral narrative intervention, on the oral and written language skills of first-grade children. Conducted across two schools with 63 participants, the research aimed to assess the changes in oral language, using the Listening Retell and Recalling Sentences and written language through several word-level and text-level measures. Story Champs™ is an oral narrative intervention program that focuses on enhancing children’s academic language abilities through the foundation of storytelling. Oral narratives are seen as foundational not only for oral language but also for written language, as children often translate their spoken stories into written form. This connection is crucial as proficiency in oral narratives can lead to better writing skills, including the use of more complex sentence structures and coherent storylines. In this study, the intervention consisted of twelve 25-30-minute sessions over three weeks. Children were divided into two groups based on who received intervention first. Results showed that there were no improvements in either oral or written language measures in either of the two groups. The study’s findings indicate that Story Champs™ did not impact the children’s written narratives suggesting that oral narrative instruction is not beneficial and that its transfer to written language may require more specific intervention. There were significant baseline differences between the two schools, and this significantly influenced the results. The findings are not consistent with many previous studies showing positive oral and written responses to narrative intervention. The results might indicate that factors such as socioeconomic status and practice effects need to be considered in more detail.

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