PREVENIR: Early oral language intervention program (Balboa-Castells et al., 2026)

Purpose: Preschool years are critical for oral language development, which has long-term implications for academic and social success. However, evidence on the feasibility and effectiveness of classwide interventions that promote preliteracy skills before the onset of formal reading instruction—particularly in languages other than English—remains limited. This preliminary effectiveness study examined whether an oral language intervention, called PREVENIR, led to measurable gains in Catalan kindergarten children’s language skills and helped prevent future reading difficulties compared with business-as-usual instruction.Method: A quasi-experimental design was implemented with 85 children aged 5–6 years from four classrooms in two schools, assigned to either an intervention or a control group. The 10-week PREVENIR intervention program targeted vocabulary, phonological awareness, and morphosyntax. Assessments were conducted at three time points: before the intervention, immediately after, and 1 year later. Measures included general language skills, vocabulary, morphosyntax, phonological awareness, and reading outcomes.Results: The intervention group showed significant improvements in general language skills, phonological awareness, and vocabulary compared to the control group in the posttest. These gains were maintained 1 year later and transferred to decoding and reading comprehension skills.Conclusions: The findings provide preliminary evidence for the effectiveness of a structured oral language intervention for Catalan-speaking kindergarten children as a preventive approach to future reading difficulties. Further research is needed to assess long-term impacts and scalability across diverse educational contexts.Supplemental Material S1. The PREVENIR intervention program.Balboa-Castells, R., Peñaherrera, E., Rubab, S., Igualada, A., Sanz-Torrent, M., & Andreu, L. (2026). PREVENIR: An oral language intervention for preventing reading difficulties in kindergarten children—A preliminary effectiveness study. Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools, 57(2), 462–478. https://doi.org/10.1044/2025_LSHSS-25-00052