Language, the Vehicle That Drives the
Curriculum: Identifying Vulnerabilities in
Prospective Students
Lydia H. Soifer, Ph.D.
Pediatric Language and Literacy Specialist
Educational Program Consultant
[email protected]
NYSAIS
Admissions Directors’ Conference
April 26, 2017
© 2017 Lydia H. Soifer, Ph.D. All Rights Reserved
Classroom Language Dynamics
Who is this Child?
Academics
Neurology
Lydia H. Soifer, Ph.D., 2006
RRe
2
Classroom Language Dynamics
The Components of Bloom
Language
and Lahey 1978
• CONTENT
Content
Form
Use
• Meaning component
• Vocabulary and beyond
• USE
• Reasons to use language
(purposes)
• Purposes and intentions for
using language
• Conversational
competence
• FORM
• Sound system
• Word structure
• Grammar
3
Classroom Language Dynamics
Language and Cognition
(Bloom and Lahey 1978; Soifer 2006)
COGNITION
LANGUAGE
Attention
Content
Use
Executive Functions
Memory
Information
Processing
Form
Affect
Experience
© 2017 Lydia H. Soifer, Ph.D.
All Rights Reserved.
Classroom Language Dynamics
4
Oral Language is the Foundation of Literacy
Listen
Speak
Content
Use
Read
Write
Form
Decoding
Vocabulary - Sentence Comprehension
Paragraph - Text Comprehension
Classroom Language Dynamics
© 2017 Lydia H. Soifer, Ph.D.
All Rights Reserved.
5
Oral Language is the Foundation of Literacy
Listen
Speak
Content
Use
Read
Write
Form
Decoding
Vocabulary - Sentence Comprehension
Paragraph - Text Comprehension
Classroom Language Dynamics
© 2017 Lydia H. Soifer, Ph.D.
All Rights Reserved.
6
Common Symptoms of Specific
Language Problems: CONTENT
• Word finding difficulties
• Overuse of limited vocabulary
• Inappropriate use of words (chooses wrong
word)
• Narrow, more concrete meanings for words
• Difficulty with multiple meaning words
• Deficient comprehensions of basic
vocabulary and concepts
• Difficulty categorizing in verbal tasks
Classroom Language Dynamics
© 2017 Lydia H. Soifer, Ph.D.
All Rights Reserved.
7
Common Symptoms of Specific
Language Problems: USE
• Less conversational control in terms of
introducing, maintaining and changing topics
• Difficulty determining the language
demands of a situation, either social or
academic
• Problems determining and adapting to
listener needs
Classroom Language Dynamics
© 2017 Lydia H. Soifer, Ph.D.
All Rights Reserved.
8
Common Symptoms of Specific
Language Problems: FORM
• Difficulty in activities related to phonological
awareness
• Use of immature grammar
• Difficulty understanding and using multiple part
verb forms
• Limited use and understanding of conjunctions
• Difficulty determining the relationships in more
complex sentences
Classroom Language Dynamics
© 2017 Lydia H. Soifer, Ph.D.
All Rights Reserved.
9
Common Symptoms of Language
Problems: Language and Cognition
• Content, Use, Form and Cognition
– Trouble remembering information and
repeating information presented orally
– Difficulty following oral directions
– Use of stereotyped starters
– Difficulty organizing thoughts and being
succinct
Classroom Language Dynamics
© 2017 Lydia H. Soifer, Ph.D.
All Rights Reserved.
10
Common Symptoms of Language
Problems: Language and Cognition
con’t
– Reduced ability to abstract and express
details effectively
– Difficulty making inferences, prediction,
drawing conclusions
– Difficulty providing information in
sequence
– Difficulty in auditory memory, attention,
comprehension
Classroom Language Dynamics
© 2017 Lydia H. Soifer, Ph.D.
All Rights Reserved.
11
Early Identification of Language
Based Reading Difficulties
• Speech Sound Awareness
• Word Retrieval
• Verbal Memory
• Speech Production and Perception
• Comprehension
• Productive Language
Classroom Language Dynamics
© 2017 Lydia H. Soifer, Ph.D.
All Rights Reserved.
12
Language Expectations for
Adolescents
•
•
•
•
Language for more intensive social interactions
Language at a more literate level
Language for critical thinking and executive function
Vocabulary of literate forms
– Advanced adverbial conjuncts (similarly, moreover)
– Adverbs of likelihood (definitely, possibly) and magnitude (extremely,
considerably)
– Precise and technical terms related to curricular content (bacteria,
fascism)
– Verbs with presuppositional (regret), metalinguistic (predict, infer,
imply), and metacognitive components (hypothesize, observe)
components
Classroom Language Dynamics
© 2017 Lydia H. Soifer, Ph.D.
All Rights Reserved.
13
Identification of Language Based
Difficulties
• The concerns
– Does not always understand or give the expected answer
– Slow to listen and respond
– Responses are brief and not always specific
– Vocabulary is restricted; definitional forms are immature
– Grammar is unsophisticated
• Limited use of subordinate and coordinate clauses
• Limited use of mature coordinating and subordinating
conjunctions
Classroom Language Dynamics
© 2017 Lydia H. Soifer, Ph.D.
All Rights Reserved.
14
It Isn’t Easy. You Need a Really Good Ear!
Classroom Language Dynamics
© 2017 Lydia H. Soifer, Ph.D.
All Rights Reserved.
15
Language, the Vehicle That Drives the
Curriculum: Identifying Vulnerabilities in
Prospective Students
Lydia H. Soifer, Ph.D.
Pediatric Language and Literacy Specialist
Educational Program Consultant
[email protected]
NYSAIS
Admissions Directors’
Conference
April 26, 2017
© 2017 Lydia H. Soifer, Ph.D. All Rights Reserved
Classroom Language Dynamics