1、Assessing and Teaching Language,EXC 7130,Definition of Language,Any code employing signs, symbols, or gestures used for communicating ideas meaningfully between human beings. Social tool to communicate meanings, feelings, and intentions. Language comprises of receptive skills (understanding) and exp
2、ressive skills (use) and includes both written and oral forms.,Theories of Language,Behavioristic: Skinner Infant begins with no knowledge of language, but possesses ability to learn it through reinforcement and imitation Nativistic or psycholinguistic: Chomsky Child is prewired for language develop
3、ment and the environment triggers its emergence Interactionistic: Piaget Language occurs through fixed developmental stages,Language Components & Skills,Form Phonology Morphology Syntax Content Semantics Use Pragmatics,Functionalist Language Theory,Pragmatics,Syntax,Semantics,Morphology,Phonology,Ph
4、onology,Study and use of individual sound units in a language and the rules by which they are combined and recombined to create larger language units. Phonemes are the unit of sound such as /s/ or /b/ , they do not convey meaning. Phonemes alter meaning of words when combined (e.g., sat to bat).,Pho
5、nological Deficits,Frequently appear as articulation disorders. Child omits a consonant: “oo” for you Child substitutes one consonant: “wabbit” for rabbit Discrimination: child hears “go get the nail” instead of mail,Morphology,Study and use of morphemes, the smallest units of language that have mea
6、ning. A morpheme is a group of sounds that refers to a particular object, idea, or action. Roots can stand alone (e.g., car, teach, tall) Affixes are bound such as prefixes and suffixes and when attached to root words change the meaning of the words (e.g., cars, teacher, tallest),Morphological Defic
7、its,Elementary aged: may not use appropriate inflectional endings in their speech (e.g.,“He walk” or “Mommy coat”). Middle school: lack irregular past tense or irregular plurals (e.g., drived for drove or mans for men). Be aware of “Black English”: “John cousin” “fifty cent”, or “She work here”.,Syn
8、tax,Study of the rules by which words are organized into phrases or sentences in a particular language. Referred to as the grammar of the language and allows for more complex expression of thoughts and ideas by making references to past and future events.,Syntactic Deficits,Lack the length or syntac
9、tic complexity (e.g., “Where Daddy go?”). Problems comprehending sentences that express relationship between direct or indirect objects. Difficulty with wh questions.,Semantics,The larger meaning component of language. More than single words, includes complex use of vocabulary, including structures
10、such as word categories, word relationships, synonyms, antonyms, figurative language, ambiguities, and absurdities.,Semantic Deficits,Limited vocabulary especially in adjectives, adverbs, prepositions, or pronouns. Longer response time in selecting vocabulary words. Fail to perceive subtle changes i
11、n word meaning: incomplete understanding and misinterpretations. Figurative language problems.,Pragmatics,Knowledge and ability to use language functionally in social or interactive situations. Integrates all the other language skills, but also requires knowledge and use of rule governing the use of
12、 language in social context.,Pragmatic Deficits,Problems understanding indirect requests (e.g., may say yes when asked “Must you play the piano?”). May enter conversations in a socially unacceptable fashion or fail to take turns talking. Difficulty staying on topic.,Preschool and Kindergarten,Diffic
13、ulty with readiness skills: counting, naming colors, naming the days of the week, and using scissors. Unable to follow simple directions, follow a story line, or enjoy listening to stories. May exhibit immature-sounding speech, word finding difficulties, and inability to name common objects.,Element
14、ary Students,Limited ability to identify sounds, analyzing and synthesizing sound sequences and segmenting words. Problems with temporal and spatial concepts (e.g., before-after, some, few). Word finding (retrieval) difficulties exist. Problems sounding out and blending sounds. Problems with express
15、ive and oral language.,Secondary Students,Tend to be passive learners and lack metacognitive skills. Problems gaining information from class lectures and textbooks, completing homework, following classroom rules, demonstrating command of knowledge through test taking, expressing thoughts in writing,
16、 participating in classroom discussions, and passing competency exams.,Bilingual and Culturally Diverse Students,Assessment should be conducted in the students primary language. Assessment should examine writing, reading, listening, and speaking skills. Assessments should include both quantitative m
17、easures (i.e., formal tests) and qualitative measures (e.g., observations, adapted test instruction, and a language sample).,Formal Language Assessment,Standardized instruments used to compare a students performance with pre-established criteria. Clinical Evaluation of Language Fundamentals, Peabody
18、 Picture Voc. Test Screening Tests Provides general overview in particular area can norm referenced. Diagnostic Tests Measure one or more specific language components. See Table 6.3,Informal Assessment,Often used to affirm or refute the results of formal measures. Determine specific instructional ob
19、jectives. Use large sample of items and repeated opportunities for observations.,Informal Tests of Phonology,Analyze students production of phonemes in single words.List of all the consonant phonemes + pictures to depict words containing each phoneme (e.g., picture of a pot for initial /p/, map for
20、final /p/). Include a comments section to describe the error recorded. Provide prompts “Tell me about your weekend for 3-minute sample, count correct and incorrect phonemes.,Informal Test of Morphology,Determine mastery level of each morpheme in a hierarchy (Brown, 1973). ing: present a picture of g
21、irls playing and say “The girls like to play. Here they are _.” Student adds missing word. Show a series of 20 action pictures and ask student what they are doing. Accuracy below 90% - morpheme has not been mastered,Informal Tests of Syntax,Expressive syntax: analyzing students spontaneous speech, r
22、ecording conversation. Sentence repetition: teacher states a sentence and student repeats it.,Informal Tests of Semantics,Logical relationships, cause-and-effect, and verbal problem solving are difficult to assess. Verbal opposites: SRA picture cards of 40 pairs of opposites. Student sorts them into
23、 opposites. Word categories: Teacher says a word and student says as many words in the same category. Semantic relationships: analyzing spontaneous speech while playing or interacting with friends.,Informal Test of Pragmatics,Analyze spontaneous speech through videotape. Transcribe tape see figure 6
24、.3 Classify pragmatic function Measure inappropriate loudness, talking at inappropriate times, interrupting the speaker, and using indirect requests.,Strategies for Increasing Language Comprehension,Establish eye contact and cue student to listen. Ask student to repeat directions. Classroom arrangem
25、ent to reduce distractions. Use familiar vocabulary when presenting new concept. Present new concept in as many modalities. Teach memory strategies (e.g., visual imagery, clustering and grouping information).,Strategies for Increasing Language Production,React to the content of students message, the
26、n correct syntax error. Teach language in various settings. Act as a good language model, have students imitate what they hear. Comment or elaborate on students ideas to provide more information. Use storytelling, role playing, or charades to improve verbal expression. Use structured language progra
27、ms that provide adequate practice.,Students with Mental Retardation,Develop language more slowly, including both receptive & expressive delays Often dont use make use of incidental learning opportunities May have insufficient interactions with children with more skilled language use Frequently less
28、effective in social communication,Students with Behavior Disorders,May possess age-appropriate skills at phonemic and morphemic level, but have difficulties with syntax, semantics, and pragmatics Difficulty expressing ideas, feelings, concerns, and needs Oral language may be contain profanity Diffic
29、ulty with social communication,Students with Learning Disabilities,Problems understanding or using spoken or written language (definition) Problems with word retrieval and word choice Ambiguity and lack of cohesion Inefficient decoding of messages presented by speech of others Uneven language abilities in both school and social settings,
