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

The review did not assess study quality, so it cannot show which interventions are most effective. Only six randomized controlled trials were included, and seven were single-case designs, so much of the evidence is not strong enough to prove treatment effects. The search used four databases and English-language articles only, and covered January 2012 to January 2025, which may have missed relevant studies in other languages. Included studies varied in intervention type, duration, sample size, and outcome measures, and many looked only at immediate post-intervention effects. The review cannot separate which intervention components caused outcomes because the studies differed widely in what was delivered. No eligible studies used Mandarin, Arabic, Vietnamese, Cantonese, or Italian paired with English, so the review says little about common Australian home language pairings. Most participants were Spanish-English bilingual and Hispanic or Latinx, so findings may not transfer to other language pairings or cultural groups. Studies were included when participant ages intersected with 3 to 9 years, which reduced specificity.

Do not treat the Spanish-English evidence as direct proof for Mandarin, Arabic, Vietnamese, Cantonese, or Italian children. The review found no eligible studies for those pairings.