Oral Language Contributions to Reading and Writing in Students with and without Language-Learning Disabilities

Purpose Oral language plays a significant role in the development of reading and writing skills in intermediate grade students. Therefore, it is an important consideration for students receiving special education services for a language-based learning disability (LLD) through the public school system. The goal of this study was to examine the relative contribution of oral language in predicting reading and writing in students with and without LLD. Method An extant dataset including 50 students in fourth and fifth grades was used to answer the study's research questions. Participants completed a standardized assessment of oral language and reading, and produced one narrative and one expository writing sample counterbalanced across days. Results Significant differences were observed between groups across all measures of oral language, reading, and writing. Oral language accounted for significant amounts of variance in predicting both reading and writing across the sample, with differing patterns by modality. Conclusion Findings from this study contribute to the research knowledge base on intermediate grade students with and without LLD and provide insights into how age, gender, and oral language contribute to the development of reading and writing.