This review set out to summarise research on effective reading programmes for EAL pupils at primary level. The researchers were Alan Cheung, Success for All Foundation and Robert E Slavin, John Hopkins University. The review looked at available evidence on programmes designed to improve the reading achievement of EAL pupils aged 5-11. It focussed on studies that compared experimental and control groups on quantitative reading measures.
The review examined studies of EAL reading programmes where these were available in English. These included studies of the Success for All and Exito Para Todos programmes as well as Jolly Phonics and Reading Recovery. Most studies included took place in the USA. The outcomes of the studies were assessed and compared to gauge the effectiveness of the included programmes.
The researchers concluded that among beginning reading models, research supported structured, phonetic programmes emphasizing language development in both native-language and English instruction. Tutoring programmes were also supported. For upper-elementary reading, research supported a broad range of programmes, but particularly effective were programmes using cooperative learning, extensive vocabulary instruction, and literature.
Descriptions and ratings for all the programmes are included in the research summary.
The research also showed how much remains to be done on effective reading programs for EAL learners and language-minority students. Only a handful of studies met the minimal inclusion standards applied in the review, which principally required an experimental-control comparison of a reading program over at least 12 weeks, with evidence that the two groups were equivalent at pretest.
Cheung, A., and Slavin, R. E. (2005) Bilingual Research Journal, volume 29, no. 2, pp. 241-267.
A summary of the review was republished for the UK in 2009
