Sharing Good Practice

BY: DEBBIE HAMILTON-BOGUES

• Leaving out key words during conversations.

• May appear frustrated because of inability to communicate thoughts.

• Having problems re / telling stories.

What can I do as a teacher to improve expressive language?

Do not call on the student to give immediate responses, give thinking time and permission to write down thoughts then share.

Give choices in answers, the student can choose one or the other.

Expressive language disorder describes the inability to communicate ideas and thoughts, difficulties with both speaking and understanding of the language.

Some characteristics of Receptive Language Disorder:

• Shows very little understanding of what the teacher is saying.

• Has problems with processing and retaining auditory information.

• The child may have difficulties with attention and concentration: s / he is easily distracted and may not complete tasks and may become withdrawn or disruptive.

• Has serious problems with reading and writing.

• May follow what others do without understanding because s / he does not comprehend verbal cues.

• Lacks the ability to hear sounds, distinguish between similar sounds or words, and is distracted by background noise.

What can I do as a teacher to improve receptive language?

Make eye-contact before giving instructions.

Repeat instructions to ensure understanding.

Play games in which following instructions and giving directions are key.

Ask the child to repeat the instructions given, to check for clarity.

Teach words and concepts through objects, to help the student progress from the concrete to the abstract.

Seat the student in close proximity to you, so that s / he does not miss what is being said.

Speak slowly to help the student to process the information.

Use role play so that s / he is given opportunity to listen and then speak.

Some characteristics of expressive language challenges:

• Learning new vocabulary words can be very difficult.

• Use of certain phrases repeatedly when talking.

• Understanding what is said by others but not speaking much or often.

• Constructing nonsensical sentences.

• Limited sentence structures when speaking.

If the student answers in one word; you can respond in a full correct sentence, so s / he hears the words in correct order and preferably repeats the sentence.

Give opportunity to generate a conversation; talk about things of interest that would be familiar to the student.

Use language in context, if you are teaching past tense, talk about what happened in the past or if new vocabulary, use the words as often as possible in context.

Use co-operative learning to foster discussions.

To support your student, who you think has receptive or expressive language disorder, talk with the parents of your student, ascertain if they are having a similar experience at home, and finally you can recommend that they see a speech therapist to have the student assessed and receive professional intervention. If your school has a Special Educational Needs department, make sure that you make them aware of your observations so that they can recommend testing or even suggest more strategies to assist the student. The classroom teacher is at the forefront of helping students who have special educational needs, and their role should never be underestimated.

Simplify and minimise instructions, the fewer the instructions at any one time the better; using first and then.

Debbie is an experienced international educator, who has spent almost 30 years in education in the Caribbean, USA, UK and the Middle East. She has a passion for students with special education needs.