The effect of visual imagery training on the reading and listening comprehension of low listening comprehenders in Year 2

A study was carried out to assess the effectiveness of a representational visual imagery training programme on the reading and listening comprehension of a group of poor listening comprehenders in Year 2 (mean age: 7 years 8 months). Results indicated that relative to a matched control group, the experimental group improved significantly on a curriculum-based test of listening comprehension, a standardised test of reading comprehension and a measure of story event structure, with results approaching significance on an adapted test of listening comprehension. The implications of the results for early institution of visual imagery training in the context of listening comprehension instruction are discussed.