Language


 * __ Language __**

**__Definition__** (Friend, 2011) · System of symbols and rules used to communicate between individuals · Language is expressed (produced) and received (comprehended)

**__Common Characteristics of a Student with Language Difficulties__** (Friend, 2011) · **Receptive Difficulties** o See Auditory Processing section for information on difficulties rooted in difficulties perceiving and processing sound o See Reading section for information on language difficulties manifested during reading o Difficulty with understanding the meaning of phrases (e.g., it’s raining cats and dogs) o Looks blank when spoken to because of lack of understanding o Has problems with multiple word meanings (e.g., point: The pencil has a sharp point. What is the point? It is not polite to point.) o Distracted by extraneous sounds o Gives inappropriate answers o May repeat a question instead of answering o Difficulty learning the meaning for new words o Struggles to identify rhyming words o Trouble identifying syllables o Does not follow directions · **Expressive Difficulties** o Difficulty spelling o Particular difficulty spelling words that sound the same but are spelled differently (e.g., ate/eight, hour/our, their/there/they’re) o Difficulties with words that are spelled the same but have different pronunciations and meanings (e.g., read: She is going to read the book later. He read the book for homework yesterday.) o Challenges with articulation (e.g., bond, pond) o Uses words in the incorrect order in sentences (e.g., I overslept because I was late.) o Mixes up the order of numbers in math calculations o Uses short sentences o Often uses stuff/things because of trouble determining the correct descriptive word o Uses an excessive amount of “ums”, pauses, and repetitions o May be unusually quiet or talks excessively o Fails to recognize communication cues to stop talking o Limited ability to remember

**__Classroom Accommodations, Modifications, and Suggestions__** · See Auditory Processing section for ideas that target sound processing difficulties · See Reading section for ideas to improve the language aspect of reading · Use a word flip book to target practicing phonological patterns (e.g., Cut index cards in half and write one half of a word family on each card. For Cat, Hat, Bat, etc., separate the consonants and –at.) · Use sticky notes to create words on a poster. Colors categorize vowels, consonants, and letter blends. The student will stick combinations together in an order to create a word then return and replace the letters to create a new word. · Don’t complete words for students. Allow them to figure it out. · Sing rhyming, rhythmic songs to learn word sounds and syllables (e.g., Rain, Rain Go Away) · Listen to books on tape to learn pronunciation from different voices, dialects, and inflections · Echo read with the student (e.g., the teacher reads aloud a sentence from a book and then the student repeat reads the same sentence.) · Clap out the syllables to words · Use other visual cues when speaking (e.g., hand gestures) · Create a journal of difficult metaphors, idiosyncrasies, etc. for future reference (e.g., put your best foot forward means give your best effort) · Complete fill-in-the blank worksheets to help students improve descriptive word bank based on context (e.g., I go to the to purchase apples,, and milk.) · Create a story aloud with each student and the teacher giving one sentence or one word to the story at a time. · Hang posters in the classroom for confusing words and their meaning (e.g., their, there, they’re) · Play catch a tense: Label the different colors of the ball past, present, future. Give the student a verb in the infinitive form and then they have to conjugate the word to the tense their hands land on the ball. · Utilize technology: o Apple Applications: SLP Kit provides the tools and activities to supplement work accomplished with a Speech and Language Pathologist. o Windows Software: textHELP! Provides additional assistance to students with highlighted spell-check for difficult words and text-reading software. *American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. Language-Based Learning Disabilities. Retrieved from http://asha.org. Friend, M. (2011). Students with Speech and Language Disorders. In //Special Education// (3rd ed.). Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson Education, Inc. *Trottier, H. Teach Speech. Message posted to http://teachspeech.weebly.com/teach-speech-blog.html. *Great source for parents*
 * References__**