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Department of Educational Sciences and Psychology

SPEAK Project: Long-Term Effects of Digitally Supported Language Support

Foto von Svenja Wehrhöfer, Annika Ohle-Peters und Leonie Dargiewicz nach der Vorstellung der SPEAK-Ergebnisse. Sie stehen vor einer Präsentation und beantworten Fragen. © IFS​/​TU Dortmund
The project results show that digitally supported language support can have lasting benefits for vocabulary development.

How can children's language skills be effectively supported at the beginning of primary school? This question is addressed by the project “Shaping Linguistic Education Together with Elementary Schools, Families, and Educational Professionals: What Works?” (SPEAK), led by Prof. Dr. Nele McElvany, Prof. Fani Lauermann, PhD, and PD Dr. Annika Ohle-Peters. At the 8th IFS-Education Dialogue on September 17, 2026, Leonie Dargiewicz and Svenja Wehrhöfer presented selected findings on the effectiveness of the intervention.


The SPEAK project developed and evaluated a digitally supported language support intervention designed to promote vocabulary and grammatical skills among first-grade students. The 15-week intervention was delivered by teachers during regular classroom instruction. Some classes also received additional exercises to be completed during all-day educational activities and at home. For the analysis, the two intervention conditions were combined into a single intervention group. A total of 373 children participated in the study, with their classes assigned either to the intervention group or to a waiting-list control group.


The children's language competencies were assessed at three measurement points: the pre-test took place at the beginning of first grade, the post-test in the middle or towards the end of first grade, and the follow-up test in the middle or towards the end of second grade. This design made it possible to examine both the immediate effects of the intervention and its longer-term effectiveness.


The results show that children in the intervention group made significantly greater gains in vocabulary than children in the waiting-list control group. This effect was still detectable one year after the intervention had ended, although it was smaller at that point.
Children in the intervention group also made significantly greater gains in acquiring the accusative case than those in the waiting-list control group. However, this effect was no longer detectable at the follow-up assessment one year after the intervention had ended.


These findings highlight the potential of digitally supported language support in primary school classrooms. At the same time, they suggest that continued support is needed to foster children's language competencies in the long term.


For further information, visit the SPEAK project website.
 

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