Talk—An Intervention Programme for Enhancing Early Literacy Skills in Preschool Children: A Pilot Study

ABSTRACT

Many studies have reported that early interventions on language and early literacy skills are important for preventing later reading difficulties at primary school. The aim of the study is to assess the effectiveness of a 12-week intervention programme focused on enhancing pre-schoolers’ language and early literacy skills. Two groups of children (ages 5-6) were involved in the study: the “Talk-group”, who participated in the intervention programme, and the “Play-group”, who followed the standard preschool curriculum. The children's early literacy skills were tested in two sessions six months apart, at the beginning and at the end of the last year of preschool. Data analysis showed that children achieved significantly higher scores in nonword repetition and lexical comprehension at the second assessment; however, only the children in the Talk-group produced significantly higher phonological awareness scores at the second session, i.e. after the intervention. Additional tests showed that the intervention programme was effective only in the case of more basic phonological awareness skills. The programme's potential for supporting early literacy development in preschool and for preventing long-term difficulties in reading are discussed.

KEYWORDS:

• Pre-schoolers
• intervention
• assessment
• early literacy

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

The project «TALK», with number 2017-1-IT02-KA201-036595, was funded with support from the European Commission under the Erasmus+ Programme.

Notes on contributors

Marinella Majorano

Marinella Majorano is an Associate Professor of Developmental and Educational Psychology at the University of Verona. Her research programme focuses on the role played by the family and by educational and cultural factors in the development of language and communication.

Rachele Ferrari

Rachele Ferrari, psychotherapist specialized in Neurodevelopmental psychology ANSvi Parma. She works at “Studio Evolvendo - Mantova”, planning and implementing rehabilitation interventions aimed at preschool children.

Beatrice Bertelli

Beatrice Bertelli, psychologist and psychotherapist. She was the didactic coordinator of the School of Specialization in Neurodevelopmental psychology, ANSvi Parma. Currently, she is responsible for the diagnostic and therapeutic activity of “Studio Evolvendo – Mantova”.

Valentina Persici

Valentina Persici, Ph.D., is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the University of Verona. She studies language and reading development and rhythm in children with typical and atypical development.

Tamara Bastianello

Tamara Bastianello has a master degree in Education and she currently is a Ph.D. student at the University of Verona. Her main research interest is language acquisition and development in babies and children with typical and atypical development.