Common LanguageRelated Difficulties of School Learners LANGUAGE DIFFICULTIES

Common Language-Related Difficulties of School Learners

LANGUAGE DIFFICULTIES immediate & long-term adverse effects learners’ academic achievement psychosocial well-being

spelling reading oral language composition reading comprehension verbal-analytical day-to-day lessons transactions/interactions with others

Factors that cause/lead to language difficulties

A. Genetic Factors reading disabilities problems of articulation hearing delays (e. g. , deafness) B. Neurological Factors due to brain damage/injuries e. g. , aphasia, cerebral palsy, deafness dysfunctions in sensory processing

C. Environmental Factors poor quality of teaching lack of home support and supervision peer pressure & influences ill-effects of media and “gadget” technology (e. g. , PSP, Wii, MP 4) inadequate and low-quality learning resources lack of conducive learning environment social-emotional climate

D. Learner Factors poor study habits and attitudes poor study skills: * does not complete/review notes * fails to outline lessons * does not organize his notebooks gets hyperactive & inattentive in class social-emotional and home-related problems

E. Impairments physical-physiological impairments visual and auditory impairments vocal-mechanism impairments: * cleft palate

Language-Related Difficulties of School Learners

Oral Expression ☞ difficulties in speech * articulatory defects * developmental apraxia ☞ pragmatics * functional language use initial verbal abilities of young children

☞ pragmatics * * answering simple social questions answering “Yes” / “No” expressing needs addressing familiar persons

☞ verbal-analytical skills * * * logical reasoning making social judgments telling cause-and-effect relationships reporting incidents story telling

Listening Comprehension Deficits in: ☞ aural receptivity & recognition ☞ auditory recall/memory ☞ auditory discrimination & association ☞ auditory sequencing

Listening Comprehension Examples are difficulties in: * remembering commands heard * sequencing number & word series heard * comprehending dictated sentences and short selections * summarizing instructions heard

Reading and Reading Comprehension Deficits in: ☞ letter recognition ☞ phonemic awareness/phonics ☞ phonemic reading & vocabulary delays including word definition

Reading comprehension lags: ☞ inability to understand sentences, paragraphs & selections/texts * * * note details sequence events get the main ideas make inferences interpret specific passages define words as used in context

Spelling and Written Expression ☞ spelling errors ☞ delays in recognizing letters and numbers in print ☞ reversals

Lags in: * visual processing including orientation * directionality * spatial relations * motoral delays- poor paper-pencil outputs writing from copy & dictation * composition while observing: use of punctuations & upper cases, syntax, grammar, coherence, spelling, legibility of handwriting

☺ consult with teachers ☺ observe the learner ☺ fill up observation journals ☺ administer teacher-made diagnostic tests ☺ refer learner to appropriate specialists