Does a whole-class vocabulary intervention programme improve the vocabulary skills of secondary school students from areas of social disadvantage?

Background: Adolescents from socially disadvantaged areas typically have lower vocabulary skills when compared with their age-matched peers from areas of social advantage (Spencer et al 2012). These difficulties put them at greater risk of academic failure, low self-esteem (Bercow 2008) and SEBD (Joffe and Black 2012). Currently, there is limited research on whole-class vocabulary interventions targeting adolescents (Cirrin and Gillam 2008). Aims: This research aims to determine whether a whole-class vocabulary intervention programme improves the vocabulary skills of secondary school students, measured on standardised measures, in areas of social disadvantage. A secondary aim is to investigate the relationship between pre-treatment scores and the amount of improvement made. Methods and Procedures: 231 students from four socially disadvantaged schools took part, (M= 12;08). Schools were randomly assigned to Treated (n= 135) or Control groups (n=96.) All students were assessed on standardised measures, BPVS III (Dunn et al 2009) and vocabulary subtests from the CELF-4 (Semel et al 2003). The Treated group received twelve weeks of whole-class vocabulary intervention delivered by their teachers. The teachers were trained and supported by a SLTs. The Control group’s intervention was delayed. Outcomes and Results: There were greater improvements for the Treated group for three raw score measures: BPVS, Word Classes Expressive and Word Associations. The effect sizes were considerably small. The Treated group significantly improved on all language measures across time, while the Control group did not. These results indicate that the Treated group made greater gains than the Control group. There were no significant interaction effects of treatment on all standard score measures. There was a moderate, negative correlation between the pre-treatment scores and the gains made. Conclusions and Implications: The positive raw score results suggest that a whole-class vocabulary programme can improve aspects of vocabulary skills of students from areas of social disadvantage. The results also imply the lower the initial language level, the greater the gains made. However, the lack of change on all standard score measures warrants investigation. Further research should also administer more sensitive assessments to determine which aspects of the intervention are most beneficial.