The effect of different early support programmes on Maltese bilingual children : three case studies

Abstract

This dissertation reports the effectiveness of early support programmes on three year 2 Maltese bilingual children who are experiencing specific learning difficulties. Providing adequate support to the Maltese bilingual child has been an ongoing challenge and this research suggests that further investigation is needed on how to provide an effective early support programme. In chapter 1, an overview is presented of the background literature related to the area of dyslexia and children at risk of reading failure. The bilingual issues and ways of facilitating the transfer of skills from the withdrawal session to the classroom situation and from one language to another are also examined. In chapter 2, the Maltese context where the research has taken place is described. Special emphasis is made on the choice of the case studies and how the support programmes are implemented. The research tools and methods are mentioned and the limitations of the study and the methodology are discussed. In chapter 3, a detailed analysis of the children's progress through the teaching programmes is presented, along with the learning objectives for each pupil. In the second part, the issue of parental involvement and the impact of the class teacher's method of instruction on the children's performance in the classroom situation are discussed. In Chapter 4 the results obtained in all three intervention programmes are discussed and recommendations are put forward. This research has shown that a particular kind of support needs to be given to the Maltese bilingual child who is struggling with both his first and second language. It is concluded that once a Maltese bilingual child is at risk of literacy failure, he would benefit from following a multisensory literacy programme in both the Maltese and English language. Supporting the pupiI in his class work also needs to form part of the intervention programme.