Challenges with Communication in the Classroom for Teachers

Introduction

You have a classroom full of children, who need to understand ideas, issues, concepts, rules, processes, and skills. Throughout their schooling years, these students must be able to communicate their knowledge and produce work that is reflective of what they are learning otherwise how can you, as their teacher, assess their progress, as well as your effectiveness as their teacher.

Being able to clearly articulate thoughts and ideas orally or in written form is important in order to be able to show what you know. Often the student understands and learns the work for an assessment but struggles to explain the work in the test and underperforms. They might also not be able to write enough to earn the correct mark allocation.

For some individuals, they may have serious problems producing a sufficiently clear voice quality, which we describe as a voice disorder, and others are unable to comprehend the language that others produce, described as a receptive language disorder. If a person is unable to produce fluent speech, or speech of an appropriate rhythm and rate, this would be a fluency disorder, also known as stuttering.?

When referring to communication disorders or CD, 3 elements of communication must be considered: the contexts in which communication occurs (the where), the function of the communication (the why), and the execution of the communication comprehension and expression (the how).?

How is a communication disorder or CD defined?

Communication is the sharing of information and comprises different functions such as seeking social interaction, requesting objects, sharing and rejecting ideas, etc. It involves the sender of the information and the recipient being able to understand the message. It can involve oral language but also nonverbal interaction such as body language.

A communication disorder, implies that the ability to send, receive, process and comprehend ideas, facts, feelings and desires, as well as language and speech or both, is impaired, including hearing, listening, reading, writing or speaking. The sending out of the information or messages is known as expressive language and the decoding and understanding of the information or messages is receptive language. We know that young children develop their receptive language before their expressive language, for example a young child understands words long before he is able to use them in a sentence.?

Speech disorders are impairments in the production and use of oral language meaning that the individual will struggle to make the speech sounds, to produce speech with a normal flow, and produce a normal sounding voice. A speech disorder is an impairment of the articulation of speech sounds, fluency and/or voice and is characterized by substitutions, omissions, additions, or distortions that may interfere with the ability to be understood. A fluency disorder is an interruption in the flow of the speaking characterized by atypical rate, rhythm and repetitions in sounds, syllables, words and phrases. A voice disorder is seen as the abnormal production and/or absences of vocal quality, pitch, loudness, resonance, and/or duration, that is inappropriate for the person’s age and/or gender.?

A child struggling with the above, would usually be referred to a speech correctionist or therapist to assist.

Language disorders include problems with comprehension and expression including impairments in phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics and pragmatics and may involve one or a combination of the above subsystems of language.

A communication difference on the other hand, is not a language disorder but rather a learning barrier that may require special teaching and is often related to a student's culture or primary disability, such as hearing impairments or cerebral palsy. This also would include children who are learning a language that is not their primary language.

Language development basic milestones are:

• Newborn to 12 mo - babbling, gurgling, gesturing, imitation, listening.
• 12mo - 18mo - speaks first words and combines words.
• By 2 years - sentences of 3 to 4 words are used (develop a vocabulary of around 100 words).
• By 4 years - longer sentences are used, verb tenses and pronunciations are childish, asks questions and tells rambling stories.
• By 6 or 7 years - the basics of language have been mastered, begins to learn to write sounds and basic words.
• By 8 years - all english sounds have been acquired.
• Adolescence - adults - Able to partake in conversations and vocabulary is between 30 000 - 60 000, different styles of communicating with different audiences and for different purposes.?

A child with a language disorder may eventually reach many or most of the milestones that are shown for normal development, but later down the line than typically developing children. Children also sometimes do catch up in language development, especially with interventions that are implemented early, but they can also fall behind again at a later stage.

The second way to classify language disorders is by cause or related conditions (primary or secondary condition). A primary language disorder has no known cause, and some of these disorders are specific language impairment, early expressive language delay, or a language based reading impairment. Whereas a secondary language disorder can be as a result of an intellectual disability, hearing impairments, autism spectrum disorder, cerebral palsy, etc. Language impairment limits individuals’ social interaction with peers and can also result in social withdrawal and/or acting out behaviours and aggression.

Major disorders of speech:

Speech disorders also pose a variety of challenges to the communication abilities of school children and most are treated primarily by speech-language pathologists, and not by the class teacher. However, it is expected that the teacher works closely with the speech-language pathologist in assessment and intervention.?

Phonological disorders usually occur in children younger than 9 years of age and these children don’t seem to understand how to produce the sounds of their language nor do they understand how to differentiate and produce the phonemes or sounds of language in order to form words that can be understood. The difference between having a phonological disorder and having an articulation disorder is that with a phonological disorder the individual has a poor inner representation of the language sounds (produce 'ha' as hat or 'do' as dog) whereas with an articulation disorder, the individual struggles to produce/pronounce the sounds (says 'vat' as that or 'thwim' as swim).

Voice disorders are sometimes difficult to define precisely, and are characteristics of pitch, loudness, and/or quality that are abusive of the larynx, can hamper communication or are perceived as different from what is normal for someone of a given age, gender, and cultural background.

Fluency disorders affect speech flow and include hesitations, repetitions, and other interruptions of normal speech flow. The most common type of fluency disorder is stuttering. About 1% of the population are stutterers and it is more common in boys than in girls. Early diagnosis is important to avoid the condition becoming chronic resulting in the inability to communicate effectively and affects the individuals self-esteem.?

Motor-speech disorders affect the muscles that are responsible for producing the speech sounds. When damage occurs to the areas of the brain that control these muscles or to the nerves leading to the muscles, the ability to speak normally is affected. Apraxia is a result of poor planning and co-ordinating speech and dysarthria involves controlling the speech sounds. Both affect the production of speech, slow its rate and reduce the intelligibility.?

Educational considerations for communication disorders (CD):

The classroom provides many possibilities and opportunities for students and teachers to employ language and obtain feedback in constructive relationships. The teacher must become aware of when a child experiences language problems in the classroom and then specific suggestions can be given for individual cases.

By listening attentively and empathetically when children speak, providing appropriate models of speech and language for children to imitate and encouraging children to use their communication skills appropriately, the teacher assists not only to improve speech and language, but also prevents certain disorders from developing in the first place.

The following activities can help to improve expressive language development (speaking and writing):

• Listen sympathetically which makes the child feel good about language and will encourage him to speak and listen to others when they are speaking,
• Never force a child to speak or punish a child for not speaking and this includes frowning or showing signs of disapproval,
• Using dramatizations, role play and other acting experiences such as interviewing a TV personality or telephone conversations will encourage participation,
• Letting a child instruct another child using step-by-step instructions while performing a simple activity such as building a structure or drawing a picture, allows the child to actually see the results of his use of language,
• Reading to children for a short while every day provides an opportunity to hear “book language” on a level that many of them can’t read for themselves and so allows them to experience the enjoyment of reading,
• Keep your own vocabulary book for each of the subjects that you teach where you list all the difficult words that the children need to know and check that they are familiar with the meanings of these words.
• Make children aware of the use of adjectives by encouraging them to include describing words in sentences,?
• Make children aware of compound sentences which are sentences consisting of 2 sentences joined together by a conjunction such as ‘and’, ‘so’ or ‘because’,
• Try to encourage children to use full sentences when they speak,
• Use an “expansion technique” where the adult repeats in a friendly way what the child has just said, but at the same time, expands the language by adding in a few more descriptive words,
• Language is also used for transmitting information and for verbal reasoning so encourage children to talk about what they are learning about or have seen and experienced,
• Pose these sorts of questions to children, what would happen if… and what do you think about … and how does that happen?
• Encourage rapid fire games that encourage fluency i.e. name as many rivers as you can, or what fruits start with ‘p’,
• Extend the child’s interest in his environment by discussing topics like “father’s work” or “different kinds of transport”,
• Discuss cause and effect relationships…clouds and rain, water and taps, as well as knowing the difference between fact and opinion,
• Build up categories of words by asking what various things have in common, i.e. apple, orange, banana and pineapple (fruit)

The following activities can help to improve receptive language development (listening and understanding):

• Provide plenty of opportunities for children to listen and follow instructions but keep them simple to start with giving one or two at a time,
• To encourage listening, speak slower and in shorter sentences with pauses between each sentence,
• If a child isn’t listening, instead of shouting or reprimanding, move closer or use a light touch on his shoulder,
• Encourage students to ask questions as often this indicates whether they have been listening or not,
• Ask questions that require an elaborate answer, i.e. “Does water run uphill?” vs “Why won’t water run uphill?”
• Match learning with experience by demonstrating something that is needed to be learnt and understood, i.e. evaporation or measurement,
• If a word is difficult to demonstrate or explain, eg. ‘precision’ or ‘wealthy’, keep a list of these words and make sentences with them so they can be understood in context,
• Teach homonyms and homophones by using them in sentences, i.e. “The FLY tried to FLY in the air”, or “I found a ripe, yellow pear in my pair of shoes”.
• Teach key vocabulary words in questions, i.e. “what is the sum of 3 and 4”, or give the synonym for small”.?

The importance of early intervention:

If, as the teacher, you suspect that the child has a language delay or disorder, suggest to the parent that they consult a speech and language pathologist to enquire about an assessment to determine what the child can do and where further support is required. The feedback report following the assessment will include recommendations and suggestions that the parent and teacher can implement. Usually a follow up assessment can be done after 6 or 12 months.

?Early intervention is important for the following 2 reasons:

1. The older the child is when intervention starts, the smaller the chance that he/she will acquire effective language skills, and
2. Without having functional language, the child cannot become a truly social being, as acquiring language is the foundation of all academic and social learning.

If language is delayed, it simply means that the same sequence of development occurs but just at a later-than-average age. However some children may not outgrow this developmental lag, due to having intellectual disabilities or growing up in an environment where they were deprived of language enrichment and stimulation, or they may have been neglected or abused. We know that the first several years of a child’s life are truly critical for language learning.?

If teaching is built around the child’s interests, progress might be quicker than if the child is exposed to language that has no relevance or that is too abstract. Early intervention programs involve extending the role of the parent and teacher in some cases, encouraging play with accompanying verbalizations. It means talking about objects and activities, choosing objects and activities, words and consequences for the child’s vocalizations. Usually the best results in an intervention plan, is when the speech and language pathologist, and parent and teacher work closely together to achieve the same objectives. Also, peers can be taught to assist too, by doing the following during play or conversation: establish eye contact, describe their own or others’ play and repeat, expand or request clarification of what the child with the CD says.

For the older child or adolescent, they might require their own training and support programs. If there is a writing, reading or spelling disorder that has been properly diagnosed by a clinical or educational psychologist, various concessions can be requested especially during the exam time, such as having a reader/scribe or extra time.?The teacher would need to complete the necessary forms and submit to the department of education for approval.

This is the reason why the teacher plays such a pivotal role in ensuring that this support is in place. In many cases, these students might have been formerly seen as having primarily academic and social problems that were not language-related, and underlying many or most of the school and social difficulties of young people, are basic disorders of language.

If you, as the teacher, want to know more about how to apply for these concessions for your students, please send us an email .

References:

Cosford, Q. 1982. Remedial Teaching: A Practical Guide for Class Teachers and Students. Maskew Miller Longman. Cape Town.

https://www.verywellhealth.com/what-is-a-speech-pathologist-5214053