Review
Effects of early education programs and practices on the development and learning of dual language learners: A review of the literature

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Highlights

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    This review evaluated the research from 2001 to 2011 to examine the effects of educational practices on DLLs from birth through 5 years of age.

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    The review found at least some evidence for the benefits of attending widely available, well regulated early childhood programs.

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    Very little can be concluded about the separate contributions of language of instruction versus type of intervention on the positive main effects of these interventions.

Abstract

This article describes the results of a comprehensive review of the research literature from 2000 to 2011 evaluating the effects of early care and education practices on the developmental outcomes of dual language learners (DLLs) from birth through 5 years of age. Across 25 studies that met inclusion criteria, study samples consisted primarily of Latino or Spanish-speaking children 3–5 years of age enrolled in center-based programs. The analysis focused on features of the early education programs and practices (intensity and language of instruction) and research methods (sampling, research designs) in relation to child outcomes for the various types of research interventions evaluated in these studies (center-based programs, professional development, curricula, and instructional strategies). On the basis of a few large-scale scientifically sound studies, the review found at least some evidence to suggest that DLLs benefitted from attending widely available, well regulated programs such as Head Start and public pre-k, particularly with respect to improving language and literacy skills. However, because the extant research has not systematically accounted for the separate effects of language of instruction versus type of intervention, very little can be concluded about how these factors contribute to the positive main effects of these interventions.

Section snippets

Characteristics of dual language learners

Although various terms have been used to describe this population, we use the term DLLs to mean a diverse group of bilingual children or second language learners “who are exposed to and given opportunities to learn two languages from birth or shortly after” (i.e., children who learn multiple languages simultaneously) and those “who have already made significant progress toward acquisition of one language when they begin the acquisition of a second language” (i.e., children who learn multiple

Importance of supporting children's first language development

Bilingual scholars have postulated that the process of developing language and literacy skills among DLLs differs from that of monolingual speakers. They have noted, for example, that the development of language and literacy among DLLs using multiple language systems generally involves the integration of component skills (e.g., sound-symbol awareness, grammatical knowledge, vocabulary knowledge) as well as certain socio-cultural influences thought to be critical to the development of reading

Previous research on educational programs and interventions for dual language learners

Information about the prevalence and characteristics of DLLs in early care and education programs in the U.S. is accumulating rapidly, and there is now growing consensus on the specific language and literacy skills that all children should acquire in pre-kindergarten. Moreover, a number of research-based language and literacy instructional approaches (e.g., code-focused instruction targeting phonological awareness and alphabet knowledge, shared storybook reading and dialogic reading, oral

Current study

This article describes the results of a systematic review of the research literature evaluating the effects of early education interventions on the development and learning of DLL children birth through 5 years of age. The term “intervention” is defined as the programmatic, professional development, and curricula and instructional strategies evaluated through research, consistent with the way in which Cheung and Slavin (2012) operationalized this term to mean various forms of bilingual

Search procedures

The search parameters used for this review were defined by the Center on Early Care and Education Research—Dual Language Learners (CECER-DLL). These included all of the following: published peer-reviewed journal articles and reports of two large, federally sponsored evaluations of Head Start from 2000 to 2011; a focus on early care and education interventions for DLL children birth to 5 years old; studies that evaluated the effects of an intervention on DLL children's learning or development;

Results

The results of the review presented in the next sections draw on the study elements in Table 1, Table 2 and are organized broadly around (a) the methodological issues used to evaluate the scientific integrity of the research (i.e., sampling, research design, measurement, and moderating variables), (b) the characteristics of the interventions (i.e., the nature and intensity of the intervention, the language of instruction or intervention) and research in relation to child outcomes, and (c) and

Discussion

The purpose of this comprehensive, systematic review of the literature was to appraise the existing research on early care and education interventions designed to promote the development and learning of DLL children birth to 5 years of age in the U.S. A search for relevant research studies produced 25 articles evaluating early education programs and instructional interventions for DLLs in this age group. This is a surprisingly small number of studies, given the growing number of children under

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    *Included in the comprehensive review of studies evaluating early educational programs and practices for DLLs.

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