Vocabulary development of English-language and English-only learners in kindergarten

In this study I investigated the effectiveness of a kindergarten vocabulary intervention, developed based on previous research on characteristics of effective vocabulary intervention through storybook read-alouds, in 5 kindergarten classrooms. Among these classrooms were 3 mainstream, 1 two-way bilingual, and 1 structured immersion classroom. The classrooms served 44 English-only (EO) and 28 English-language-learning (ELL) children. Linear growth analyses investigated children's learning of taught words, as assessed by a researcher-designed vocabulary measure, and their overall growth in vocabulary knowledge, measured by the Test of Language Development Primary:3. Findings showed that ELLs learned target words at the same rate, and grew in general vocabulary at a faster rate, than EOs.