Parallel Read-Alouds: A Bilingual Repeated Read-Aloud and Retelling Intervention for Kindergarten ELLs

Teachers working with young ELLs at risk for literacy underachievement lack research-based practices to maximize the use of picture book read-alouds to accelerate language comprehension outcomes. This study investigated the effects of 8-22 weeks of small group, bilingual repeated read-aloud and retelling intervention, the parallel read-aloud intervention, on Vietnamese ELL kindergarteners’ retelling skills, focusing on the use of story grammar elements and language complexity and productivity. The study was conducted using a multiple-baseline single subject design with 5 subjects. Students’ growth in the overall quality of narrative retelling was assessed weekly using the Test of Narrative Retell (TNR) and their growth in language complexity was simultaneously assessed by transcribing the weekly retell samples to calculate scores for number of diverse words (NDW) and mean length of utterance (MLU) using the Systematic Analysis of Language Transcripts (SALT) software. The results supported a moderate intervention effect for overall retelling scores on the TNR and for NDW, which were maintained across most subjects after four weeks without intervention. The major implications of this study relate to differentiating instruction for young ELLs with low English oral proficiency by offering bilingual, repeated read-aloud interventions and using progress monitoring assessments to accelerate their growth with language comprehension in English.