Research reports

Accessible summaries of research papers

OASIS (Open Accessible Summaries In Language Studies – https://oasis-database.org/) offers summaries of research findings on language learning and teaching. You can search the database using a simple interface, by entering keywords of interest (e.g. “incidental learning” vocabulary).

Each summary is written in accessible language and features the following sections:

  • What this research was about and why it is important
  • What the researchers did
  • What the researchers found
  • Things to consider

Reports and systematic reviews

Below we provide access to publications relating to children with English as an Additional Language in the UK and abroad.

A systematic review of language and literacy interventions in children and adolescents with English as an additional language (EAL) (Emily Oxley and Cecile De Cat)

We sought to update a 2015 systematic review evaluating language and literacy outcomes for EAL children (Murphy & Unthiah, 2015) with current intervention studies and to see which of those interventions could be adapted for classrooms in the UK. Our key research questions were:

  1. What intervention studies have been published since 2014 addressing the language and literacy development of children with English as an additional language?
  2. What is the impact of those interventions?

English as an Additional Language,proficiency in English and pupils’ educational achievement:
An analysis of Local Authority data (Steve Strand and Annina Hessel)

This report from 2018 presents an analysis of data from a new variable in the English School Census, recording the Proficiency in English (PIE) of pupils with English as an Additional Language (EAL).

English as an Additional Language (EAL) and educational achievement in England: An analysis of the National Pupil Database (Steve Strand, Lars Malmberg and James Hall)

This report from 2015 gives a detailed overview of children with EAL in the UK. The key questions addressed by the project were:

  1. Who are the most at-risk groups of EAL learners and what are the predictors of low
    attainment for these learners?
  2. What are the most promising programmes and interventions to address EAL
    achievement gaps on the basis of causal evidence?

A systematic review of intervention research examining English language and literacy development in children with English as an Additional Language (EAL) (Victoria A. Murphy and Adam Unthiah)

The paper from 2015  systematically reviewed intervention research regarding language and literacy for pupils with English as an Additional Language. The review sought to answer the following research questions:

  1. What intervention research has been carried out since the year 2000 which has aimed at improving English language and/or literacy skills in children with EAL?
  2. What is the strength of evidence of this research?