The goal of this on-going project is to develop a beginning Arabic reading intervention, designed to support the early reading development needs of students who struggle with learning challenges. In recent years, stronger literacy development has emerged as a critically important issue in Arabic speaking nations. Results of international assessments such as PIRLs indicate that most of the participating Arab countries are near the bottom of achievement levels. Additionally, recent studies investigating reading impairments, such as dyslexia, indicate that the prevalence rate ranges from between 5 – 18%, which means that about 1 in 6 students may be at risk for poor reading outcomes if appropriate instructional interventions are not provided.

In the current paper, we are reporting on the development and efficacy of the Early Arabic Reading Lessons for Young children (EARLY Reader), a reading intervention designed to support students’ development of critical early literacy skills. The EARLY Reader intervention was designed using a design-based research approach in partnership with teachers of at-risk students, who are the end-users of this research. The goal was to create an intervention program that adheres to the science of reading and evidence-based principles of reading instruction, while also attending to teachers’ real-world needs to have an intervention program that is effective and feasible to implement.

We reached this goal through:
1) Developing an intervention program comprised of 50 lessons designed to promote students’ attainment of specified early reading outcomes; and
2) Collecting evidence of the intervention’s efficacy through an experimental study. The intervention was piloted on a sample of 12 at-risk students in grade 2 in Qatar.

Students completed the Test of Early Arabic literacy skills pre and post intervention. The results showed that there is a significant improvement in children’s literacy skills including phonological awareness, morphological awareness, orthographic processing and word reading. The intervention will provide teachers and schools with a valuable resource to support the needs of young students who struggle to learn to read.

Keywords: EARLY Reader, Literacy skills, Arabic, at-risk students, learning disabilities.