Oral Language
Receptive (listening, understanding)
Expressive (speaking)
Identify ideas, feelings
construct appropriate grammatical expression
coordinate appropriate speech producing mechanism to produce speech.
Informal Assessment
Language sample by asking child to tell a story or relate an event.
Transcribed sample can be evaluated for pronunciation, fluency, syntax, morphology, and semantics.
Ask: Does the vocabulary match intent?
Sentences fit together meaningfully?
Connected by references to time and space?
Oral Language Programs
Should be taught or reinforced by all people in a child’s environment.
Should occur in natural environments as much as possible.
Should be implemented as early as possible.
Use commercial, teacher-made, materials from the "natural" setting
Commercial Language Programs
May be good for some students but not others
May need some modification to address specific needs
Should be supplemented with materials in the classroom
DISTAR
Language I
Components
A. Identity
Polars
Prepositions
Pronouns
Multiple Attributes
Comparatives-Superlatives
B. Action
Same-Different
Only
Categories
Plurals
Why
Verbs of Sense (feels)
Verb Tense
In-Then
Before-After
C. Parts
Or
All
One
Some All None
Instructional Activities
General Strategies (Salend, 1990)
Modeling
Role-playing
Prompting
Coaching
Scripting
Instructional Activities
Language Stimulation
facilitate language leadership activities, social interactions, dramatic play, nonverbal
Vocabulary Development
reading, writing, general conversation
teacher developed; language programs
start with familiar objects, functions (verbs)
Listening Skills (Forster & Doyle)
Prepare materials (tape, video, outline, list)
State purpose
Organize prelistening (outline, new words)
Present information
Clarify (students ask questions when appropriate)
Recapitulate (students describe from memory)
Summarize (students create a summary)
Test, grade, evaluate
Listening Comprehension Skills
Following directions
Listening for Main Ideas
Vocabulary (preview)
Interpretation (feelings, meanings)
Listening for sequence (directions, story)
Critical listening (subjective v. objective)
Syntactical/Morphological Skill Building
Correction (teacher corrects mistakes)
Expansion (increase brief utterances)
Expatiation (adds semantic features)
Completion ("Yesterday we _____")
Combination (sentence combining)
Revision (retelling in own words)
Phonological Production
Articulation difficulties ("wed wabbit")
Voice disorders (timber, pitch)
Speech dysfluencies (stuttering)
Often referred to speech/language pathologist
Providing a
Language
Enriching Environment
Develop conducive setting (groups, play areas, bring in objects to class)
Provide opportunities (provide talking activities
Opportunities for different purposes, audiences (guests, older/younger students)
Encourage student speech.
Intervention Activities
Introduce naming and other language in outdoor activities.
Labeling, grouping classroom objects
Students raise hand, stand up when they hear certain word in a story
Following a list of directions
Describe an object to another child who can not see it
"How are these things alike/different?"