Enhancing Vocabulary and Listening Comprehension Skills in Children with Limited Language Proficiency: The Impact of Dialogic Reading Interventions

Abstract

This study aimed to examine the impact of dialogic reading implemented within a classroom setting on the vocabulary and listening comprehension skills of kindergarten children defined as children with limited language proficiency. The study enlisted a cohort of 61 kindergarten participants sourced from classes in Ankara, Turkey. A classroom-based dialogic reading intervention was administered over 12 weeks, with two sessions per week, each lasting two hours. Pre and post-test assessments were conducted using the Turkish Test of Early Literacy (TEL) to gauge participants' vocabulary and listening comprehension skills. Results revealed a noticeable enhancement in both vocabulary acquisition and listening comprehension skills subsequent to the dialogic book reading intervention. Statistical analyses unveiled significant disparities between pre and post-test scores across all sub-dimensions related to participants' vocabulary and listening comprehension skills. This study contributes to the growing body of experimental literature, affirming that the integration of dialogic reading interventions within a classroom environment significantly enhances the vocabulary and listening comprehension skills of young children from academically disadvantaged backgrounds. Furthermore, the findings emphasize the critical role of demonstrating that dialogic reading interventions, particularly those grounded in real-life experiences and practical classroom applications, significantly enhance children's foundational language skills. This highlights the practical relevance of such well-structured interventions, offering important insights for their implementation in future educational practices.

Introduction

Dialogic reading is an interactive and collaborative reading approach that goes beyond traditional read-aloud methods, engaging children in dynamic exchanges that actively involve them in the reading process (Pillinger & Vardy, 2022). Unlike conventional approaches, where the adult primarily reads and the child listens passively, dialogic reading positions the adult as a facilitator who encourages discussions about the book through open-ended questions, prompts for the child’s opinions, and connections between the story and the child’s experiences. This interactive process fosters responsive conversations that enrich vocabulary, enabling children to acquire new words and deepen their understanding of their meanings through contextualized discussions (Grolig et al., 2020; Kennedy & McLoughlin, 2023; Yang et al., 2024). Grounded in Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory, which highlights the role of social interaction and collaborative learning in cognitive development, dialogic reading leverages tailored support to help children progress within their zone of proximal development (Vygotsky, 1978). Furthermore, it reflects a constructivist perspective by framing learning as an active process of constructing knowledge through meaningful interactions, making it a valuable pedagogical strategy for fostering early literacy development (Chang et al., 2022).

Vocabulary Development and Dialogic Reading

Vocabulary development is a cornerstone of early literacy, playing a crucial role in children's ability to decode and comprehend written texts, and is consistently identified as a strong predictor of later reading proficiency and academic success. An effective strategy for vocabulary enrichment during the preschool years is dialogic reading, an interactive approach that engages children in conversations about text. A key mechanism through which dialogic reading supports vocabulary growth is scaffolding, wherein adults provide tailored prompts and feedback suited to the child’s developmental level, thus creating a zone of proximal development. For example, a practitioner might ask, “What do you think the word gigantic means?” and follow up with examples and expansions to clarify and reinforce the child’s understanding. This guided interaction helps children not only acquire the meanings of new words but also understand their usage in varying contexts, enhancing both comprehension and retention. Furthermore, dialogic reading fosters metalinguistic awareness, enabling children to reflect on language itself, which is particularly beneficial for vocabulary development as it helps children recognize relationships between words, such as synonyms, antonyms, and word families. This skill is critical for developing a robust vocabulary foundation that supports later reading comprehension and academic success. Through its interactive and scaffolded approach, dialogic reading facilitates both the breadth and depth of vocabulary acquisition, laying the groundwork for future literacy development. By transforming reading into an engaging and participatory experience, dialogic reading empowers children to explore, internalize, and use new words, thereby fostering long-term linguistic and cognitive growth.

Whitehurst et al. (1994) first demonstrated the efficacy of dialogic reading in fostering expressive language skills among children at risk for language delays, showing that the approach significantly enhanced children's ability to produce and use new words in meaningful contexts. This effectiveness lies in its interactive nature, where adults employ techniques such as asking open-ended questions, providing feedback, and expanding on children’s responses, promoting deeper lexical processing and the integration of new vocabulary into both expressive and receptive language repertoires. Subsequent studies have further emphasized the breadth and depth of vocabulary gains from dialogic reading interventions. For instance, Sénéchal and LeFevre (2002) highlighted how dialogic reading supports the acquisition of both surface-level vocabulary (breadth) and more nuanced understanding (depth) by situating words within rich narratives, while Mol et al. (2008) conducted a meta-analysis that revealed significant positive effects on preschoolers' vocabulary development, emphasizing that dialogic reading's interactive focus on discussion and elaboration fosters children’s ability to understand and use new words in diverse contexts. The benefits of dialogic reading are particularly evident for children from linguistically diverse or disadvantaged backgrounds, as demonstrated by Grolig et al. (2020), who found that dialogic reading helps bridge vocabulary gaps by exposing children to a richer lexicon than they might encounter in everyday conversation. The books used in dialogic reading provide an enriched linguistic environment that, combined with the approach's interactive nature, supports vocabulary acquisition even in children with limited exposure to academic language. Moreover, research by Simşek and Erdogan (2021) underscores the comparative advantages of dialogic reading over traditional read-aloud methods, with their studies showing substantial improvements in both receptive and expressive vocabulary scores among preschoolers from low-income families. These findings highlight the transformative potential of dialogic reading, turning passive listening into active learning, where children engage with and internalize new words through meaningful dialogue.

Listening Comprehension and Dialogic Reading

Listening comprehension, a fundamental component of language development, refers to the ability to process, understand, and interpret spoken language, including both its semantic and syntactic structures. In early childhood, it serves as a crucial precursor to later reading comprehension and broader academic success. Dialogic reading has been shown to significantly enhance listening comprehension by engaging children in inferential thinking, narrative structuring, and active participation during shared reading sessions. This interactive process encourages children to connect with the text at a deeper level, fostering skills that are essential for understanding complex narratives and making meaning of spoken language.

Empirical evidence supports the efficacy of dialogic reading in fostering listening comprehension skills among preschool-aged children. For instance, Lonigan and Whitehurst (1998) demonstrated that dialogic reading interventions result in significant improvements in children's listening comprehension abilities, attributed to the approach's focus on open-ended questions and dialogic exchanges that encourage children to infer meaning, predict outcomes, and relate stories to their personal experiences. These interactions not only enhance immediate understanding of the material but also cultivate cognitive and linguistic skills foundational for more advanced comprehension tasks. Further research underscores the longitudinal benefits of dialogic reading for listening comprehension. Storch and Whitehurst (2002) found that oral language skills developed through dialogic reading were strong predictors of both listening and reading comprehension during the early school years, emphasizing the stability and enduring influence of language skills cultivated in preschool and the potential limitations of early oral language deficiencies on later listening comprehension and academic performance. Similarly, Isbell et al. (2004) highlighted that dialogic reading promotes verbal interaction and narrative comprehension, enabling children to better grasp and reconstruct storylines presented in spoken form. The impact of dialogic reading on listening comprehension is particularly pronounced for preschool children, who are in a critical period for language development (Grolig et al., 2020; Kennedy & McLoughlin, 2023). By engaging in interactive and meaningful discussions during reading sessions, children learn to process auditory information actively, practice inferential reasoning, and develop a deeper understanding of language structures, thus preparing them for more complex listening and reading tasks in later stages of education.

Among the myriad factors shaping early literacy development, socioeconomic status (SES) emerges as a particularly salient determinant that warrants careful and sustained consideration. SES critically influences children's access to language-rich environments and literacy-supportive experiences, thereby shaping early literacy trajectories. A substantial body of empirical evidence indicates that children from low-SES backgrounds typically begin school with significant deficits in foundational domains such as vocabulary, phonological awareness, and letter knowledge compared to their higher-SES peers (Jiang et al., 2024; Thomas et al., 2021). These disparities are not merely incidental but reflect systemic inequalities in the quantity and quality of language input and literacy interactions within the home environment. The home literacy environment, comprising shared reading, direct instruction, and the availability of print resources, has been shown to mediate the relationship between SES and literacy outcomes, functioning as a proximal mechanism through which SES exerts its developmental impact (Hassunah-Arafat et al., 2021; Jiang et al., 2024; Shen & Del Tufo, 2022). For example, parent-child shared book reading has been found to significantly mediate the effects of SES on emergent literacy among heritage language learners (Shen & Del Tufo, 2022). Moreover, even when children enter school with comparable literacy skills, those from disadvantaged socioeconomic backgrounds are significantly less likely to attain proficient reading levels by third grade, underscoring the enduring influence of SES on academic outcomes through both institutional and societal pathways (Herring et al., 2022). Accordingly, accounting for SES in early literacy research is not only to avoid spurious inferences but also to identify effective levers for educational intervention and policy reform.

The Present Study

A comprehensive examination of existing literature underscores that many studies addressing this matter predominantly involve one-to-one interactions, typically facilitated by an adult, often a parent, engaging with a young child. While such investigations offer valuable insights into the impact of dialogic reading dynamics on linguistic and literacy development in children, a notable constraint arises in their transfer to educational settings. Specifically, the translational efficacy of these practices to the classroom context, along with the discernible effects of instructional interventions implemented by educators during this developmental stage, remains an underexplored area in empirical research. In light of the aforementioned considerations, the present study aims to fill the identified lacuna in the extant literature by undertaking an investigation aimed at illustrating the influence of dialogic reading when executed within a classroom environment on the vocabulary and listening comprehension skills of kindergarten children defined as children with limited language proficiency.

The study employed a single-group pretest-posttest quasi-experimental design. The inclusion of a control group in this study was not feasible due to the nature of the classroom-based application. The intervention was implemented at the classroom level, and as a result, all children in the class were treated as part of the experimental group. This limitation arose from the practical constraint that the intervention was applied uniformly to all children, thereby precluding the establishment of a separate control group within the same classroom context. The absence of a control group is acknowledged as a limitation of the study. However, in classroom-based interventions, the exclusion of certain children while including others is both ethically challenging and logistically impractical. Consequently, the study focused on evaluating the outcomes for children who participated in the intervention as members of the experimental group. The primary objective of this research was to investigate the benefits children derived from their participation in the intervention. The study specifically addressed the following research question: “Is there a significant difference in the receptive and expressive language and listening comprehension skills of the children included in the study before and after the intervention?” By focusing on this question, the research aimed to assess the impact of the intervention on children’s relevant skills within the context of a real-world classroom environment.

Methodology

Participants

The study sample comprised 61 participants, selected from kindergarten classrooms in Ankara, Turkey. The participant selection process was guided by three primary criteria. First, participants were required to exhibit limited vocabulary and listening comprehension skills, aligning with the focus of the study. Second, the sample was structured to ensure a balanced gender distribution, with participants having an average chronological age between 60 and 72 months and originating from low socioeconomic backgrounds. Third, eligibility required participants to be native Turkish speakers without any cognitive disabilities, including hearing impairments, intellectual disabilities, or visual impairments. Furthermore, participation in the study was entirely voluntary.

The participant selection process was kicked out on assessments utilizing the Turkish Test of Early Literacy (TEL; Kargin et al., 2015), administered by the children's respective teachers (For details, see Instrument title). Evaluation outcomes indicated that all children included in the study fell below and/or just at the cut-off scores on the TEL assessments for vocabulary and listening comprehension skills, the targeted domains of investigation in this study. A score below the cut-off on these tests implies that a child is categorized within the risk group for future reading difficulties if appropriate support measures are not implemented.

All participants were drawn from a low socioeconomic background, with an average chronological age falling within the range of 60 to 72 months. The gender distribution among participants was balanced comprising 28 girls and 33 boys. Inclusion criteria specified that participants had to be native Turkish speakers without specific cognitive disabilities, such as hearing impairments, intellectual disabilities, or visual impairments. This stringent selection criterion was implemented to ensure homogeneity within the participant sample and to facilitate a focused examination of the intervention's impact on early literacy skills among typically developing, native Turkish-speaking children.

To contextualize the socioeconomic backdrop of the children under scrutiny, interviews were conducted with teachers, focusing on their perceptions of the socioeconomic status of their children (See Appendix 1 for the interview protocol.)

Instrument

In this research, TEL served as the primary assessment instrument for the evaluation of participants' vocabulary and listening comprehension skills.

The Vocabulary test within the TEL comprises four distinct subtests: Receptive Vocabulary, Expressive Vocabulary, Category Naming, and Function Knowledge. The Receptive and Expressive Vocabulary subtests each encompass 15 items, while the Category Naming and Function Knowledge subtests consist of 10 items each.

The Listening Comprehension subtest encompasses a narrative comprising eleven sentences and a total of 80 words, accompanied by six questions. These questions encompass the 5W (what, where, why, when, who) and 1K (how) interrogative categories, collectively providing a comprehensive assessment of the participants' comprehension of the narrative. The story was orally presented, and subsequent questions were posed to the children based on the content of the narrative. In instances where a child did not respond to the questions or provided incorrect answers, the practitioner adopted a non-reactive approach, proceeding to the subsequent question without overtly expressing any reaction or utilizing neutral responses. This methodological strategy aimed to minimize potential biases or influences stemming from the practitioner's reactions and maintain a standardized and impartial testing environment.

To identify children at risk for each subtest, cut-off scores were used. Children scoring below the specified cut-off points are classified as being in the risk group for the evaluated skill by the respective subtest. The established cut-off scores for TEL subtests were delineated as follows: 11 points for receptive language vocabulary, 11 points for expressive vocabulary, 8 points for category naming, 6 points for function knowledge, and 5 points for listening comprehension skill. These meticulously determined cut-off scores serve as benchmarks for identifying individuals requiring additional attention or intervention in specific literacy domains.

Procedure

The research procedure unfolded through a bifurcated process comprising two distinct stages. In the initial phase, an online Teacher Training (ToT) program was administered to equip participating educators with the requisite skills and knowledge essential for delivering the subsequent intervention. Subsequently, in the second stage, these trained teachers carried out dialogic reading applications with their respective child cohorts. This dual-stage approach was deliberately designed to first empower educators with pedagogical insights and strategies, followed by the practical implementation of dialogic reading techniques in the classroom setting.

Stage1: Teacher Training Program

Teacher Training Program (ToT) was methodically structured as an online educational platform, strategically crafted to impart educators with the requisite proficiency to assess and foster their children’s vocabulary and listening comprehension skills within the domain of early literacy skills. A cohort comprising 32 educators from the younger demographic (aged between 30 and 40) actively engaged in this study. In the study cohort, 85% of participants identified as female, while the remaining percentage comprised male educators. The educational background of the majority of participants included a bachelor's degree in preschool education, while a subset possessed a bachelor’s degree in special education.

In the initial phase of ToT, educators underwent comprehensive instruction on the utilization of the TEL, the designated assessment tool employed in the study. This instructional component explained the intricacies of test administration and interpretation, thereby ensuring a standardized and consistent approach to the evaluation process.

Following the initial explanation of assessment procedures, the subsequent phase of the ToT concentrated on the selection of high-quality literary materials and the structured implementation of dialogic reading practices. Teachers were guided in identifying texts aligned with early literacy goals, with particular attention to the developmental needs of young learners. This phase integrated both theoretical and practical components, beginning with an overview of the criteria for evaluating children’s books in terms of linguistic richness, narrative structure, and age appropriateness. Teachers were then introduced to the pedagogical rationale linking these materials to the development of foundational literacy skills such as vocabulary, listening comprehension, and narrative understanding. Building upon this foundation, educators received explicit instruction in dialogic reading techniques—applied before, during, and after reading—tailored to address specific sub-skills. This included strategies for scaffolding children’s responses, eliciting predictions, and fostering inferential thinking. Practical implementation was supported through model lesson plans, sample classroom scenarios, and real-world application examples. Teachers were also encouraged to reflect on these practices through collaborative discussion, enabling the adaptation of techniques to their own instructional contexts. Overall, this training component emphasized the integration of research-based strategies with classroom realities, equipping educators with the tools to deliver developmentally responsive, literacy-rich instruction.

Upon the culmination of the ToT, teachers were tasked with conducting a trial application with two non-experimental group, recording the sessions via video, and subsequently transmitting the recorded materials to the researchers through a designated platform. Following the submission of video recordings, two independent observers, including the researcher, scrutinized the content to ascertain the fidelity of TEL and dialogic reading intervention implementation. The assessment of application reliability was quantitatively determined using the formula “Observed practitioner behavior/Planned practitioner behavior X 100.” Teachers achieving an application reliability percentage of at least 80% were deemed successful in their application. However, for those falling below the stipulated threshold, additional interviews and practical sessions were conducted iteratively until a minimum reliability percentage of 80% was attained. Through this rigorous process, it was confirmed that all participating teachers demonstrated a high level of reliability in applying the intervention, thereby ensuring consistency and fidelity in the intervention across the cohort of teachers involved in the study.

Stage 2: Application of Dialogic Reading

Conducted within the parameters of the academic calendar, teachers engaged in the implementation of dialogic reading practices with children over a duration of 12 weeks, dedicating two days a week and two hours per day to these instructional sessions (See Appendix 2 for the Sample 120-Minute Structure for Dialogic Reading Sessions.)

The entirety of the interventions took place within the classrooms of the participating teachers' respective schools. The original design aimed for the inclusion of 64 children, assigning two children per teacher. However, unforeseen circumstances during the course of the study resulted in the withdrawal of one child from each of the two teachers, leading to a final participant count of 61 children. Consistent with prevalent methodologies in related research, each selected book underwent three readings throughout the study duration. Throughout this intervention period, teachers meticulously documented the activities and practices conducted during each session, maintaining a comprehensive course follow-up chart. Weekly reporting of these activities to the researcher ensured a systematic and transparent record of the pedagogical interventions undertaken by each educator. This diligent tracking and reporting mechanism served to maintain consistency in the frequency and duration of dialogic reading practices across all participating teachers and children. Consequently, at the conclusion of the 12-week period, it was affirmed that a comparable number of activities had been executed with all children, contributing to the uniformity and reliability of the intervention implementation. This methodological rigor enhances the validity of the study outcomes by ensuring a standardized and equitable application of dialogic reading practices within the specified timeframe.

Each intervention session was based on dialogic reading techniques by using PEER and CROWD sequences (Chang et al., 2022; Yang et al., 2024). In the course of this interactive instructional process, educators assume an active listener role, functioning as facilitators in scaffolding children's language development. This pedagogical approach involves teachers employing strategic questioning and prompts to enhance the sophistication of children’s verbal expressions related to the content of children's books. Teachers, in accordance with such strategies, take on the responsibility of explicating the content of the book and guiding children to offer comments by interleaving the narrative with specific types of questions at predefined intervals. Furthermore, teachers are instrumental in empowering children to narrate the story themselves. This question-posing technique, known as CROWD in the literature, encompasses distinct question types, namely 'completion', 'remembering', 'open-ended questions' and 'why-questions'. Each question type involves a structured sequence denoted as PEER, encompassing the stages of 'Ask', 'Evaluate', 'Expand', and 'Repeat'. Through the strategic application of these questioning techniques and the corresponding PEER framework, educators contribute significantly to the development of children's language skills in the context of dialogic reading practices.

Data Collection

The data collection process was meticulously designed to align with the research objectives and methodology. Prior to the implementation of the intervention, educators conducted initial assessments of children’s vocabulary and listening comprehension skills using the Test of Early Language (TEL). These assessments were administered individually to each child in one-on-one sessions, ensuring accuracy and reliability of the measurements. Following the baseline evaluations, the intervention—a structured 12-week training program—was delivered to the children within their classroom settings. At the conclusion of the intervention period, a second round of assessments using the TEL was conducted to evaluate post-intervention performance. All data from both pre- and post-intervention assessments were systematically recorded using Google Forms, ensuring consistency in data management and ease of access for subsequent analysis. This rigorous data collection approach enabled the research team to comprehensively examine potential changes or improvements in children’s vocabulary and listening comprehension skills as a result of the educational intervention.

Data Analysis

The study employed a pretest-posttest experimental design without a control group to evaluate the impact of the educational intervention. Within this framework, assessments were conducted on the same group of participants both before and after the intervention. The data collected at the pretest and posttest stages were analyzed comparatively to determine the presence of statistically significant differences attributable to the intervention. The data analysis process began with an evaluation of the normality of the dataset. If the data were found to deviate from a normal distribution, the Wilcoxon signed-rank test was employed as a non-parametric statistical method to compare the pretest and posttest results. This approach allowed for a robust examination of changes in the participants' vocabulary and listening comprehension performances over the course of the intervention. The identification of a statistically significant difference between pretest and posttest scores was interpreted as evidence of the intervention’s effectiveness, providing insights into its potential to enhance children's language and comprehension skills. This rigorous analytical approach ensured the validity and reliability of the findings within the context of the study.

Results

Initially, normality tests, specifically the Kolmogorov-Simirnov and Shapiro-Wilk tests, were applied to scrutinize the data set. The results revealed a significance value of p < .05, indicating a departure from normal distribution. Given this deviation from normality, non-parametric tests were deemed appropriate, as homogeneity in data distribution was not observed. Furthermore, an assessment of Kurtosis and Skewness values was undertaken, revealing that they deviated from the range of −1.5 to +1.5. This observation substantiates the conclusion that the data failed to adhere to the normal distribution assumption. The examination of these statistical measures provides additional evidence supporting the non-normality of the dataset, thereby justifying the recourse to non-parametric analyses in the subsequent stages of the research. In order to assess the impact of interventions on children's vocabulary and listening comprehension skills, Wilcoxon signed-rank tests were employed, taking into consideration the nonparametric nature of the data (Field, 2024). This analytical approach is particularly suitable for situations where the assumptions of parametric tests are not met, ensuring robust and reliable examination of the intervention effects on the specified outcome.

In the investigation, initial scrutiny involved the examination of descriptive statistics pertaining to participants' performances in both pre and post-tests across all subtests. The outcomes of this analysis are delineated in Table 1.

Table 1.

Summary of Descriptive Statistics for Pre and Post-Test Scores, Along with Measurement of Change.

	Pretest				Posttest
Subtests	M	SD	Min.	Max.	M	SD	Min.	Max.	Gain of Averages
RV	11.40	2.82	2.00	15.00	13.67	1.84	5.00	15.00	2.27
EV	7.78	3.29	2.00	15.00	11.91	2.83	4.00	15.00	4.13
CN	5.16	2.82	0.00	10.00	8.26	1.51	4.00	10.00	3.10
FK	6.57	1.85	2.00	10.00	8.39	1.74	3.00	10.00	1.82
LC	2.93	1.74	0.00	6.00	5.06	1.16	2.00	6.00	2.13

Note. RV = receptive vocabulary; EV = expressive vocabulary; CN = category naming; FK = functional knowledge; LC = listening comprehension.

In the subsequent phase, an investigation into the disparities within children's vocabulary and listening comprehension proficiency levels pre and post the dialogic reading intervention was conducted. To this end, Wilcoxon signed-rank tests were administered individually for each subtest. The detailed outcomes of these analyses have been systematically documented in Table 2, providing a comprehensive presentation of the observed distinctions in vocabulary and listening comprehension skills across distinct facets following the implementation of the dialogic reading intervention.

Table 2.

Results of Wilcoxon Signed Rank Tests.

Sub tests		Neg/pos/ties	N	Mean rank	Sum of ranks	z	p
RV	Neg	5	61	17.90	89.50	−5.40	.00
	pos	46		26.88	1236.50
	ties	10
EV	Neg	0	61	.00	.00	−6.58	.00
	pos	57		29.00	1653.00
	ties	4
CN	Neg	0	61	.00	.00	−612	.00
	pos	49		25.00	1225.00
	ties	12
FK	Neg	2	61	16.75	33.50	−5.81	.00
	pos	47		25.35	1191.50
	ties	12
LC	Neg	0	61	.00	.00	−6.39	.00
	pos	53		27.00	1431.00
	ties	8

A sequence of Wilcoxon signed rank tests were administered to assess the disparities in participants' vocabulary and listening comprehension scores between the pre and post-test phases. The findings demonstrated a statistically significant elevation in all measurements following the intervention, as detailed in Table 2. Addressing the outcomes individually, a noteworthy disparity emerged in receptive vocabulary scores, indicating a substantial increase from the pretest (M = 11.40, SD = 2.82) to the posttest (M = 13.67, SD = 1.84), z: −5.40, p < .05. Similarly, a considerable distinction was observed in expressive vocabulary scores, with a significant rise from the pretest (M = 7.78, SD = 3.29) to the posttest (M = 11.91, SD = 2.83), z: −6.58, p < .05. The third and fourth Wilcoxon tests scrutinized mean differences in category naming and functional knowledge, revealing a statistically significant variance in mean scores from the pretest (respectively, for category naming M = 5.16, SD = 2.82; for functional knowledge M = 6.57, SD = 1.85) to the post-test (for category naming M = 8.26, SD = 1.51, z: −6.12, p < .05; for functional knowledge M = 8.39, SD = 1.74, z: −5.81, p < .05). A parallel trend was observed in listening comprehension performance, indicating a significant difference between pretest (M = 2.93, SD = 1.74) and post-test scores (M = 8.39, SD = 1.74, z: −6.39, p < .05).

To encapsulate, the outcomes underscored the favorable impact of dialogic reading on enhancing the vocabulary and listening comprehension skills, as gauged by the TEL. Overall, the dialogic reading intervention proved effective in augmenting children’s receptive and expressive vocabulary, as well as enhancing performance in listening comprehension across all assessment parameters.

Discussion

The primary objective of this study was to investigate the impact of dialogic reading, as implemented in a classroom setting, on the vocabulary and listening comprehension skills of kindergarten children with limited language proficiency. The findings revealed a clear improvement in both vocabulary acquisition and listening comprehension following the dialogic reading intervention. Statistically significant differences were observed between pre- and post-test scores across all sub-dimensions related to participants' vocabulary and listening comprehension abilities. These results are consistent with a body of research (e.g., Dong et al., 2023; Chang et al., 2022; Grolig et al., 2020; Kennedy & McLoughlin, 2023; Noble et al., 2020) that demonstrates the capacity of dialogic reading to foster substantial gains in expressive language proficiency among children from academically disadvantaged backgrounds. The empirical outcomes of this study revealed several notable factors.

A key factor in the success of this study was the consistent and reliable application of dialogic reading, which was implemented through specific strategies within a structured reading activity framework. Dialogic reading, an interactive pedagogical approach, has been shown to significantly enhance children's language based development. In this study, the CROWD acronym—Completion, Recall, Open-ended questions, Wh-questions, and Distancing—guided the intervention. These strategies involved prompting children to complete sentences or fill in blanks (Completion), answer questions about characters or events (Recall), describe visuals (Open-ended questions), identify objects or actions in the images (Wh-questions), and relate the story to their personal experiences (Distancing). This structured approach aimed to boost children’s language proficiency, listening comprehension, vocabulary acquisition, attention to detail, and ability to connect fictional content with real-life experiences. Additionally, the PEER acronym—Prompt, Evaluate, Expand, and Repeat—was used to provide corrective feedback and expand children’s responses. This process involved initiating conversation (Prompt), assessing responses for accuracy (Evaluate), expanding on answers with appropriate language (Expand), and encouraging children to repeat corrected responses (Repeat). Over time, these strategies contributed to improved attention spans, better assimilation of story content, and vocabulary growth, as evidenced in prior studies (e.g., Kennedy & McLoughlin, 2023; Pillinger & Vardy, 2022). This systematic approach to dialogic reading not only aligned with established pedagogical practices but also provided a structured methodology for educators to effectively enhance children’s language development and comprehension skills (e.g., Chang et al., 2022; Dong et al., 2023; Grolig et al., 2020; Noble et al., 2020; Simşek & Erdogan, 2021; Yang et al., 2024). While this approach is aligned with established pedagogical practices, it is important to note the absence of a control group in this study. This limitation should be considered when interpreting the findings. Future research with controlled designs is necessary to further substantiate the observed outcomes.

This intentional approach seeks to cultivate an environment wherein children not only consume the literary material but, critically, become agents of narration, contributing to expressive language development (Dong et al., 2023; Noble et al., 2020). This process revolved around prompting children to prognosticate narrative trajectories, thereby eliciting their active engagement in the storytelling process. This proactive involvement not only enhanced their comprehension of the storyline but also served as a catalyst for their active and meaningful participation in verbal expression (Simşek & Erdogan, 2021). Through articulating predictions, children were exposed to novel lexical entities and conceptual frameworks, concurrently integrating these linguistic elements into their receptive and expressive language repertoire. In essence, the reciprocal teaching condition, situated within the overarching framework of dialogic reading, not only operationalizes dialogic reading as a conduit for deepening linguistic comprehension but also as an instrumental driver for active and meaningful verbal participation (Pillinger & Vardy, 2022). The positive findings observed in this study, while promising, should be interpreted with caution given the absence of a control group. This context underscores the need for careful consideration of this limitation when drawing definitive conclusions about the effectiveness of the intervention. This methodological undertaking contributes meaningfully to the interventional discourse on efficacious language development strategies within educational milieus.

Another factor contributing to the positive outcomes observed in this study was the implementation of the dialogic reading intervention program, which was delivered to educators through a Training of Trainers program. This program was distinguished by its practice-based, systematically structured, and comprehensive approach. Despite the inclusion of information about effective book reading in teacher formation training, a noticeable gap remained between theoretical knowledge and its practical application in the classroom. This study addressed that gap by providing educators with extensive presentations that not only covered the theoretical foundations of interactive book reading but also offered pragmatic strategies for its classroom implementation. The program emphasized goal-oriented activities and structured training, specifically designed to enhance teachers’ application competencies. The study posited that this approach would positively influence children’s vocabulary and listening comprehension skills. Teachers were required to demonstrate a minimum implementation reliability threshold of 80% before proceeding with evaluation and intervention practices, ensuring that instructional activities were executed with proficiency and consistency. This criterion enabled teachers to deliver accurate and effective practices to their students, thereby contributing to the development of children’s language skills. However, it is important to note that the absence of a control group limits the ability to definitively attribute the observed outcomes to the intervention alone. While the findings suggest a positive impact, this methodological limitation calls for caution when interpreting the results. Future research incorporating a controlled design is necessary to further validate these promising outcomes. Despite this limitation, the study’s findings, particularly those based on real-life experiences and practical classroom applications, provide valuable insights that can inform future educational practices.

In interpreting the results, it is important to consider the socioeconomic context of the participating children. All participants were from low-income backgrounds, and the observed gains in vocabulary and listening comprehension following the dialogic reading intervention suggest that such pedagogical strategies may be particularly beneficial for children with limited access to language-rich environments. This finding aligns with prior research emphasizing the disproportionate educational risks faced by children from socioeconomically disadvantaged households and the need for compensatory interventions (Jiang et al., 2024; Shen & Del Tufo, 2022; Herring et al., 2022). The structured implementation of dialogic reading may have mitigated the linguistic input gap commonly associated with socioeconomic disadvantage, thereby supporting more equitable language development outcomes.

Conclusion

The findings of this study have significant implications for early childhood education in Turkey, particularly as schools increasingly accommodate children from diverse socioeconomic and cultural backgrounds, a trend amplified by considerable immigration. Many children from disadvantaged backgrounds enter kindergarten with language proficiency levels that lag behind those of their peers from higher socioeconomic strata. This disparity underscores the urgent need for effective interventions to bridge the gap and support at-risk children’s development. In this context, dialogic reading proves to be a highly effective pedagogical approach. It fosters foundational language and literacy skills, offering a promising solution to enhance early childhood education programs. The integration of dialogic reading into early education curricula is both feasible and impactful, providing a scalable method for supporting language development across diverse classroom settings. This study highlights the importance of equipping early childhood educators with the necessary training to implement dialogic reading effectively. A systematic, widespread adoption of this instructional strategy could significantly improve the quality of reading experiences in early childhood classrooms, promoting interactive, engaging learning environments that contribute to the holistic development of young learners. Moreover, incorporating dialogic reading as a core component of early education programs aligns with the goal of fostering more equitable and enriching educational environments. By addressing the needs of children from varied socioeconomic backgrounds, dialogic reading has the potential to enhance individual learning outcomes and contribute to the broader improvement of the educational landscape in Turkey. Ultimately, this study affirms the efficacy of dialogic reading as a transformative intervention in early childhood education.

Undoubtedly, it is crucial to acknowledge several limitations inherent in this study. Primarily, the restricted sample size of 61 kindergarten children from low-income backgrounds necessitates careful consideration, thereby constraining the generalizability of the study's findings. Future investigations are advised to augment sample sizes and adopt a longitudinal approach to bolster the robustness and applicability of outcomes. Secondly, the study predominantly concentrated on vocabulary and listening comprehension, neglecting aspects such as phonological awareness and letter knowledge. Subsequent research endeavors should encompass a broader spectrum, examining the effects of dialogic reading interventions on diverse facets of early literacy to foster a more comprehensive understanding of the efficacy of interventions. Lastly, the assessment of vocabulary and listening comprehension exclusively relied on the Turkish Early Literacy Test (TEL). To bolster the validity of the findings, it is recommended that forthcoming studies incorporate additional direct or task-based measures to comprehensively evaluate vocabulary and listening comprehension skills. In light of these acknowledged limitations, future research initiatives should systematically address these aspects, thereby extending the scholarly discourse and refining the comprehension of the nuanced roles of dialogic reading interventions and children's literature within the domain of early childhood education.