ECE 28, CLASS NOTES, WEEK 14, Chapter 16: Facilitating Speech, Language & Communication Skills The

Exceptional Child, Inclusion in Early Childhood Education, Sixth Edition, Thomson-Delmar Learning

OBJECTIVES Define language & explain how it develops according to the theories presented in the text. Understand the sequence of language development from birth through age five or six. Define milieu teaching & describe its essential strategies. List ways that teachers can help children with special needs expand their language & communication skills. Discuss dysfluency among young children & describe appropriate responses from teachers & parents. KEY TERMS articulation augmentative communication system dysfluency expressive language incidental teaching over-regularization receptive language articulation errors benevolent neglect expressive language holophrastic speech voice synthesizer pre-linguistic communication syntax

DEFINING SPEECH, LANGUAGE, & COMMUNICATION SKILLS Language can be defined as a complicated symbol system. Symbols can be thought of as signals: words, signs, gestures, & body movements that either stand for something else or represent ideas. Language serves as both a social & a cognitive activity. It serves as a social skill for interacting with others. It serves as a cognitive skill for understanding, inquiring, & telling about oneself & one's world. LANGUAGE ACQUISITION: Environmental Perspective - A popular theory of language development focused almost exclusively on the environment: the child learned to talk by imitating words, & then receiving feedback for saying them. Innateness Perspective - this viewpoint, language is said to unfold or emerge as part of the developmental process, with the environment playing a far less dominant role. Integrated Explanation - three part concept suggested by Kaczmarek. The maturationally determined mechanism for learning language. The input, or quality & timing of the child's early language experiences. The use the child makes of input; the strategies the child devises for processing spoken language & then reproducing it. SEQUENCES IN LANGUAGE ACQUISITION Pre-linguistic Communication - is characterized by body movements, facial grimaces, & vocalizations. Crying. Cooing Babbling Intonation First Words & Sentences Vocabulary Receptive language Receptive & expressive vocabulary Expressive language

Early Sentences: putting words together to form sentences is as rapid as vocabulary growth during the early years. Language acquisition is known as the development of syntax. Holophrastic speech Telegraphic speech Language Complexity: between two & five years old, language acquisition progresses rapidly. Over-regularizations

ALTERNATIVE LANGUAGE SYSTEMS Nonverbal Communication: children's efforts to communicate non-verbally are important. Augmentative Communication Systems: Augmentative communication systems are from simple; gestures, signs, symbols, or pictures to such systems as technological devices. Signing THE NATURALISTIC LANGUAGE LEARNING ENVIRONMENT Arranging a Language-Learning Environment: teachers arrange the learning environment so that every child has many opportunities to talk. Teacher's expectations The role of questions Activities Direct Assistance: children with developmental problems require direct & specific assistance in order to develop language & communication skills. SPEECH IRREGULARITIES Articulation Errors: refers to the production of speech sounds. Lisping Dysfluency Guidelines Referral & early warning signs: seek a professional evaluation if a child displays any of the following: Is not aware of sounds or noise. Is not talking b two years of age. Leaves off beginning consonants after three years of age. Uses mostly vowel sounds in speech. Is noticeably non-fluent after 6 years of age. Regularly uses a voice which is monotone, too loud, too soft, too high, or too low for the child's age or sex. Has frequent ear infections & signs of possible delay. Is a year late in acquiring any speech & language skill. Intervention: children with speech & language problems need an individualized intervention program. Best practices, the early childhood teacher & the speech & language specialist work together in designing, implementing, & evaluation the intervention. BILINGUALISM & ENGLISH AS A SECOND LANGUAGE Discriminate between delays or deficiencies & cultural or language difference. Facilitating language acquisition applies to helping children acquire a second language. A second language is learned most easily in the natural environment of the preschool classroom.