Increased Brain-to-Brain Synchronization During Literary Arabic Storytelling Following a Dialogic Reading Intervention: A Hyperscanning-EEG Study

Abstract

Purpose: Arabic is unique in having two forms—literary Arabic (LA) and spoken Arabic (SA)—which present challenges in maintaining children's attention during the reading acquisition stage. Dialogic reading (DR) is an intervention that encourages children to actively engage in storytelling, thereby fostering attention, early language development, literacy, and executive function skills. Methods: This study examined the impact of DR in LA on joint attention during storytelling among 13 preschoolers (aged 48–60 months) and their mothers, using a hyperscanning electroencephalogram (EEG) method. Behavioral and inhibition tasks were also employed to assess the intervention's effects. Finding: Paired t-tests revealed a smaller difference between correlation coefficient matrices for LA versus SA synchronization after the intervention compared to before. Behaviorally, significant improvements were observed in listening comprehension, executive functions, and processing speed following DR. Furthermore, enhanced inhibition was associated with a smaller difference between SA and LA synchronization following the intervention. Conclusion: These findings suggest that DR not only promotes language development but also reduces the neural disparity between SA and LA, highlighting its potential to support early cognitive and linguistic development in Arabic-speaking children.