Evidence-Based Interventions for Young Dual Language Learners With or at Risk of Language Impairment: A Scoping Review.

backgroundEarly intervention professionals, including speech-language pathologists, teachers, and policymakers, face significant challenges in understanding and supporting young dual language learners who have or are at risk of language impairment. The existing research evidence base is fragmented and relatively sparse, and the overall extent and depth of interventions available for different language pairings (the home language and English) remains largely unknown. PURPOSE: This scoping review maps language interventions for dual language learners aged 3 to 9 years with, or at risk of, language impairment, with attention to intervention type, cultural responsiveness, and evidence of cross-language transfer.

methodGuided by PRISMA-SCR, four key databases were searched, yielding 29 eligible articles for full-text review.

resultsThe included articles were comprised of 15 child-based language intervention studies, four caregiver-based intervention studies, six information and communication technology-based intervention studies, and six research reviews. Twenty-one studies focused on Spanish-English dual language learners in the United States. Ten studies incorporated cultural considerations, including home language use, family values, familiar materials, personal narratives, and caregiving routines, while nine reported evidence of cross-language transfer.

conclusionsTransfer was most consistent for vocabulary, cognates, semantic knowledge, and narrative skills, particularly when interventions incorporated children's first language or targeted shared linguistic features across languages. In contrast, English-only interventions showed limited evidence of spontaneous transfer to children's home languages. The findings identify promising principles related to bilingual intervention, caregiver involvement, culturally involvement, culturally responsive practice, and cross-language transfer, while highlighting an urgent need for language-specific intervention research relevant to Australian multilingual contexts. WHAT THIS PAPER ADDS: What is already known on this subject A review of prior research demonstrated the clear lack of intervention research focused on young dual language learners with learning difficulties. English and Spanish were the most commonly studied language pairings. The overall extent and depth of existing interventions for common home languages in Australia (Mandarin, Arabic, Vietnamese, Cantonese, and Italian) and English dual language learners remain unknown. What this paper adds to the existing knowledge This scoping review provides a map of existing interventions for 3-to-9-year-old dual language learners who are with, or at risk of language impairment, highlighting cultural considerations and cross-language transfer in language interventions. The search revealed that there were no interventions targeting bilingual children whose language pairings are common home languages in Australia and English for that age-group across the period 2012-2025. What are the clinical implications of this study? This study identified three types of interventions that can serve as a valuable reference for educators and speech-language pathologists working with Spanish-English dual language learners with or at risk of language impairment. Collectively, the evidence underscores the value of culturally responsive intervention and bilingual delivery; suggests that language pairings be carefully considered in intervention design, and that languages with a high degree of lexical overlap can benefit from the use of cognates in intervention. Future research should extend this work by systematically incorporating culturally responsive elements across a wider range of language pairings to better reflect population diversity.