A follow-up study on the effect of exercise intervention on the executive functions of typical primary students and language learning difficulties.

OBJECTIVE

To reveal the effects of a developed "fun games + creative jump rope + creative running" exercise intervention program on the executive functions of elementary school students with Chinese language learning difficulties and their peers without such difficulties, revealing the causal relationship between exercise and executive function in elementary school students and its temporal characteristics.

METHODS

Forty-four students with Chinese language learning difficulties and 48 typically developing students were selected based on established criteria. The experimental group underwent a 10-week intervention using the developed "fun games + creative jump rope + creative running" program during physical education classes. Changes in executive function were assessed before the intervention, after 5 weeks, and after 10 weeks.

RESULTS

(1) The study found that the 10-week exercise intervention significantly impacted the executive function of both students with Chinese language learning difficulties and their typically developing peers. (2) The executive function levels of both groups after the 10-week intervention were higher than those after the 5-week intervention and higher than pre-intervention levels. (3) The improvement in executive function among students with Chinese language learning difficulties was greater than that among their typically developing peers following the 10-week intervention.

CONCLUSION

The developed "fun games + fancy jump rope + fancy running" exercise intervention program positively impacts the executive function of both students with Chinese language learning difficulties and their typically developing peers. The improvement effect becomes more pronounced with increased intervention duration, and the experimental group of students with Chinese language learning difficulties demonstrated greater improvement in executive function than their typically developing counterparts.