UCLA

Developing educational systems that will reduce social inequalities in India is a federal and international priority. The purpose of this study was to explore the effects of a writing intervention that was specifically designed to draw on translation skills that many multi-lingual children develop through assisting members of their families and communities. 89 middle school students in Hyderabad, India participated in the study. Data were collected through pre- and post-intervention surveys, each including a writing sample. Analyses explored how well the writing intervention a) improved writing skills, assessed via measures of lexicon, syntax, and discourse, for multi-lingual adolescents in India, and b) effected changes in students' means, opportunities, and motives for writing, as potential pathways towards future writing improvement. Significant differences were found between treatment and control groups on a measure of students own expectations for future English writing performance. Implications and directions for further research are discussed.