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 137-148

appreciation entails understanding,sensitivity,and respect for the many ways people look at the world and use communication,given their differences in culture and experience.contributing means that we use every tool available to ensure that all clients-regardless of cultural background-get the most informed, most effective assessment of their difficulties and the most efficient,sensitive support in maximing their potential for successful communication.

the term culture refers to the ways of thinking,talking,understanding,and relating to others that are characteristic of groups of people with a shared history.

cultures evolve to serve a purpose:to make groups coherent and to preserve their values and beliefs over time.

a disorder is what we difined :a significant descrepancy in language skills relative to what would be expected for a client's age or developmental level.

many children from culturally different backgrounds who are referred for language assessment do not have disorders,only limited exposure and experience with the language of instruction.

needs of children with CLD and varying combinations of language learning ability and english exposure

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larger minority groups in America's cultures

african-American culture and communication

one set of cultural experiences is common to many African-American:the history of forced abduction from their homelands,of slavery,and the tradition of racism and discrimination that has existed in the United States.

AAE(Africant American English)

a language can be defined as "a dialect with an army and a navy"

speaking a nonstandard dialect does not ,in itself,constitute a disorder,but merely a difference in language use.

some differences between AAE and SAE(p.140)

phonological differences

changes in media and final consonants

changes in initial phonemes,syllables,and initial consonant blends

deletion of final consonants and clusters

syntactic and morphological difference

verb marking

some differences between AAE AND SAE--cont'd(p.141)

noun inflections

pronouns and demonstratives

comparative and superlative markers

negation

questions

semantic differences

pragmatic differences

Hispanic-American Culture and Communication

many children of Hispanic heritage come to school with Limited English Proficiency(LEP)

LEP is not a disorder,nor is it a permanent condition.most normally developing children,with help and opportunities to interact with peers,eventually master English and become bilingual,able to communicate effectively in two languages.

characteristics of Spanish-influenced English(p.142)

phonology

syntax and morphology

verb marking 

noun inflections

negatives

questions

semantics

pragmatics

native American culture and communication

native American children from a variety of tribal groups have been found to score higher on motor, social,and self-help skills than their mainstream peers,although they score lower on language areas,

they are required to display their physical mastery of a task,such as dancing or weaving,by just doing it.

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a native American child's reluctance to speak,to look at the teacher,to ask questions,or a tendency to have long latency of response should not be misinterpreted as a lack of communicative competence.instead,it should be understood as an appropriate expression of cultural patterns of communication.

features of native American dialects of English(p.144)

Arab-American culture and communication

middle eastern communication styles include the acceptance of loud speech as normal in conversation, rapid speech,emphasis on eye contact as indicative of truthfulness in men,though less acceptable for women,acceptance of emotionality in conversation,and value placed on silence during communication.

Arabic cultrues place high esteem 

language and articulation defferences between English and Arabic(p.145)

Asian-American culture and communication

features of Asian Dialects of English(p.146)

high-and low-context communication

narratives

narratives are important communicative structures used by all cultures to accomplish specific communicative purpose.

four basic narrative genres:recasts/recounts,event casts,accounts,and stories

narrative genre descriptions

recast/recoutn-retells events and experiences from the past,with sequential chronology and consistent point of view.example:summarizing a section of a textbook.

event cast-verbal replies or explications of activities or procedures that are currently being done or are planned.example:how to bake a pie,explaning what will happen on a field trip.

account-shares an experience,example:telling about your vacation.

story-fictional account of people (or animals or inanimate objects that take on human characteristics)who must overcome some problem that has social or moral significance to the culture.example:the three little pig.

high-context,traditional cultures expect children to use recast/recounts to retell events with extensive verbal imitation,role-playing,and use of present tense.

event casts are used frequently in low-context cultures to explain activities or series of events that are being planned or will take place in the future.

accounts are used in both high- and low- context cultures to share experience.

stories are used by both high- and low-context cultures,but they differ across cultures in terms of their internal organization and focus.

in some traditonal high-context cultures,only elders or others with high status are expected to be storytellers.

contrasts between high- and low- context communicative styles

low context styles used in mainstream culture

most information is transmitted verbally

learning takes place through words

society undergoes rapid change,there is great opportunity but life is less predictable.planning of the future and delaying gratification for future rewards are encourage

the role of the individual is to achieve and excel

monochronic concept of time:single events happen one at a time.planning and scheduling are critical. actions are tightly scheduled.what matters is sticking to the timetable.

high-context styles used in traditional cultures

most information is the physical context or is in shared knowledge among participants.

routines and behaviors are taught through observation

change is slow,life is predictable.as a result,little planning is needed,talk about the future may be discouraged

the role of the individual is as a menber of the culture groups,most activities are controlled by the group rather than by an individual,individuals should not stand out from peers

polychronic concept of time:time is flexible,timelines and schedules may not exist,what matters is the completion of transactions,no time

working with families from culture different backgrounds

the best practice in child language disorders is family-centered.

helping families to identify concerns,priorities,and resources for their child and including them as integral members of the intervention.

differences in beliefs and values about learning,parenting,and disabilities can lead to confusion and misunderstanding.

strategies for developing culturally sensitive family-centered practice

be sure family member(and in many CLD families,family members other than parents will be involved) understand the purpose of teach assessment or intervention session.

attempt to involve family members in making decisions about assessment methods and interpretation, intervention targets and procedures,etc.

match assessment and intervention goals to family priorities.

allow ample time for questions after each session,and be prepared to answer the same question different ways for different family members,if necessary.

research the language and culture of each client to make use of culturally appropriate practices

team up with people from the culture community who can act as both language and cultural interpreters

read about the family's culture

visit student homes

consider family value systems when setting goals,for example,independence is highly valued in out culture,even for young children,families from more traditional cultures may not think young children need to be independent and may reject intervention that aims to increase independence,such as using a remote switch for a young physically handicapped child to turn on the TV himself.

invite students to share aspects of their culture with other students

learn some basic communication(simple phrase,common words)in the student's home language

learn to pronounce student's and family menber's names as they are pronounced in the home language, not as they are "Ameicanized"