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| Language Skills and Literacy Research |  | | |
The inseparable link between children's early language skills and later reading abilities is consistently being affirmed by a growing body of research (Hart & Risley, 1995; Walker, Greenwood, Hart & Carter, 1994). Thus, research teaches us that young children require the following oral language opportunities to develop key emergent literacy skills:
1. A language-rich environment.
2. Complex conversations about ideas and opinions.
3. Hearing and learning new vocabulary.
4. Discussing books that are read aloud.
5. Conversing during daily routines and activities.
In addition to oral language, the building blocks of literacy have been identified as phonological awareness, alphabetic knowledge, and print awareness (Burns, Griffen, & Snow, 1999). Therefore, it is critical that young children develop the ability to descern the sounds within words, understand sound-symbol correspondence, and recognize that print carries meaning.
Four skills directly related to verbal interactions include:
1. Understands and follows oral directions.
2. Answers questions.
3. Asks questions.
4. Actively participates in conversations.
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| Suggestions to incorporate into daily life. | | | |
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Speech and language homework reinforces what is learned during direct speech and language sessions. It is important to remember that speech and language is about communication. Our purpose in facilatating skills in these areas is to provide support to the educational environment in reinforcing and building good communication in all settings: classroom, playground, lunch room, walking from one location to another. In other words, in all possible communication environments.
Improved articulation skills empower them to be understood by adults and classmates. Expanded receptive-expressive language skills allows them to understand and use increasingly more complex sentence structure. Expanded vocabulary skills provide them with greater understanding of what they are reading and hearing in the classroom setting as well as providing them more expanded word choices during conversations. All of these skills help them improve their reading, writing, and oral speaking skills which are critical for being a successful student.
The following three suggestions serve the purpose of providing your children with the best opportunities to develop good oral language and speech. These suggestions also help them understand the powerful impact that good communication has on creating positive human relationships and developing skills necessary to succeed in the classroom and any other chosen activity:
(1) Read books to your children that are above their reading level. It is desirable to read to them even in junior high. Written vocabulary and syntax are more complex than oral language. By reading to your children, you are: (a) providing a rich language learning environment,(b) expanding their knowledge base, (c) developing their ability to imagine and visualize the worlds that stories create, (d) building a positive family activity that will always be remembered.
(2) Having family dinners which include conversation, asking questions, expressing opinions, and discussions of the days events creates an excellent environment for developing the art of conversation, the skills of listening and comprehending, and strengthening family bonds.
(3) Limiting screen time to one hour or less is recommended by many specialists in the field of education, brain development, and psychology. Screen time is defined as the use of the following items: ipads, computers, TV, and toys designed to function like an ipad, computer, or TV. The more time devoted to a screen is less time devoted to engaging in human conversation, reading, writing, listening, and engaging in imaginative play. Screen time definitely has its pluses. It is a permanent component of the modern world. However,for a developing child, activities that require human interaction are considered to provide the most developmental benefit.
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What can parents do to help their child's articulation skills?
Expect errors. Children can take up to 9 years to learn to say all of our English sounds correctly.
Be honest when you do not understand what your child says. It is fine to admit that you do not understand. Simply ask your child to repeat what s/he said and when you understand part or all of your child's remark, let the child know by either directly saying that you understood or by responding to a request or comment that was made. |
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Ignore mistakes. Ask family and friends to be kind and ignore your child's mistakes when in a setting not directly related to activities to remediate speech. Don't imitate the child's 'baby talk' and use correct speech that your child can imitate.
Model good speech. When your child makes errors, repeat the child's message using correct speech. It is not necessary to ask your child to repeat what was said using correct speech. Children learn by listening.
Be a 'good speech' partner. Try to increase the amount of time your child hears 'good speech'. This can be done with simple conversations and/or reading aloud to your child. You may not be able to keep your child from hearing poor speakers, but you can increase your child's time spent with good speakers.
Be a good listener. Listen to what your child is trying to tell you, not how it is said. Correcting errors all the time instead of responding to the message can undermine your child's confidence in their speaking ability.
Make a list of words your child uses frequently. Choose five words from the list that your child does not pronounce correctly. Say them to your child throughout the day and if possible get pictures or objects representing the words. Have your child repeat the word using 'good speech'. Once your child has mastered each chosen word using good speech, you can then put the picture on the refrigerator or bulletin board as a special way to keep track of your child's progress. Then you can start over with 5 new words. |
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How do I know what is normal language development?
It is important to remember that every child is different and has an individual rate of development. For a comprehensive chart of developmental milestones, visit the following link http://www.asha/public/speech/development/lang_lit.htm.
Remember that the chart represents an average age by which most children will accomplish the listed skills. Also keep in mind that just because a child hasn't accomplished one skill within an age range does not mean a language disorder exists.
What are some ideas and acitivities for improving language in the areas of: syntax, concepts, vocabulary?
TEACHING SYNTAX
Label popsicle sticks with different parts of speech on them (verbs, nouns, adjectives, etc.). Have the child pull out a stick from a can and then have them construct a grammatically correct sentence that includes the part of speech they picked.
Look through old magazines and catalogs and have the child cut out pictures of various objects and activities (fruit, toys, people swimming, jumping, etc.). Then sort the pictures and paste all the nouns on one page, verbs on another page, etc. and then have the child make up a grammatically correct sentence using the picture they have selected.
TEACHING CONCEPTS
Many people assume that a child is understanding the directions given during the course of the day. For example, if an adult said the following to a student: "Go over to the corner bookcase in the back of the room and get me the book on the lower right hand shelf" that adult is giving 5 different concept words that the child must be familiar with in order to accurately follow through with that request. Children with language disorders or delays often have difficulty following directions simply because they do not know the meaning of the concept term being used. It is easy to incorporate the teaching of concepts into other activities.
For example, a student can practice spatial concepts while practicing articulation skills. Place 4 pictures/words with whatever sound your child is working on onto the table. The following directions could be given:
1. Name the last card on the first row.
2. Name the picture of the left hand side of 'rabbit'.
3. Name the first picture on the second row, then skip a
picture and then name the picture after the one you
skipped.
Concepts can also be incorporated into reading activities. If there is a picture of a lamb on a page you could ask:
1. Are his ears long or short?
2. Is his wool soft or rough?
3. Is the collar around his neck fat (wide) or skinny
(narrow)?
Concepts can be included in daily activities in the classroom and at home by having your child follow directions to different types of tasks. A variety of concept words should be used when giving directions to a task. This is important because a child will often know the meaing to one word but not it's synonym. For example, a child may be able to follow a direction containing the word "over" but not be able to follow a direction containing the word "above" even though those two words are similar in meaning.
Read to your child. Talk about the concepts presented in the story. Stories such as 'Dr. Suess's Inside Outside, Upside Down help to easily teach concepts. There are also many other books that help develop more abstract language abilities like understanding analogies and humor.
TEACHING VOCABULARY
There are many ways parents can help their child to develop a good vocabulary base without it taking extra time.
One way to teach vocabulary is to talk with your child as much as possible during the day. For example, when you are preparing dinner, tell your child exactly what you are doing. Even if the child is very young, hearing you speak will help develop the ability to communicate with a good vocabulary base because s/he has been exposed to a variety of words in a variety of environments/activities.
Taking your child to a variety of places is also a good way to develop vocabulary skills. Going to the grocery store can be a vocabulary rich experience. While at the store, the items being placed in the grocery cart can be names. Additionally, showing the older child how the store is organized is a great way to develop categorization skills. You could ask, for example, "What items would you find in the meat department?" Other vocabulary rich places to take a child are zoos, parks, department stores, and museums.
Reading to your child provides an easy and readily accessible way to assist a child in developing vocabulary skills. Books rich in vocabulary such as books about animals, different people, and different places are always very beneficial to read to children. Talk to your child about new vocabulary that may be presented in the books you read. Read books that use analogies and humor to help increase knowledge of words and how they can work together.
Participate in a categorizing activities with your child to help foster understanding of how words can go together.
On your way to the store, etc. have your child find and name all the things that fit into a certain category. For example, red things, kinds of cars, farm animals, pets, things that have wood, etc.
Point out the different sections in the grocery/department store and name all the items that could fit into the groups there. For example, name all the meats for the meat department, vegetable for the vegetable area, etc.
Name items that fit into a certain category and have your child guess the category that you are thinking of. For example, you could say 'blue, red, green and yellow are all _______" (colors). "Hopscotch, tag, monopoly are all _______" (games), etc.
NURSERY RHYMES FOR PRESCHOOL AND KINDERGARTEN
By Professor Dr. Henny Bijleveld:
"In 2008, an interesting article on music and language learning was published in Cognition by Scho, Boyet, Moreno, Besson, Peretz and Kolinsky, in which they argued that "consistent mapping of linguistic and musical information would enhance facilitation of learning, with a longer-lasting effect in memory" (Cognition, 2008, vol. 106, pp.975-983). This reminds us of what teachers previously did in the classroom when they had the pupils learn songs. What did they know without having the neuroscientific proof of the benefit of music on language learning? They simply had experienced the positive result of music on language and learning in general.
Nursery rhymes and counting rhymes have a special place in this learning process.
What can we learn from this perspective? Nursery rhymes constitute an amazing source for language learning and speech therapy, because they represent some of the fundamental aspects of each language, and their universal presence-all languages have nursery rhymes and many languages have the same-indicates the huge universal impact on language learning for the young child.
The fundamental aspects of nursery rhymes and counting rhymes are the rhythm and the typical phrase melody of a specific language, the repetition of rhymes, of sounds and consonants, the alteration of stressed and unstressed syllables. The "non serious" context of nursery rhymes and counting rhymes with nonsense words included is another important aspect of their specific role in learning...They are learned for fun...the child is inclined to repeat them over and over, gives him/her the feeling that speech is easy, helps regulate the respiration, and helps the child in mastering language in a smooth and easy-going way. It benefits everybody." |
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