Hello everyone! It’s been a while since I’ve posted. The year is coming to an end (here in Korea, at least), and I’ve been busy with year-end work and preparing for the upcoming (new) semester beginning in March.
I was browsing We Are Teachers and found an excellent article I want to share. Whether you teach in mainstream classrooms, ELL-only, or mixed classrooms, I’m sure you’ve encountered students who may show signs of a language disorder. I have had a few myself who seemed to fit the bill.
This article, by Jill Staake, gives lots of helpful information, infographics, and strategies to learn about and accommodate for students who (may) have a language disorder. I’ll link to the full article at the end of this post, but I want to share a few key things here.
What are language disorders?
Source: Royal College of Speech & Language Therapists
From the article itself:
Language disorders refer to a condition when a person has difficulties learning, using, and/or understanding spoken or written language. They fall under the larger umbrella of communication disorders, but are distinctly different from speech disorders like lisps or stuttering.
*With ELLs, it may be harder to diagnose if he/she has a language disorder if it’s not present their first language.
Also from the article:
Language disorders can be acquired at any time during life, usually caused by brain injury or illness. For most children, though, language disorders are developmental. The exact causes of developmental language disorders are unknown, though heredity and prenatal nutrition deficiencies are both possible suspects. Children with language disorders may also have related conditions like autism, dyslexia, ADHD, and mental health issues. They usually have average or above-average intelligence.
What do language disorders look like?
Source: Boys Town National Research Hospital
The article gives more detailed information about identifying disorders in students, which I will not share here. You can read them in the full article.
Lastly, the article gives some support suggestions. I’ll list them, but you should read the full article for more detailed information.
How can you support children with language disorders?
- Be patient
- Allow them to prepare
- Model behaviors
- Give directions differently
- Be direct
- Accept silence
I highly suggest reading the full article on We Are Teachers if you want to know how to identify and help students with language disorders.
Full article: https://www.weareteachers.com/language-disorders/
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