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errors
Problem sounds
Some sounds cause particular difficulty for children with a history of conductive
hearing loss, and there are also English sounds which are difficult for children
whose first language is an Indigenous language or dialect. These sounds have been
discussed in detail in Strategy 4. To remind you, the groups of sounds which are likely
to cause difficulty are:
Intervention Strategies
1. voiced/voiceless sounds. These are the pairs of sounds which differ only in
whether or not the vocal cords are vibrating. They are: /p/ /b/; /t/ /d/; /k/
/g/; /f/ - /v/; /th/ (as in thin) /th/ (as in that); /s/ /z/; /ch/ /j/.
2. fricatives. These are sounds which are made with a continuous, vibrating air
stream. The sounds are: /f/ - /v/; /th/ (as in thin) /th/ (as in that); /s/ /z/; /h/;/
sh/. They are difficult for many Aboriginal children because indigenous languages
dont use these sounds. Learning to produce them means that children have
to learn a completely new set of sounds. These are also sounds which are
particularly difficult to hear when hearing is affected by a conductive hearing
loss. You will notice that these sounds are also included in the voiced-voiceless
sounds list, so it is clear that there are a number of reasons why they are
particularly difficult for Aboriginal children. The sound /h/ is an interesting case
in Kriol and Aboriginal English /h/ doesnt appear on some words where speakers
of Standard Australian English would expect to hear it (e.g. orse for horse), but
may appear on words which, for Standard Australian English speaker, begin with
a vowel (e.g. happle for apple).
Vowels
Indigenous children have difficulty in spelling the vowels of English for a number of
reasons. Indigenous languages include three main vowels, but Standard Australian
English, Kriol and Aboriginal English have many more vowels. In addition to this,
vowel length (whether the vowel is long or short) does not change meaning in most
Aboriginal languages, but is very important in English particularly in coding or
writing. Generally speaking, the differences between vowels are slight. Discriminating
these slight differences is likely to be very difficult for children with a history
of chronic conductive hearing loss. The following types of spelling errors may
bepresent.
1. use of a short vowel in place of a long vowel.
[ Note that what sometimes appears to be the use of a short vowel in place of
a long vowel (e.g. plad for played) may, in fact, indicate poor knowledge of
spelling conventions. In this case, the spelling error may be due to the child using
the letter name to represent the sound. ]
2. omission of vowels; and
3. inaccurate vowel representation.
This is most likely to affect the vowels which are similar in Standard Australian
English, but which dont occur in Indigenous languages. This includes pairs such as /i/
(hit) - /e/ (bed); /a/ (cap) - /u/ (cup).
Omissions
Children with a history of conductive hearing loss may find it difficult to hear parts
of words. This difficulty will affect those parts of words which are less obvious,
or produced with less emphasis than other parts of the word. In spelling, this will
be reflected in a tendency to omit some parts of words. You can expect to see the
effects in omission of:
1. unstressed syllables the syllables in multisyllabic words which have least
emphasis (eg, the first syllable in banana, the second syllable in dinosaur);
2. sounds in clusters (blends) one consonant in a group of consonants (eg. the /s/
in stop); and
3. word end consonants the last consonant in a word (eg the /g/ in dog).
Intervention Strategies
A framework for
analysis and teaching
Careful analysis of spelling errors evident in childrens work may reveal patterns of
error. It is important that you look for frequently occurring error types, not single
instances of error. Be aware also that more than one error pattern may be evident
in a single word. For example, a child who writes sep for sleep demonstrates two
error patterns the omission of a consonant from a consonant cluster, and poor
knowledge of spelling conventions.
The common error patterns will provide you with a basis for your teaching, at either
a small group (if a number of children show the same pattern) or individual level. The
common error patterns, examples of these, and suggested actions are shown below.
You will notice that the suggested activities focus on developing knowledge of, and
the ability to produce the sounds themselves, and on explicitly linking those sounds
to the written system. That is, the ideas and types of activities we have discussed
in Strategy 4 and Strategy 5. You will find many activities which could be used in
Strategies 4 and 5 - and you are encouraged to develop more!
Examples
Action
Developmental
immaturities in
sound development
and phonological
awareness
Production
Intervention Strategies
Examples
Action
Problem sounds
Production
Clarify production of the target sound. Develop
knowledge of placement of tongue and lips, the
way the airstream is used and whether or not
the vocal cords are vibrating. Use cues outlined
in Consonant Production, Strategy 4.
Practice
word lists, oral repetition and rapid naming of
pictures or objects. For all activities, remember
to include the target sound at the beginning of
words, at the end of words and in the middle
ofwords.
Contrast
Practise saying word pairs which contrast the
target sound with the childs error sound, or
with similar sounds. For example, for the child
who is omitting the sound / h/, practice target
words with and without the /h/ sound (eg,
contrast hat and at).
When working with voiced / voiceless pairs,
teach cues to indicate voiced (fingers on
voicebox) and voiceless (hand in front of
mouth to feel air). Children should alternate
production of voiced / voiceless sounds and
word pairs. This will be easiest with sounds
which can be drawn out (/th/ (thin) /th/ (that);
/f/ - /v/; /s/ - /z/).
Discriminate
develop a list of words with the target sound
in the initial position, and a list which includes
these words, and distracter words (which begin
with a different sound). Read the list aloud, and
challenge children to put up their hands when
they hear a word with the targetsound.
(Continued overleaf)
Examples
Action
Problem sounds
Code
Intervention Strategies
Examples
Action
Vowels
Production
Practice
Use word lists, oral repetition and rapid
naming of pictures or objects. Vowel sounds
are most common within words, but you
should also include words which have the
target vowel at the beginning and at the end
where possible.
Rhyming words will contain the same vowel
sound - generate a list of words that sound the
same or make up nonsense words or rhymes
for children to practise saying. Read rhyming
books. (Dr Suess books are great!)
Contrast
Practise saying word pairs which contrast
similar vowels (eg bat bet; sit set; hit
heat). Use pictures or drawings, and ask the
children name the picture you point to. Use
one pair at a time.
Discriminate
From your rapid naming pack, choose pictures
of pairs of words which are different only
because of the vowel (eg pip pipe; tap
top; cap cup). Using one pair at a time, ask
the children to point to the word you say.
Vary the game by blu-tacking cards to different
windows and asking the children to stand next
to the one you say.
Code
Develop a list of words which include problem
vowels. Children practice saying, segmenting
and writing these words. Take advantage
of naturally occurring opportunities to talk
about different ways of representing the same
vowelsounds.
Examples
Action
Omissions
Code
Develop lists of words which have more than
one syllable, consonant clusters (blends) or
end consonants.
Work with children to say, segment and write
the words, making sure that each syllable and
each sound is represented.
If working with multisyllabic words, segment
syllables first, then sounds within each syllable.
You could represent these parts separately on
your paper or the blackboard. For example,
you could represent syllables using boxes.
b ou
about
Intervention Strategies
Examples
Action
Poor knowledge
of relationship
between sounds
and letters.
Remember...