Oral language is a foundational skill, with far-reaching consequences for children's literacy skills, academic achievement and social development. It is also a domain that young second language (L2) learners might struggle with, making it an important target for intervention. In these seminars, we will introduce important theoretical frameworks for understanding oral language development in an L2 learning environment (i.e., the Simple View of Reading, the Interaction Hypothesis and the Output Hypothesis). We will then move to examine how arts-based approaches, like drama, might be especially well-suited to supporting oral language development in young L2 learners by targeting specific linguistic domains, fostering communication and making language learning more engaging. Drawing on empirical research, we will consider what the evidence shows, and where it falls short. We will argue that enthusiasm for creative approaches is not a substitute for scientific rigour. To this end, we will put forward five principles for conducting high-quality intervention research: (1) adopting pre-registration, (2) engaging in transparent reporting practices, (3) sharing materials and data, (4) embracing pragmatic methodological approaches (quantitative, qualitative or mixed – as long as they are fit for purpose), and (5) prioritising replication studies to build a cumulative and reliable evidence base.
