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 602-610

older students benefit from being encouraged to identify and ask for help with unfamiliar words,in an atmosphere that validates and approves their asking.

word retrieval

increase knowledge and connections among the words the student knows.

providing elaborated,multiple exposure to deepen word knowledge and build semantic net-work connections

practicing saying,then writing the target words several times alone,and then saying and writing each word in five different sentences.

figurative language

it is important for students with LLD to hear figurative language in poetry and literature read to them by teachers and clinicians.

some supportive scaffolding is necessary to help students assimilate the figurative language they hear.

giving students pairs of words that lend themselves to figurative usage(eye and starts,snake and river)and asking students to use them to construct similes and metaphors,in the context of advertisements for fictitous products or descriptions of people the student knows.

verbal reasoning

helping students differentiate emotional from logical arguments.

reading letters to the editor in local or online newspapers and identifying the permise and conclusion in the letter.

program for training verbal reasoning skills (p.603)

using visual aids to help understand logical relations.visual supports such provide significant improvement in verbal reasoning performance for students with LLD.

syntax

given sets of simple sentences,asked to find a variety of ways of combining them into one complex sentence.

such as 

sound waves strike the eardrum.the eardrum sends vibrations to the middle ear.

sound waves strike the eardrum,which sends vibrations to the middle ear.'

the refugees moved away.the community rejected the refugees.

the fefugees that the community rejected moved away.

sequenced steps for teaching syntactic patterns(p.605)

example prompt card to increase complex syntax in persuasive discourse

introduction(in my opinion... i believe... from my point of view... i think...)

body

connecting words,such as(...if... ...although... ...even though... ...as a result... ...consequently... )

counter-opinions,such as(although... however... on the other hand... 

to/on the contrary... even though...)

logical organizers,such as (first,next,last... for example... most importantly...  

in additon...)

mental words ,such as(think... consider... remember... believe... know...)

conclusion (to summarize... in summary... in conclusion... after considering...)

a program for using script analysis to improve classroom discourse skills in adolescents

with LLD(p.607)

step 1:outline the script

have the students tell everything they know about the script,including participants, sequence of events,objects needed,and so on.(let's list everything that happens when you have to write a composition in english class.")

step 2:brainstorm variations

suggest some variations,and ask students how they would react to each.(what would you do if the pricipal came in while the class was writing?")

step 3:specify the cues for activating the script

many students with LLD miss crucial verbal and nonverbal cues given by the teacher during class routine,encourage students to identify the cues they need to identify,(what does the teacher do when it's time to stop writing?")

step 4:role-paly the script

have students take turns acting out student and teacher roles in this routine,playing the teacher may help to make students more aware of subtle cues teachers give.

step 5:provide strategies for coping with weaknesses

identify areas in which the student continues to have trouble,and provide reminding systems,consult with teachers to encourage them to offer similar reminders in the classroom,a teacher might be encouraged to say to the student,for example,"remember,it's our rule that if you finish your conposition before time is up, you should edit your work.check the editing guide on the board to help you remember where to begin."

narrative

comprehension

help students comprehend stories that they hear or read.

establish a purpose:help students decide why reading or hearing this story is important,reasons might include learning classroom content,answering question provided by teacher or clinician,or finding new information of interest to the student.

activate prior knowledge:help students  remember what they already know.for example, in preparing to read shirley jackson's the lottery，students can be encouraged to tell what they know about lotteries,share experiences with buying lottery tickers,skim through the story and put "sticky notes" at points where they recognize similarities or differences to the lotteries with which they have had experience.

make predictions:have students preview the text,pictures,chapter heading,etc.,to make guesses about what the story will contain;read one section then have the students predict what may happen next.

ask question:have students generate a list of questions,based on their predictions,to be asked during and after reading,make a chart to record answers.

visualize：encourage students to "draw a picture in their mind" of objects and events in the story,have them decribe their image of what characters and scenes from the story look like,or draw pictures to illustrate the story.

focused skill activities:provide follow-up activities to target vocabulary and complex syntax encountered in the story,and the production of a "parallel story" to enhance understanding.

using repeated reading combined with vocabulary activities to build reading fluency

reading 1:student writes down all unknow words in a passage

reading 2:student reads passage again,stopping at each word on the list,and provides a definition with scaffolding from SLP and/or group.

reading 3:student reads the passage again,substituting a synonym for each word on the list.

reading 4:student reads the passage,then summarizes it,using words from the list.

use drama to enhance students' narrative comprehension:

use oral reading to create character.have students skim a scene in a story to identify characters,assign the student a character and have the student read what the character says and does,using voice,pauses,and stress to show what kind of person the character is or how he or she feels in the scene.

use improvisational scenes to activate a preparatory set before reading,

use improvisations to explore and enhance understanding of characters in the story.

involve students in writing and acting in plays to enrich their understanding of stories they read or hear.

the clinician can help students refine their answers with probes such as the following:

why would (character)answer that way?

does that answer go along with everything else you know about (character)?

what happens in your book that makes you think(character)would answer that way?

narrative production

teaching students with language-learning disabilities using a scaffolded composition process.this process can include the following:

introduce concept of author.

refer to the aspect of the story,using a posteror graphic organizer:setting,characters, problem,attempt,consequence,resolution

if the student cannot make a decision,continue with a similar process until each element has been addressed.

have the student draw a sequence story

have the student describe the main characters

use the poster or graphic organizer

support the student in writing or dictating the story

revise

narrative cohesion