Language Disorders:from Infancy through Adolescence:

Listening, Speaking, Reading, Writing, and Communicating

Rhea Paul, PhD, CCC-SLPProfessor, Yale Child Study Center

New Haven, Connecticut

Courtenay F. Norbury, PhD

Senior Research Fellow Department of Psychology Royal Holloway University of London London,England

pages 399-410

dyslexia involves a specific deficit in single-word decoding that is based in a weakness in the phonological domain of the oral language base and has only a sencondary impact on reading comprehension.it is a disorder affecting just one aspect of the reading process:decoding. children with LLD,on the other hand,can have problems with both single-word reading and comprehension,and not only of written language,but of oral language,as well.these compre-hension problems are through to stem from difficulties the child has not only in phonological processing but in other language domains,such as syntax and semantics.

phonological characteristics

children with language-learning disorder have consistently shown problems with shor-term memory tasks.

problems with phonological processing,including memory,perception,and complex produc-tion,that appear to be related to literacy can only be tapped by specially designed tasks.

some of the deficits that appear to be related to memory or semantic ability may actually stem from these "underground" phonological skills,particularly the ablility to segment,store, and  retrive words from memory on the basis of their phonological properties.we need to add phonological components to the intervention program.

syntactic characteristics

have trouble understanding sentences with relative clauses ,passive voice,or negation.

students with language-learning disorder persist in misinterpreting sentences such as "before you brush you teeth,put away your towel" in which the order of clauses(brush teeth, put away towel)is the opposite of the intended order of events(first put away towel.then bursh teeth)

semantic characteristics

school-age children with normal development acquire many new vocabulary items through reading rather than through conversation

difficulties in understanding complex oral directions;difficulites producing and understand-ing figurative language,such as metaphors,similes,and slang;and in producing narratives.

pragmatic characteristics

conversation

the language used by students with LLD is often more hostile,less assertive,less persuasive, less polite and tactful,and less clear and complete than that of peers,

other discourse genres

difficulities with processing and producing other types of discourse besides conversation.

differences between oral and literate language

function

oral style(to regulate social interaction;to request objects and actions;to communicate face-to-face with a few people;to share information about concrete objects and events)

leterate style(to regulate thinking;to reflect and request information;to communicate over time and distance;to transmit information to large numbers of people;to build abstract theories and discuss abstract ideas.)

topic

oral style(everyday objects and events;hear and now;topics flow according to associations of participants;meaning is contextually based)

literate style(discourse is centered around preselected topic;meaning comes from inferences and conclusions drawn from text)

structure

oral style(high-frequency words;repetitive,predictable,redundant syntax and content, pronouns,slang,jargon;cohesion based on intonation)

literate style(low-frequency words;concise syntax and content;specific,abstract vocabulary; cohesion based on vocabulary and linguistic markers)

story grammar

story=setting+episode+structure

episode=initiating event+internal response+plan+attempt+consequence+reaction

setting-introduces the main characters,the protagonist,and the context of time and place

initiating event-the occurrence that influences the main charater to action.it may be a natural event,an action,or an internal event,such as a thought,perception,or wish.

internal response-indicates the thoughts and feelings of the main character in response to the initiating event,it may include an interpretation of the event，formulation of a goal,or some other response.

plan-indicates the intended action of the main character

attempt-indicates the actions of the main character in pursuit of the goal

consequence-indicates the achievement or nonachievement of the main character's goal,as well as any other events or states that might result from the attempt

reaction-includes any emotional or evaluation responses  of the main character to the preceding chain of events

different clutures have different ways of telling stories

an adaptation of applebee's system for scoring narrative stages(p.405)

stage 1(heap stories)

stage 2(sequence stories)

stage 3(primitive narratives)

stage 4(chain narrative)

stage 5(true narrative)

social/emotional characteristics

children with language-learning disorders have been shown to be less accepted by peers, have poorer social skills and higher levels of problem behavior than children with typical school achievement.

background knowledge

the samller that background knowledge store is,the less easily new information can be added.

attention and activity

many students who have learning problems also have behavioral and emotional difficulties that make it harder for them to take advantage of the instruction,both regular and special, that they receive.

children with attention disorders are easily distracted and have short attention spans,low frustration tolerance,inability to recognize the consequences of their actions or learn from mistakes,and difficulty organizing and completing tasks.

language,learning,and reading:what's the connection?

the role of oral language in classroom discourse

teacher talk and the hidden curriculum

in school,the teacher chooses the topic and students must comment on that topic,not one of their choosing.students who do attempt to shift the topic to their own interests often find their remarks rejected or disvalued.

in order to succeed in school,students have to be able to draw on two sets of knowledge at the same time:their knowledge of academic content(the right answers to teacher questions) and their knowledge of the social communication rules of the classroom.

decontextualized language

in school,though,much of what is discussed is quite outside the direct experience of the students,not to mention its being literally outside the immediate context of the physical environment,at home ,families might talk about where dad's shoe is,in school,teachers talk about where australia is.

classroom and cluture clash

metalinguistic skills

defining words;recognizing synonyms,antonyms,and homonyms;diagramming sentences and identifying parts of speech;recognizing grammatical and morphological errors in the process of editing writing assignments;recognizing ambiguity in words and structures with multiple meanings;and the metalinguistic skills needed to acquire reading and spelling competency all require an awareness of language beyond the ability to use words and sentences to communicate.

metacognitive skills and self-regulation

ability to reflect on,talk about,and manage one's thinking processes.

the role of oral language in the acquisition of literacy

oral language lays the foundation for acquiring literacy.

emergent literacy

emergent literacy experiences are those in which children begins to develop ideas about how written language works and what it is used for before they actually begin decoding print.

aspects of emergent literacy that support the acquisition of reading and writing(p.409)

phonological awareness

print concepts

alphabet knowledge

literate language

oral language foundations for reading comprehension

language comprehension

background knowledge(fact,concepts,etc.)

vocabulary(breadth,precision,links,etc.)

language structure(syntax,semantic,etc.)

verbal reasoning(inference,metaphor,etc.)

literacy knowledge(print concepts,genres,etc.)

word recognition

phonological awarness(syllables,phonemes,etc.)

decoding(alphabetic principle,spelling-sound correspondences)

sight recognition(of familiar words)

skilled reading

fluent execution and coordination of word recognition and text comprehension