The ability to test a student’s language skills is essential to have as a teacher. Over the years, classrooms have become much more diverse with a wide variety of impairments being presented on a daily basis. Often, these disabilities contain a language impairment that appears as a side effect of the main disability. Unfortunately, assessing language is not as easy as one may think because it is not clearly defined and understood. Kuder (2008) writes that “…language is not a unitary phenomenon- it is ‘multidimensional, complex, and dynamic; it involves many interrelated processes and abilities; and it changes from situation to situation” (pg. 274). Language also develops at different times for different individuals, thus making language assessment an even harder task for test administrators to grade and evaluate. In order to further understand the language impairment that students present, teachers need to be aware of appropriate language tests that could be administered. In order to assure that the best language test is being issued to a student, several various tests exist to choose from. To test a student’s overall language capability, a comprehensive language test, such as the Comprehensive Assessment of Spoken Language (CASL) or the Oral and Written Language Scales (OWLS), could be administered. If a teacher wanted to test a specific language skill such as pragmatics, phonology, syntax, or semantics, the teacher would need to find the best test for the student’s unique situation. Pragmatics, the language of conversation, is a large component of language that unfortunately, many individuals have difficulties with. Beginning at a young age, teachers and other adults can generally sense a problem with a child’s socialization s... ... middle of paper ... ...of Spoken Language (CASL) Publication Summary Form. Retrieved from http://www.pearsonassessments.com/NR/rdonlyres/E56A4DA9-DF5C-4760-8FA2-220065C369AE/4310/caslinternet1.pdf Kuder, S.J. (2008). Teaching Students with Language and Communication Disabilities (3rd edition). Boston, Massachusetts: Allyn and Bacon. Oral and Written Language Scales, Second Edition (OWLS-II), Western Psychological Services. Retrieved from http://portal.wpspublish.com/portal/page?_pageid=53,279547&_dad=portal&_schema=PORTAL Phonemic Awareness and Rapid Naming. Retrieved from http://www.proedinc.com/customer/productview.aspx?id=1615 Young, E.C., Diehl, J.J., Morris, D., Hyman, S.L., Bennetto, L. (2005). The Use of Two Language Tests to Identify Pragmatic Language Problems in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders. Language, Speech & Hearing Services in Schools, 36(1), 62-72.
..., K., Milczarski, E., & Raby, C. (2011). The Assessment of English Language Learners with Learning Disabilities: Issues, Concerns, and Implications. Education, 131(4), 732-739.
The topic for today’s reading was, Interpreting the Language Assessment. In one of the assigned readings, Interpreting the Behavioral Language Assessment, emphasized that the purpose of the behavioral assessment is to provide the tester with enough information to design an individualized language intervention program for a specific child. Therefore, to establish an effective intervention program for particular child the tester must identify the most appropriate starting point for initial training. The tester should review each skill in relation to the entire set of skills identified in the assessment. It is usually best to focus on the development of a few key language areas at one time, even though the child may have weaknesses in several of the areas reviewed by the assessment. Also, it is important that the tester not simply pick the areas with the lowest scores and recommend training begin in those areas, because is very important to ensure that the instructor is able to observe the learner acquiring skills relatively short period of time, in order to maintain his motivation to continue conducting language training activities. Only a few areas are selected for the initial intervention, and the focus of the intervention will be continuously changed as the student acquires new skills. Finally, the language intervention program develops the child’s skills such that he could score at least a five on each of the areas of the assessment. This score of five in a specific area may indicate that a particular skill area may not require as intensive intervention as those skills with a lower score. Furthermore, for the second reading, The Benefits of Skinner’s Analysis of Verbal Behavior for Children with Autism, stated t...
Dillon, Naomi. “LANGUAGE TEST. (cover story).” American School Board Journal 192.8 (2005): 10. MasterFILE Premier. EBSCO. Web. 18 Feb. 2001.
Bryant, D. P., Smith, D. D., & Bryant, B. R. (2008). Teaching Students with Special Needs in
Build on learners' prior knowledge; (4.) Provide constant review; (5.) Simplify language; (6.) Build other skills while developing English. The use of standardized testing to identify and assess the progress of English language learners with special needs is problematic. Normally designed for native English speakers, many assessment instruments do not reliably assess speakers of other languages because they ignore differences among linguistic and cultural groups (Schwarz & Burt, 1995). Assessment of English language learners with special needs should...
According to the National Center for Education Statistics (2012) in United States’ public schools, English Language Learners (ELL), formally known as Limited English Proficient (LEP) is the fasted growing student population. Between 2009 and 2010, approximately 10% or 4.7 million students enrolled in public schools were ELLs. School districts data from 2000-2001 reported about 9.2% of the ELLs were served in Special Education, compared with 13.5% of all students in special education, the highest percentage of students being classified with learning disabilities (Zehler, Fleischman, Hopstock, Stephenson, Pendzick, & Sapru, 2003).
EDUC 253, Introduction to Learning Disabilities, is a 3-credit course designed to give education majors a deeper look at learning disabilities and teaching students with learning disabilities. The course delves into the basics of learning disabilities, including federal, state, and local definitions. Other legal issues, including the continuum of special education services, will also be discussed, along with IEP logistics. Special topics such as early childhood and adolescence; related disabilities like autism and ADHD; and social, emotional, and behavioral complications that are often concurrent with learning disabilities will also be covered. Finally, theoretical perspectives on learning and teaching and their applications in the classroom
The purposes of assessing special education students are to determine their progress in achieving annual goals and short-term objectives. Assessment also provides diagnostic information for instructional decision making decisions. In recent years, formal and standardized tests have been criticized for their inability to integrate assessment and teaching. Teachers know that the students are learning; however, they do not know the extent of learning. Standardized tests typically measure a small amount of grade-level skills. Also, standardized tests stress factual information; thereby, forcing teachers to teach to the test. For example, they evaluate writing skills by asking grammar questions rather than having the students write a story. Since standardized tests, do not measure an individual student’s knowledge, the impact on students with exceptional needs can be harmful. This dissatisfaction has forced educators to look at different forms of assessment in order to provide information about student learning and achievement.
Students with learning disabilities in the regular classroom may have challenges that require special attention. If the teacher is able to identify the disabilities and the features associated with them then the teacher can tailor the lessons to meet the needs of the students. These may include differentiated instruction and facilitating an inclusive classroom which will see inclusive strategies employed that will cater to the needs of students with learning disabilities. These inclusive strategies can range from individualized learning programs to team and co-teaching. In some cases, the teacher can arrange for a special education teacher or arrange for a pull out program to assist students who have learning disabilities. Strategies that will also cater to learning disabilities may also include the use of technology. According to Ford 2013 ‘In some situations it may be best for students with LD to be taught in separate pull out classrooms with a teacher who can provide targeted skill instruction in areas where a student is struggling.’ ‘When provided appropriate support within this setting, many of these students can achieve academically and develop positive self-esteem and social skills. (American Speech-Language-Hearing Association 1991). They also recommend that schools should ‘require in-service programs for all school personnel to give them the knowledge and skills necessary to provide education for students with learning disabilities in the regular education classroom.’ Schools should include activities to help participants learn strategies to meet individual needs of students, foster attitudes conductive to educating students with learning disabilities in the regular education classroom, and promote
I also volunteer, assisting students with various developmental and learning disabilities complete their educational tasks (e.g. homework and test preparations). In the past, I’ve worked as a teacher’s aide in the Buffalo, NY public school system and as an undergraduate assistant in the Buffalo State Speech-language and Hearing Clinic. I plan to become a school-based SLP preferably in the Washington, D.C. area. I have great interest in working in the public-school system because I believe that it will allow me to reach and assist a large array of children with a wide variety of unique needs. I am particularly passionate about assisting children that come from socioeconomically disadvantaged backgrounds because I come from one myself. I also believe that children are often misdiagnosed with language or speech impairments because they use a vernacular that is different from mainstream English or because they fail standardized tests that are not culturally appropriate for them. Correspondingly, a child’s language or speech impairment can be overlooked because they use a vernacular that differs from mainstream English. As a school-based SLP, I will strive to ensure that all children receive the appropriate services they require, warranting that they become proficient communicators and will be able to use their skills to enhance their lives and contribute to society. Nothing will give me more gratification than to help children make greater use of their communicative
Children diagnosed with a Developmental Language Disorder at a young age benefit from early intervention. The earlier a child is able to receive treatment, the more effective the treatment will be. This article explains how most children diagnosed with autism earlier than 3 years of age retain that diagnosis when they turn 3. This diagnosis is critical because it can influence how the child receives early intervention. The goal of this study is to determine how accurately a child could be diagnosed with autism and retain that diagnosis 1 year later. The study also seeks to determine characteristics that children with autism demonstrate under the age of 3.
Listening to the Voices of Deaf Students: Essential Transition Issues. Garay, Suzette V.; TEACHING Exceptional Children, v35 n4 p44-48 Mar-Apr 2003
If you are among the 2.9 million Americans with a Learning Disability (LD), you realize that LD has no cure; instead, you manage it in a series of patterns and behaviors (LDA 1). I was fortunate; my last moments in a Special Needs classroom were as a fifth grader leaving State College. However, I remember clearly Mrs. Weiss and Ms. White and their impact upon me. Years later upon my return from the Army, I found among my old things the posters, alphabet book, and little stories that had made me so proud and received such encouragement from my teachers and parents.
Education is a profession which requires a teacher to be able to communicate with a multitude of students on a variety of levels. There is not a class, or student for that matter, that is identical. Therefore, teachers must be able to identify and help educate students from all different types of backgrounds and at different levels. Teaching a singular subject presents difficulties, but teaching students with disabilities should not be one. There are three main teaching areas that need to be focused on when teaching a student with a learning disability. Teachers need to focus on the strategies that will assist students with reading comprehension skills, writing skills, and maintaining appropriate behaviors in a classroom setting.
Pragmatics Aspects: Deixis and Distance, reference and inference, conversational implicature, anaphoric and cataphoric reference, presupposition, entailment, direct and indirect speech acts and speech events, cultural context and cross cultural pragmatics, conversational analysis and background knowledge, denotation and connotation meaning, the four maxims and hedges.