Category: Language

Modern Languages and Cultures is a course I developed an interest in due to its increasing indispensable importance. Multilingualism has become more than just ‘important’ in today’s era. Effective communication is more than a matter of language proficiency and apart from enhancing communicative competence, cultural assimilation can also lead to empathy and respect toward different cultures as well as promote objectivity and cultural perspicacity. In today’s world, advancing technologies have afforded us the ability to communicate no matter where we are in the world, amplifying the importance of foreign language study. The more familiar one is with languages, the easier it is to understand the cultural contexts that shape the information, ideas, beliefs, customs, and values that one encounters while interacting with people from various parts of the world. Knowing the local language can offer a life-changing experience for people, who love to explore different parts of the world, in a bid to know about diverse cultures, places, and lifestyles. For businesses, it is essential to develop and sustain a strong footing in the global economy. Nigeria as a developing country attracts different kinds of businesses and investors from different parts of the world with their respective languages and distinctive cultural backgrounds. The beautiful tourist attractions in Nigeria are also worthy of mention. There is still a distinction between the locals and these foreigners in terms of communication and culture. An up-to-date knowledge of modern languages and cultures would equip me with the necessary knowledge that would help in bridging this gap between foreigners and locals concerning languages and cultures.

My undergraduate background has allowed me to develop a passion for the study of languages and the diversities in cultures, the beneficial effect, the economic importance as well as the challenges lack of communication and differences in cultures could pose to not only the economic growth of either a nation or a company, but also the happiness and satisfaction of individuals who seek outstanding academic excellence and tourism experiences outside their nations. Courses such as European Civilization, politics of Contemporary Europe, French as a Second Foreign Language, etcetera paved the way for me to be enlightened on cultures in Europe, the political relations of countries, and the quest for supremacy. My interest and passion were also nurtured and sustained through courses such as German Grammar, Listening and comprehension, Speech and conversation, Practical Translation, Contemporary German history, German literature, and Business German, amongst others. The challenges and eventual solutions in the course of my undergraduate thesis, “The Experience of German and non-German Citizens in the First and Second World War” (Die Erfährungen von deutschen und non-deutschen Zivilisten im ersten und zweiten Weltkrieg), exposed me even more to the importance and consequently heightened my interest in the field of modern languages and cultures.

I was privileged to be awarded a DAAD scholarship at InterDaF am Herder Institute, Studienkolleg Sachsen Leipzig in Germany for eight (8) months and a few weeks in a Language Builds Bridges (Sprachen bauen Brücken) course during my second year in the university. The course opened me to yet, a new perception and importance of language. It was an amazing experience with a whole new process for me as I was privileged to interact with students from various nationalities and interesting lecturers with different experiences and teaching skills. I returned to Nigeria, after the program, and was also awarded a monetary scholarship at Goethe Institute Lagos, Nigeria. I also participated in a teach a foreign language program through sports with the Commonwealth Youth Sports for Development and Peace Working Group(CYSDP), where we used sports as an avenue to teach a foreign language to middle school students. In addition, my work experiences over the years have exposed me to the importance of good communication and understanding of cultures, with language playing a vital role as part of culture. I completed a one-year National Youth Service Corps program (NYSC) in a different state (Bayelsa) with a different cultural and language background, where I taught English language and literature in English to middle school students. My major challenge during the service was communication. To be able to exchange knowledge with the students, who were only versed in their local dialect, I had to learn their dialect and this made the classes subsequently interactive. I also had the opportunity to participate in an adult mass literacy program in the aforementioned state, The Bayelsa State Agency for Adult and Non-Formal Education (BAANE). The willingness of the aged adults to be educated and with the local dialect already learned in the course of teaching the middle school students made it an interesting experience, and the sessions, subsequently quite interactive. This period was a self-awakening to me. It made me realize that languages could be less difficult with enthusiasm and determination to acquire. I currently work as a German language tutor at Alliance Francais Institute Enugu, Nigeria, where I teach basic German to students traveling for further academic pursuits, those going for holidays and tourism, or those going for a family reunion to have a smooth stay in their intended countries.

I have critically gone through the course outline on the school’s website and I found quite interesting the core modules which include Topics in Modern Languages 1 and 2, Research seminar modules, etc., and the optional Modules which include Approaches to Literary and Cultural Studies (critical theory) I and II, etc. The Masters of Arts in Modern Languages and Culture will offer me an opportunity to research the relationships between language, identity, culture, and place and develop an ability to analyze and interpret an increasingly interconnected, multilingual, and multicultural world. This study emphasis as expressed in the departmental section of the school’s website perfectly suits my interest and ability.

I am enthusiastic about the excellent learning facilities that the University of Sheffield is known for as it is currently ranked in the top 100 for teaching and research in Art and Humanities. I am also excited to be able to work with nationally and internationally recognized academic experts within the School of Languages and Cultures at the University of Sheffield and with her students Union consistently voted best in the UK, which makes it a good destination for me. For this reason, I am confident that learning will be absorbing and worthwhile. If allowed to study under the guidance of professional staff within your faculty like Professor Henk de Berg, Dr. Caroline Bland, etc., I am sure to develop into the Polygot I always hoped to be. Also, the University of Sheffield is more than just an academic environment. The entire university experience as expressed in the school’s website shapes the person you become while studying in the university. The city is remarkably safe and affordable as part of a vibrant student community with promising socialization with other students from different cultural backgrounds and of course the development of new hobbies and interests in the UK’s number one Students’ union. I do not doubt that schooling in Sheffield will offer a superb unforgettable experience.

Conclusively, I bring with me an undying Zeal and motivation to thrive with an ability to break through conventional methods and notions to create new possibilities. Further academic training in Modern Languages and cultures would enable me to best exploit my potential and would further expose me to gaining more knowledge and experience and consequently refine me into a renowned Foreign Linguist. I believe with determination and dedication that I will be able to continue to contribute to and learn from the academically challenging environment at the University. I am confident that my passion, my ability to work hard (which helped me to become the best-graduating student in my German class), and my professional experiences would qualify me for selection in your program.

While many English teachers demand the use of standard American English in their classrooms, many others support the multiculturalism and authenticity of those who express themselves differently. Ryan Bloom is undoubtedly one of those who think it is unfair for others to limit the way we communicate. This novelist and academic writer, however, in his article “Inescapably, you’re judged by your language” (The New Yorker, 19 June 2017) convinces us that nowadays, it is important to learn how to reserve our cultural dialects and influences for our personal lives. He advises us that, unfairly as it seems to be, we are obliged to code-switching, and he also shows us the standard American English as the only choice to communicate successfully in an academic and professional field.

Also, on this subject but a little more in favor of SAE, the academic Rob Jenkins in his article “We Must Help Students Master Standard English” (Chronicle Vitae, 11 Apr. 2018) speaks of the standard as something positive. It shows it as something capable of uniting us even more and something that will help us communicate without misunderstanding.

Do standard rules always matter? Well, Academic Ryan Bloom in his Article “Inescapably, you’re judged by your language” (The New Yorker, 19 June 2017) explain that they do depend for whom are we writing, or with whom are we speaking. According to him switching code is important while speaking in different contexts, otherwise, we can be secluded from being successful. Thereby, recognition and adaptation are key for linguistics acceptance.

This academic article published on May 28, 2012, by Bloom it’s about the importance of using standard grammar rules, and code-switching. Today, standard rules are governed for those in power, so Bloom explains that in order to survive and get their attention we must adapt our writing to their rules. He points out that ‘we are harshly judged for the way we write and speak. ‘ therefore, those who are not able to adapt might be denied a job or even education. Even people who fight for linguistics equality must obey standard rules to do so. So, he affirms that as unfair it is, nowadays following elitist, standard rules is a must for survival and for success in academic and professional life.

As mentioned earlier, on this subject, Rob Jenkins published on April 11, 2018 “We Must Help Students Master Standard English.”

This academic article it’s about the importance of requiring students to master Standard American English. So, why it’s so important? Language has been standardized because people speak different versions or dialects of English depending on where they are from. He explains that the standard has been settled with the only purpose of communicating effectively. Jenkins points out that: for students, there is no wrong language when speaking in personal life with family or friends. But, assuming that in the professional context everybody will understand their dialect only leads to confusion, misunderstanding and false impressions. All of which are bad for business. On the other hand, those who are more proficient using SAE tend to be more easily hired and more successful in their jobs. He says the mastery of standard American English alone does not guarantee professional success. But, lack of proficiency can turn into a major obstacle because in American professional life, people tend to judge us based on how well we use standard English. Given these reasons, he says that it’s folly for colleges and universities not to require students to master SAE as a minimum requirement for earning a degree.

These two articles are addressed to the same audience and are intended for persuasion. Both talk about code-switching and the use of standard American English, doing emphasis on his importance on academic and professional life.

In “Inescapably, you’re judged by your language” Bloom focuses more on the importance of grammar rules and explains how the standard is set by those in power and why should we follow their rules while chasing success in a professional context. The genre of his writing has a bit of protest, even when advising people to master standard American English he seems to show it as something unfair and repressive. Blooms points out that there is nothing wrong in our way to speak, we just need to master the standard as a tool to fit-in the professional context.

“We must help students master standard English” on the other hand is more addressed for students and explains why language has been standardized cause of the existence of several dialects and cultural differences in our way to communicate. Jenkins writing is influenced by the instructor’s perspective and, it focusses more on positives aspects of using standard English. This article is seen as more persuasive, written with the expectation of schools changing their way of teaching or demanding students to use the standard as their only path for writing and speaking in the academic context.

From my perspective, I think that nobody should limit the way we express ourselves, but I understand that we all often have different backgrounds and a common language is necessary for which to communicate without misunderstanding. Both articles convinced me that in order to be successful in the academic and professional fields, we must master standard American English. However, I keep wondering why it hasn’t worked that way in international terms. If so useful and necessary is a common language even for business, why different countries continue to speak different languages? Why several attempts have failed to communicate in a common language that represents us all as it was the case of Esperanto. Would it not unite us more and make our interactions easier?

Works Cited

1. Bloom, Ryan. “Inescapably, You’re Judged By Your Language.” The New Yorker, The New Yorker, 19 June 2017, https://www.newyorker.com/books/page-turner/inescapably-youre-judged-by-your-language.
2. Jenkins, Rob. “We Must Help Students Master Standard English.” ChronicleVitae for Higher Ed Jobs, Career Tools and Advice, ChronicleVitae, 11 Apr. 2018, https://chroniclevitae.com/news/2034-we-must-help-students-master-standard-english.

Speech and language therapy is recommended for anybody who has problems with their speech and/ or communication, perhaps due to a developmental or neurological disorder. Conditions which usually affect speech include developmental disorders like autism which can cause problems with social skills and the use of additional communicative techniques such as facial expressions and body language, leading to a lack of the ability to communicate their desires with others.

Medical conditions such as strokes and cancers, particularly of the mouth and throat, can also lead to speech and language disorders, as can accidents which injure the brain and articulators. Speech and language therapy can also help those with swallowing and hearing difficulties.

Other related occupations to this field include nurses, who assist with the diagnosis and treatment of patients mainly in hospitals. Furthermore, speech and language therapists work alongside teachers to provide training on how to treat and implement therapy towards aiding students’ speech and language impairments. These teachers help to educate students and alter teaching styles to suit the needs of those with disabilities, in order to enable them to learn the curriculum and life -skills such as how to socialise with others, in a way that is efficient for them. Psychologists also help to implement therapy for those who have depression, anxiety and other psychological illnesses and disturbances relating to social, emotional and physical human behaviours which may arise due to conditions which are also linked to speech and language disorders. Physical therapists help to remedy physical disabilities and use physiotherapy to improve motor skills such as speech, writing, walking and ease physical pain and tension. Physical disabilities or injuries are a result of a spectrum of disorders ranging from sporting injuries to strokes. Occupational therapists also assist patients who are suffering from similar aforementioned disorders or who have suffered serious health problems such as strokes, with returning to work and being able to recover functional skills in their independent everyday lives, for example from being able to wash themselves again.

The Thyroid Cartilage is one cartilage which forms the Larynx and contains two plates, or laminae, which meet at a raised ‘notch’ known as the ‘Adam’s Apple’ and is more prominent in males. The cartilage consists of two superior horns and two inferior horns, an oblique line which connects the sternothyroid, thyrohyoid, and muscles and the median cricothyroid ligament attaching the cricoid to the thyroid cartilage. The Thyroid Cartilage is important in speech production as it contains and protects the vocal folds.

The Pharynx is part of the Respiratory Tract and acts as a passageway for respiratory and digestive functions. Thus, air traveling to the larynx and the lungs from the nasal cavity and bolus traveling from the oral cavity to the oesophagus pass through the pharynx, which is situated behind the oral and nasal cavities.

The pharynx is composed of three parts, firstly the nasopharynx which connects the nasal cavity and the soft palate, then the oropharynx which contains the tonsils, tongue, pharyngeal walls and soft palate and finally the laryngopharynx which is positioned between the hyoid bone and the larynx and oesophagus and separates food and air.

The Trachea is positioned under the larynx and extends to behind the sternum of the chest with a length of approximately 4 inches and a diameter of 1 inch on average. It is formed of between 16-20 incomplete rings of cartilage which are connected together by ligaments. The rings of the trachea have no cartilage at the posterior wall to enable their attachment to the Esophageal muscle. The trachea is formed of two parts. Firstly, there is the Cervical portion with is situated in the neck and the Thoracic portion which is in the thorax.

The Bronchi are an extension of the Trachea which act as airways to the lungs. They are stable and durable as they are formed of cartilage. Bronchi allow for efficient gas exchange and transport oxygen to the lungs whilst also filtering carbon dioxide away from them. The bronchi include the main bronchi which separate into lobar bronchi. There are three lobar bronchi for the right lung and two for the left. The lobar bronchi then separate into segmental bronchi, with ten for the right lung and nine for the left. Finally, the bronchi branch out into many smaller bronchioles which have a diameter of only 0.5mm, known as terminal bronchioles.

The lungs are a vital organ essential for respiration as they absorb oxygen and expel carbon dioxide. This organ is contained within the thorax and is protected by the rib cage. The lungs are elastic and expand upon inhalation to allow for an increased volume of air as the diaphragm contracts and moves downwards. The lungs contract during exhalation as air is released via the nasal and oral cavities. They are essential in speech because air is brought from the lungs to the larynx during respiration, which is manipulated by the vocal folds abd articulators.

A ligament is connective tissue which is fibrous and has the purpose of connecting bones within the body. Membrane, however, is found on the outside of a cell and is a permeable thin layer. The Thyrohyoid membrane is extrinsic, meaning that it connects other structures outside of the larynx to it. Specifically, it connects the hyoid bone and the thyrohyoid cartilage together. This membrane also forms ligaments called thyrohyoid ligaments which connect the hyoid bone to the superior horn of the thyroid. This superior horn is an upward-pointing addition of the Thyrohyoid membrane. There are also Inferior horns which are downward-pointing. The Hypoepiglottic ligament connects the hyoid bone to the epiglottis. The Crichotracheal membrane connects the first ring of the trachea to the cricoid cartilage. The intrinsic ligaments and membranes are small structures binding the laryngeal cartilages together and allow them to be supported. The Quadrangular membrane is the superior portion of the intrinsic ligaments and membranes, is thick and combines with the mucosa folds to form the vocal cords. The crychothyroid membrane is attached to the cricoid cartilage, the thyroid cartilage and artyenoid cartilage and also forms the vocal cords. The conus elasticus is the elastic lateral part of the cricothyroid membrane. Thus, the ligaments and membranes function as a group to hold the vocal organs and bone structures together in order to function as one system.

The human vocal tract filters sounds and distinguishes them into the vowels and consonants of speech and is thus essential in allowing for the function and delivery of the human communication system of speech and language. The vocal tract is comprised of the pharyngeal, nasal and oral cavities. The pharyngeal cavity acts as a passageway for bolus and air necessary in the operation of the digestive and respiratory systems. The nasal cavity is inside the nose and is essential for respiration and scent during digestion and maintains the moistness of the nose and filters air. The oral cavity contains many surrounding nerves and muscles which manipulate the articulator organs in order to produce specific speech sounds.

These articulator organs include the teeth, lips, cheeks, jaw, tongue, hard and soft palates and pharynx which operate together to produce arbitrary speech sounds from acoustic energy. The lungs are essential in this system for allowing a source of energy and the vocal cords are essential in creating a variety of pitches and sounds. The larynx acts as a passageway for the energy, or air. Ultimately, air is forced through the articulators in certain ways in order to produce specific sounds. For example, pressing the lips together creates the bilabial, consonant sound /b/.

The vocal folds lie tightly across the top of the trachea, form the larynx and are inside the thyroid cartilage. The false vocal folds adduct together over the opening of the larynx to prevent bolus from entering. The true vocal cords help produce the sounds used in human speech as they vibrate when air passes through, called ‘voicing’. These manipulated movements alter the pitch and frequency of speech sounds and thus each individual person’s tone or pitch of voice.

The true vocal folds are formed of 5 different layers. The most medial layer is the Thyroarytenoid muscle, which is thick and forms the main mass of the vocal fold. Inner to this muscle, is the Deep Layer, which has lower elasticity and is formed of collagen, or protein, and is fibrous. The Intermediate layer is also fibrous but has more of an elastic or rubbery consistency. Combined, these are referred to as ‘transition’ as they lie between the inner and outer-most layers which differ greatly in texture. Then, is the Superficial Layer, or Reinke’s space, which is viscous with a gel-like texture due to its loose cell structure and thus is able to move easily during air pressure, producing necessary vibrations to create sound. The lateral layer is called the Epithelium, forming the surface of the larynx and acting as a support for the vocal fold shape. Combined, these two layers are referred to as the ‘cover’ of the vocal fold.

Acoustic phonetics is the study of the sound waves of speech once it has been articulated.

Sound waves are what allow sound, such as speech, to travel to the eardrum of the hearer to then be processed psychologically to decipher meaning. They are vibrations which cause a reaction to travel through the air and other materials.

The frequency of a sound is the number of waves which pass per second and this can be measured in Hertz. For example, if a sound wave has a measurement of 80 Hertz, this means that 80 waves have passed each second. The frequency of a sound corresponds to its pitch, or how high or low it is. The lower the frequency of a sound is, then the lower the pitch. The intensity of a sound is known as the amplitude and is measured in decibels (db). A sound’s intensity is its perceived volume. This measurement is not independent. It is both a sound’s amplitude and frequency which correspond to its volume as a matter of how much overall energy is produced with the sound. Furthermore, when a sound’s intensity is measured, it is measured in relation to another sound. For example, whispering nearby to someone is 20 decibels more (30 Db) than normal breathing (10 db).

Furthermore, every object vibrates naturally and the rate at which it does so, is known as the object’s resonance. This is dependent on its physical qualities, such as shape, size and material. An object will vibrate the most and therefore release most sound waves when it experiences additional vibrations at a frequency at an equal level to its resonant frequency. For example, a weak bridge might have a resonant frequency equal to gusts of wind produced by a storm and thus an equal resonance to that bridge would damage and collapse it as the energy and vibrations produced would be most powerful.

The stages in children’s first language acquisition describe how and when children should be learning to develop the ability to understand and produce speech. The first stage of child language acquisition is the ‘Pre-Talking’ stage at 0-6 months old. The baby is able to respond to sounds shown through turning of their head towards the speaker, for example. Vowel- like sounds are produced to express emotions but not consonant sounds.

The second stage is the ‘Babbling’ stage between 6-8 months with some combinations of vowels and consonants produced. The holophrastic stage between the ages of 9 to 18 months shows the child producing a single word used to portray a complete meaning such as emotions or desires towards people and objects.

The Two- word stage occurs from 18-24 months. The child can now produce and intonate two consecutive words. Consonants are beginning to be produced. The Telegraphic stage happens between ages 24 and 30 months. The child can produce simple sentences with syntactic rules but without function words.

Finally, the Later Multiword Stage occurs at the age of 30 months onwards where children rapidly learn the vocabulary of their native language and understanding of speech is proficient. The age of five is known as the ‘critical period’ of language acquisition whereby if a child is older than this when they begin to learn a language it is more difficult.

Bilingualism is when there is knowledge of more than just one native. Bilingual children are thought to have a greater range of vocabulary, working knowledge of languages and be able to consider when to use one language or the other. Thus, they are thought to be more open-minded and flexible particularly as they also have a higher awareness and empathy towards different language structures and cultures. Bilingual children are able to change from the linguistic rules and vocabulary of one language to, so are suggested to be better at multitasking, re-directing and prolonging their attention. Some structures of one language can be similar to that of the other and therefore knowing two languages may mean that each one is reinforced.

Overall, it is suggested that bilingualism leads to healthier brain capacity and function due to the constant activation of particular brain networks.

Behavioural Observation Audiometry is used to test the speech perception of a patient under 6 months old, observes a patient’s responses and behaviour towards sounds and is carried out over a series of sessions. The parent holds the patient inside the testing booth, opposite the test assistant whose role is to confirm any displayed responses from the patient with the audiologist to increase test accuracy. The audiologist chooses sounds known as Narrow Band Noise or Warble tones which have frequencies ranging from 250 to 8000 Hz. A loudspeaker or earphones can be used to play the sounds. Measured responses from the patient include physical responses such as a turn of the head, but ultimately it is difficult to measure such responses as they may be a reaction to extraneous variables. Also, it may be that only one ear of the patient is being tested by playing the sound via loudspeaker due to the fact that one ear cannot be isolated.

Visual Reinforcement Audiometry is used for testing the speech perception of very young children ranging from approximately 7 months to 2 years. The child is inside a sound-proof room. A sound is played. Behavioural conditioning is used as toys and objects at the source of the sound are lit up during every play of the sound in order to condition the child into responding to the sound, for example by turning their head and looking at the object. Eventually, the child learns how they should respond. Gradually, the intensity of the sound and the occurrences of the lit stimuli are reduced until a measurement of the child’s minimum hearing threshold is acquired. When the child is eventually comfortable enough to use earphones without removing them, Conditioned Play Audiometry can be used.

Phobia refers to a cognitive disorder whereby the patient experiences fear of something, usually harmless, so strongly that they are unable to confront it. For example, arachnophobia means the fear of spiders. Those who experience true arachnophobia cannot observe images of spiders without feeling scared and begin displaying physical symptoms such as tenseness, erratic and accelerated breathing and sweating. These are physical signs and symptoms of an anxiety attack. Sufferers of phobias commonly find their lives altered as they avoid what they are unable to confront. For example, Agoraphobics fear being in a place where it would be difficult to escape from, in situations usually considered normal, like a university seminar, a concert or on public transport. Also, Social phobia is the most common disorder in the UK. This phobia refers to a person who is scared of social situations, conjuring up hypothetical results which mean they are too anxious to confront that particular. For example, they may avoid ordering at a cafē for fear that they will say something regarded as embarrassing or unacceptable. People with such phobias know that certain situations might trigger a panic attack for them and therefore they will avoid going outdoors or to social events. Those with any phobia may be unable to partake in activities regarded as normal within their social and working lives, reducing their quality of life. Therefore, a phobia is a common category of an anxiety disorder as they closely share symptoms.

Speech and language therapists need to have good communication and rapport-building skills as they have the responsibility of explaining conditions and implementing therapies to patients. They must ensure their patient feels relaxed and calm, willing to listen and communicate as much as possible and wanting to return to therapy. SLTs also must communicate to colleagues within their career setting. Those working in schools need to be able to inform teachers about students’ speech disorders and recommended therapies. Those in clinical settings need to work alongside nurses and other therapists to implement diagnoses and therapies for speech and swallowing disorders. Thus, the SLT should possess team-work skills including empathy, reliability and conflict-resolution which all assist in building trust amongst peers in the workplace.

SLTs also need good listening skills and patience, as some patients will take longer to show any progress with their communication. There may also be patients simply unwilling to communicate and perhaps even colleagues who are unsupportive or unresponsive. Thus, SLTs must be able to remain calm, empathetic and professional in such situations, for the benefit of themselves, the workplace and the patients.

SLTs also need to have good written English language for writing reports of patients within their case-load. Furthermore, they need to possess strong organisational skills for maintaining and balancing their time, priorities and skills amongst this case-load. Organisation is also imperative as the therapist may be required to visit different school or clinical settings dependent on their role and split their time between many essential roles, such as therapy implementation, report-writing and problem-solving.

Introduction

There are many problems that affect people and have affected the way they speak. Of course, you must have met or heard about some people who suffer from some of these problems. There will be difficulty in understanding the message because the letter exits are wrong. Language disorders is one of the most common problems in our days. Language disorders is the weak ability of a person to communicate with others properly. And its classified as either receptive or expressive. The receptive language disorder is the difficulty of understanding the words or sentences that is heard or read. And the expressive language disorder is the difficulty of choosing and using the right sentences and words while talking. This problem is widespread, but there is not enough awareness among people about it, so they face difficulty in dealing with people who suffer from it. Therefore, we have chosen this topic to clarify some important points about the problem of language disorder to spread awareness among people.

Receptive Language Disorders

What are receptive language disorders

A receptive language disorder is a type of learning disorder affecting the ability to understand spoken, and sometimes written, language. Individuals with a receptive language disorder may have difficulty understanding spoken language, responding appropriately, or both. This leads to substantial difficulty communicating. A receptive language disorder is not a learning disability but instead a medical issue that can cause children to fall behind in academics. If the disorder isn’t easily or quickly resolved, the learning gap can expand. Thus, children with a receptive language disorder may need special academic support even though they don’t have an ‘official’ learning disability. problems with language comprehension begin before the age of three years. It occurs in 10 to 15 percent of those under the age of 3 years old, according to the University of Mississippi Medical Center. By age 4, language ability is generally more stable and can be measured more accurately to determine whether or not a deficit exists.

Examples

• According to American Family Physician, there may be a problem if your child is 18 months old and doesn’t follow one-step directions. An example of a one-step direction might be “pick up your toy. ‘If, at 30 months, your child isn’t responding to questions verbally or with a nod or headshake, then it may be a sign of a language disorder.
• If your child has a receptive language disorder, the words that you say to him may sound like a foreign language, particularly if you speak quickly. He may often appear to be ignoring you, when in fact he simply cannot understand the words. When you read to him, he may appear uninterested. He might also ask you to repeat yourself frequently.
• if you say, “Drink your milk,” your child might repeat these words immediately or later, but he will not necessarily understand them.
• children with this disorder have difficulty following directions. If you ask your child to point to his toes, he is not likely to do so. He is also likely to have problems with figurative language. He may interpret the phrase “I could eat a horse” literally.

Symptoms

• Not seeming to listen when they are spoken to
• Appearing to lack interest when storybooks are read to them
• Difficulty understanding the meaning of words and sentences
• Difficulty remembering all the words in a sentence in order to make sense of what has been said
• Inability to understand complicated sentences.
• Inability to follow verbal instructions; especially if the instruction is long or complicated.
• echolalia, which refers to the parroting of words or phrases.

Causes

The cause of receptive language disorder is often unknown, but several factors are involved such as

• genetic susceptibility (family history of receptive language disorder)
• limited exposure to hearing language in their day-to-day environment
• general developmental and cognitive (thinking) abilities.
• Receptive language disorder is often associated with developmental disorders such as autism or Down syndrome.
• hearing impairment – due to decreased exposure to language
• vision impairment – due to the absence of cues such as facial expression and gestures
• attention disorders – due to difficulties in attending fully to what is being said.
• Receptive language disorder can also develop as a result of brain damage. For example, receptive language disorder can appear after brain damage caused by a stroke or a brain tumor.

Co-occurrence with attention difficulties and autism with ADHD

It is not uncommon for attention difficulties and language and communication disorders to co-present. Researchers estimate at least 50% of children diagnosed with ADHD struggle when it comes to oral language skills (4). Some studies have found language problems are more common in the hyperactive/impulsive subtype .

These issues can make it even harder for parents and teachers to know how to help a child who has trouble paying attention and following directions. You may wonder if it is a lack of focus or a lack of receptive language skills that is causing the problem. For those learners who experience hyperactivity, impulsivity and language production issues may lead to behavioral reprimands at school.

A language disorder can exacerbate communication challenges for people on the autistic spectrum who may already find speech and social interaction challenging. It can be especially difficult for them to discuss feelings and communicate needs, and in these cases resorting to the use of technology may be especially helpful.

Treatments

• Treatment options for receptive language disorder may include:
• speech-language therapy (one-on-one or as part of a group, or both, depending on the needs of the child)
• providing information to families so that they can facilitate language growth at home special education classes at school
• integration support at preschool or school in cases of severe difficulty
• referral to a psychologist for treatment (only if there are also significant behavioral problems).

A child’s progress will depend on a range of individual factors, such as whether or not brain injury is present.

Expressive Language Disorders

What are expressive language disorders:

To understand expressive language disorders, we must first understand what expressive language skills are. Expressive language skills are the skills required to create thoughts and express them using the correct word and grammar combinations. These expressions can be in the form of words, facial expressions or physical gestures. Therefor expressive language disorders are disorders that affect the way a child may give a response, like in forming the correct sentence to or the appropriate expression to respond. Expressive language disorder isn’t as uncommon as you think, according to “Medline Plus” about one in 20 kids have signs of a language disorder like expressive language disorder. The crucial point to consider is that it’s not due to a lack of intelligence, but it’s also not a delayed language issue that will fix itself in time that’s why treatment is needed to make progress.

Examples

• a seven-year-old child being unable to join sentences with words like ‘and’, ‘but’ or ‘if’ (such as ‘I went to the movies. I had popcorn’ instead of ‘I went to the movies and had popcorn’ which is a more mature form of expression
• a three-year-old child who speaks in two-word phrases only (such as ‘mummy car’ when they mean ‘That’s mummy’s car.’)

Symptoms

• Smaller vocabulary compared to children of the same age
• limited ability to form sentences
• Difficulty to use words and connect sentences to explain or describe something
• Low conversational abilities
• Missing words out
• Saying words in the wrong order
• Repeating a question while thinking of an answer

Causes

• Hearing problems
• Brain injury
• Damage to the central nervous system

Treatments

• Psychological therapy
• Language therapy
• School-based language intervention programs
• Assistance from special education teachers

Conclusion

In conclusion, there are many other problems that may affect the development of language and the ability to speak. Language disorder is one of these problems and is the most prevalent as we have mentioned previously. But with the development of medicine in our time this is no longer a very difficult problem It can be overcome, but according to the extent of the language disorder that a person suffers from, and age plays an important role in that. Therefore, this matter requires the intervention of parents and medical care providers from the beginning of discovering the matter to overcome this disorder.

S is a grade 2 (7 year old) male student with normal nonverbal intelligence, and presents with a possible language impairment. S was nominated by his teacher to be assessed for his receptive and expressive abilities. His teacher reports that he has difficulty answering questions, with utterance that consists of omissions, reduced grammatical markers and when he is called upon, appears frustrated during independent reading time. Specifically, he has a hard time decoding unknown words and also has difficulty answering comprehension-based questions, with decreased logical and sequential discourse skills. The teacher is concerned about his current reading comprehension is limited by problems decoding text, understanding the text while reading, or recalling text information after reading.

Developmental language disorders (DLD) is a condition where a child has difficulties understanding and/or producing language and these difficulties impact on their everyday life (Centre of Clinical Research, 2017). In the absence of intellectual disabilities, such as autism and Down syndrome, children with LI characteristically struggle with the processing and production of spoken language. Some of the specific areas in which many of these children have difficulty are word finding, narrative retell and understanding, receptive and expressive vocabulary, grammatical understanding and expression, phonological processing, and working memory (e.g., Boudreau & Constanza-Smith, 2011; Edwards, Beckman, & Munson, 2004; Gathercole & Baddeley, 1990). Dorothy Bishop has been a dynamic individual advocating for Developmental Language Disorder (DLD).Speech pathology Australia (2018) also mentions that children has some difficulty with the production of complex language, across the domains of syntax, morphology, phonology, semantics, and pragmatics.

Developmental language disorder remains one of the most misdiagnosed, but frequent disorders in society (Boyle, Gillham, Smith., 1996)( Tomblin , Smith, and Zhang , 1997). This could be due to the fact that there is still a barrier in establishing a universal/consistent terminology, which may cause confusion among parents and possible stakeholders, as well as the effect a DLD may have on an individual (Bishop, 2010). With an indication of 5-8% of children having a DLD, and an estimated 7% in Australia according to statistics from 2009 (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2009). This issue remains of utmost importance as these statistics may be even higher in other societies. This disorder poses a risk of possible burden on the society. This disorder has a strict following criteria that it has to adhere to be seen as a burden (Law, 2017). This will include the financial strain it may have on the society, pertaining to Medicare claims made by Speech Pathologists (Commonwealth of Australia, 2014).

Public health

Similarly in Victoria, Australia, a practice review showed that many language promotion programs and strategies are currently being used to enhance language outcomes in 0-3-year-olds (Law & Pagnamenta, 2017).

Evidence of “upstream” preventative services

Upstream preventive services, will aim at the purpose of prevention rather than treatment. The issue remains, that if prevention was ineffective, that intervention based approaches should receive attention. This intervention’s goal is to promote the language skills of young socially disadvantaged children (Warr-Leeper, 2001). It is important to note that, many of these intervention approaches show promising outcomes when provided in bigger groups. This will be necessary for those individuals who does not always have access to services. The risk is that, as has been the case in other health areas, universal interventions may have a more

positive effect on more advantaged children (White., Adams, Heywood, 2009)( Marulis., Neuman B. 2010). The golden standard will be to provide therapy according to each individual’s need’s (Marmot. 2010).

There is a useful distinction to be drawn between truly universal services that are equally available to everyone, services which are targeted to a specific subpopulation (targeted-selective), and those which are delivered according to Individual need (targeted-indicated)(Asmussen,., Feinstein., Martin., & Chowdry, 2016). By providing a combination of these services will be beneficial.

Implications and recommendations.

Researchers among various income countries has proposed for DLD to be seen as a public health issue. (Law et al, 2013) DLD meets the criteria for a domain that fits within a public health framework as it places a large burden on society, is distributed unfairly, and there is evidence that upstream preventive strategies could reduce the burden of DLD if population health approaches are taken.

LANGUAGE INTERVENTION

What is the intervention options for children with language disorders?

Some language intervention programs target specific language skills (e.g., phonology, semantics, syntax, morphology), while others are more holistic in nature, targeting a broader range of language and communication skills (e.g., expressive language interventions and receptive language interventions).

Models and approaches to child language intervention (Paul, 2001)

Clinician-directed intervention

This intervention approach uses behaviour modification (learning theory/ behaviourism). The clinician takes the lead in directing therapy and modify techniques to achieve the selected target. This entails a highly structured and controlled by the clinician. The specific materials used are important as well as the sequence how these materials are used during activities. During this approach the form of responses are required, the types and frequency of reinforcement needed to achieve the wanted language goal. Target language becomes ‘highly salient’ during intervention. The clinician provides clear reinforcement to increase the frequency of the selected language behaviours, and controls the clinical context to ensure optimal change. The clinician also provides opportunity for repeated practice of the selected target for e.g.

Naturalistic approach (Peterson, 2004)

Various speech therapy programs have been developed to assist in language, literacy and learning. Regarding language, Peterson (2004) has pointed out the most important naturalistic, but functional approaches used in intervention approaches. A number of related language intervention procedures have been developed for use in the child’s natural settings, including the child’s home, classroom, or child care. These procedures include incidental teaching (e.g., Hart & Risley, 1975), mand-modeling (e.g., Rogers-Warren & Warren, 1980; Warren, McQuarter, & Rogers- Warren, 1984), and delayed prompt or time-delay (e.g., Halle, Marshall, & Spradlin, 1979). Taken together, these procedures might be termed naturalistic language teaching. From experience I have also seen more generalization of language in the therapeutic environment, but also reported by parents.

Functional approach (Owens, 2004)

I have learned that the role of the therapist cannot be underestimated. The therapist will play a nurturing and supportive role during the intervention process. The therapist will facilitate and serve as a consultant in the intervention process. Intervention strategies are normally used in a naturalistic environment where any response is better than none at al. From experience I have learned, that limiting corrections made to utterance, the child will feel more comfortable and motivated to participate in therapy. Indirect expansion methods are preferred rather than direct corrections. The child will therefor lead the therapy and therapy will be structured around the developmental goals. Language and communication will then influenced by the context. Which has provided the necessary and favourable outcomes. Whole language (Paul, 2001), is self-explanatory, which is also used as the basic assumption is that oral language is best learned in meaningful contexts i.e. where the purpose of communication is to send a message or convey meaning and for the listener to understand the meaning. This is also known as a functional approach to language learning. This approach encompasses all language modalities (speaking, listening, reading and writing) are integrated to make meaning and cannot be broken up into discreet parts. The whole language approach also allow the child to gradually construct new knowledge from their experiences, without correction or reinforcement reward is in the successful communication of intended meaning)What remains a problem is that some children have difficulties with only specific components of language and require more focus on particular aspects of language.

Narrative Interventions

Parents can play an integral part in narrative interventions, which can be executed during functional activities, such as fetching children from school and guiding the narrative intervention. Narrative interventions focus on improving a child’s story-telling ability, including the ability to provide context for the listener. Through this the child is able to use narrative structures (story grammars) to organize events; and utilize microstructure (e.g., syntactic complexity, temporal and causal conjunctions, coordinating conjunctions, elaborated phrases, and adverbs) to enhance the clarity of the narrative. Narratives can provide a naturalistic means of targeting specific language difficulties. By implementing this approach, it provides an opportunity for the parents to provide the needed morphology, syntax and metacognitive stimulation through language stimulation (Paul, 2001).

Parent-Mediated/Implemented/Involvement

Parent-mediated or implemented interventions consist of parents’ using direct, individualized intervention practices with their child to increase positive learning opportunities and acquisition of skills. This approach also includes the parents and involves them in therapy. This approach can be useful in the South Africa, as well as lower income countries to promote language stimulation and prevent language disorders or delays.

PHONOLOGICAL INTERVENTION

Phonological Awareness (PA) remains one of the main building blocks for reading and writing.

Phonological awareness is the skill of being able to identify and manipulate individual phonemes in a word (Begin to Read. 1996). A phoneme is the smallest unit of sound which adds meaning to a word. Phonological awareness is also the ability to form a relationship between these phonemes and the letters of the alphabet.

There are 3 linguistic levels of phonological awareness: Syllable awareness, onset-rime awareness and phoneme awareness. The easiest of these three levels is syllable awareness. This level involves the child’s ability to know that words can be broken down into different syllables and that each syllable must have a vowel. Although this may be subconscious, the child will have an awareness of where one syllable ends and another starts. Syllable awareness is usually used to teach spelling to older children and is used verbally with

younger children (Gillon. 2004). Onset-rime is the second level. Once a word has been broken up into its various syllables, each syllable can be broken into its onset and its rime. The onset consists of the consonants before the vowel in the syllable. The rime consists of the rest of the syllable (the vowel and the consonants which come after). One’s ability in the onset-rime awareness level is assessed via rhyming tasks. The final level of phonological awareness is the phoneme awareness. As discussed earlier, a phoneme is the smallest unit of sound which adds meaning to a word. This is the last and most important level for a child to master. Once onset-rime has been completed, a child will learn how each word is made up of a number of various sounds for example, “table” is phonetically made up of the following sounds: /t/, /eI/, /b/, /l/ (these sounds have been phonetically transcribed).

Phonological awareness is acquired by children before they begin to read and write. The acquisition of phonological awareness usually begins around the age of 4 years. This is when the child becomes aware of letters (depending on their exposure)(Bowen, 2011) At this age children love nursery rhymes. They are able to recognise rhyme and syllables as well as blend syllables together. Blending is when syllables or sounds are joined in order to make a word. From the age of 5 children are building their vocabulary. They are able to alliterate, match the beginning sounds of words, produce rhyme and do onset-rime segmentation. Segmentation is when words are broken down into their syllables or phonemes. At the age of 5 years, 6 months, a child is able to manipulate syllables. Manipulation is removing a syllable or phoneme in order to make a new word. Children are also able to blend and segment phonemes. These abilities allow children to develop decoding skills which are important when learning to read and write. A child who is around 6 years of age is able to add, delete and substitute phonemes (Snowling & Stackhouse, 2006). It is important to note that children do not follow this exact developmental process. According to other authors such as Tolman and Moats (2009), sound deletion, addition and manipulation of consonant clusters can occur as late as 7 or 8 years of age.

Although there is a large amount of research which has been done on the development of phonological awareness in English, there have been few studies done on the other official South African languages. A paper done on Sesotho speaking children in South Africa implies that although little research has been done on the development of phonological awareness is Sesotho speaking children; there is some evidence to show that it is acquired in the same manner as English (Demuth. 2007). A literature review done speaks about phonological awareness in the development of bilingual children in South Africa. According to this literature review, there are 3 different opinions as to how phonological awareness skills from one’s first language (L1) can be used to achieve the same level of language in one’s second language (L2). The first opinion is that the process of phonological awareness occurs cross-linguistically. The second opinion states that phonological process skills are transferred from L1 to L2 or L3 while they are being developed in the child’s L1. The final opinion states that it cannot be proven that phonological awareness skills can be transferred from a child’s L1 to their L2 with the current research that is available. Bilingualism negatively impacts a child’s phonological awareness skills (Milwidsky. 2009). In this study, working memory and phonological awareness skills between 2 groups were assessed. The children who had a L2 used unrelated skills in order to conduct the phonological awareness task. This supports the theory that phonological awareness skills are not transferred across languages. There needs to be more research done in this area in order for an individual theory to be prominent.

Phonological awareness is very important for literacy. Literacy consists of reading (interpreting graphic symbols into sounds) and writing (constructing graphic symbols from sounds). Poor phonological awareness is proven to be related to poor reading abilities which impact a child’s vocabulary and general knowledge (Cockcroft, Broom & Grrenop. 1999). A study done by Lundberg, Olofsson and Wall in 2008 showed that over 70% of children with phonological awareness skills before any type of literacy was learnt, achieved better in their reading and spelling tests in the first year of school than those who had below average phonological awareness skills. The most important level of phonological awareness for a child to master is the phoneme level. This is because a child needs to be able to hear the phonemes in a word in order to sound out novel words when reading. This is important for writing as well. Although the phoneme level is the most important level for a child to reach, onset-rime is just as useful as onset-rime helps children to recognise common groups of sounds within words which can help them to decode words when reading as well as to spell them when writing.

Phonological awareness is fundamental for reading and writing. The three linguistic levels carefully guide children to learn decoding skills which a child will use when learning to read and spell. The insufficient amount of literature on the phonological awareness development in South African languages other than English, cannot allow for conclusive evidence on this topic. Franz Kafka once said, “A book must be the axe for the frozen sea within us.” Every child should thus have the right to feel this way when reading a book and we should, therefore, focus on phonological awareness and help those who struggle to become readers.

Phonological Processes (Oller, 1975)

This is a strategy used by younger typical developmental individuals, and usually form 1.5 years to 4 years of age. The reason for using this process is to simplify adult speech sounds. For example, children omit weakly stressed sounds in a word, such as ‘elephant’ as ‘ephant’. With this phonological processed being evident it is noted that speech might be perceived as “unintelligible” at times (Roth & Worthington, 2011)

The cycles approach, by Hodson and Paden (1983) is a known phonological process intervention used for highly intelligible individuals. There phonological patterns are identified and each pattern will be addressed with a 5-16 week period. The session sequence includes 1) auditory bombardment, 2) production training, 3) stimulabiity probes and 4) at home activities to ensure generalization occurs. After intervention has taken place, the child is given time to internalize the new learnt pattern, until the clinician introduces new patterns. The goal is to ensure that the child is able to generalize the pattern in spontaneous speech (Roth & Worthington, 2011).

SPEECH DISORDERS

The traditional Approach by Van Riper (1975) has provided favourable outcomes in therapy. This is a phonetic based approach, and is also known as the sensory-based approach, motor based approach. This intervention focuses primarily on sensory training first, which allows the client to be able to differentiate correct vs. incorrect productions as times. The training involves 1) speech sound discrimination level, 2) achieving phonetic placement, 3) producing sounds in isolation, 4) producing the sound in nonsense syllable, 5) producing the sound in initial, medial and final positions, 6) producing the sound in phrases and sentences and 7) producing the sound in conversational speech. This approach has provided the best possible outcomes in therapy when working with children and adults.

CONCLUSION

From a personal perspective, I have never used one exclusive intervention approach. I have always used eclectic approach when providing intervention to each individual. It is important to keep in mind that not every child will reflect the same progress of have the same goals for language intervention. Language is a natural instinct humans and should also be treated in that manner. Indirect and direct methods has worked in therapy, but some children require a more structured approach than others. From clinical experience and years in therapy, one will acquire the ability to be sensitive to individuals’ personalities and communicative needs. By doing that, the needs of the clinician and the therapist remains in balance.

Introduction

In this essay, I will examine the roots of my belief that the current use of language surrounding special needs and learning disabilities provides a sufficient label that enables appropriate support to be provided to individuals.

Due to the nature of language, which is “dynamic and everchanging”, many terms that were once used as scientific or medical terminology are no longer deemed politically correct or are viewed as offensive or derogatory as a direct result of them being used as insults (Foreman, 2005). For example, the term ‘retarded’ was first used in the late 19th century when medical texts described children with ‘retarded mental development’. This term was still written into American law, despite many people taking offence to the term, until 2010 when Barack Obama passed Rosa’s Law, which required ‘mental retardation’ to be replaced with ‘intellectual disability’. Similarly, terms such as ‘handicapped’ and ‘retarded’ were used in British literature until Warnock (1978) proposed the use of the term ‘special educational needs’ (SEN). Warnock believed that the term special needs would promote inclusion and dispel categorisation associated with the previous labels. Oliver (1990) created the social model of disability which viewed disability as a consequence of social barriers. This is a view that I now hold but had previously overlooked before studying this module.

Throughout this paper, I will explore the change in language proposed by Warnock (1978) and how this affected the thoughts and beliefs of the population. Secondly, I will explore the issues surrounding the introduction of new terminology and how this may impact both individuals with disabilities and the wider population. In order to fully deconstruct these issues, I will investigate the roots of my current knowledge and beliefs on the use of appropriate language within special education. I will draw from my personal experiences of working with individuals with a range of disabilities and will review my relationship with SEN language. Through this reflexive practice, I will have the opportunity to critically examine how my beliefs have been challenged by literature and discussion, resulting in the reconstruction of my own beliefs and practice.

Deconstructing Current Use of Language

As previously mentioned, Warnock (1978) introduced the term ‘special educational needs’ in order to promote the inclusion of disabled people and move away from the categories created by previous terms. Warnock hoped that the new term would shift the focus from what an individual wasn’t capable of to what provisions would be required to create an equal footing, and remove the social barrier disabling the individual (Norwich, 2012). The aim was to make visible the needs which were once hidden as a result of the negative labels placed on the individual.

To deconstruct the current use of language, I will discuss the roots of the beliefs I held prior to this module. When using language it is important to ensure that the label provided enables the needs of an individual to be met. Through my undergraduate study of psychology, my understanding of needs was based around theories such as Maslow’s hierarchy of needs (1943). Maslow stated that needs must be met in a hierarchal fashion, and higher needs cannot transpire until the previous need has been fulfilled. These needs are physiological, safety, love and belonging, esteem, and self-actualisation. Thomas and Loxley (2007, p.55) agree with this theory that ‘we all have needs to do with affection, security, belonging, fun, self-esteem, and self-identity’.

My work as a support worker for both adults and young people with learning disabilities was strongly shaped by my knowledge of needs. Within my role, I had to follow plans and guidelines set out by psychologists and behaviour therapists who met with my clients a handful of times per year. It was likely that this was due to the qualified medical practitioners viewing the support workers as underqualified in understanding and meeting the needs of our clients. This was a strange concept to me as the support workers know all the nuances of our client’s behaviour, from facial expressions to triggers of challenging behaviour. Due to the nature of the medical professionals being a higher rank, and my obligation to follow policy and care plans, I conformed to their guidelines of best practice. I now realise that I was engaging in ‘incarceration by smothering’ (Thomas and Loxley, 2007, p.55) by accepting and assisting the medical ‘support’ given to my clients which was not necessary to meet their needs. By focussing my energy and support on the SEN, I was renouncing the everyday needs of my clients.

I also believed that the label SEN was appropriate as it enabled the provision of services within the community. By exploring my peers’ understanding of the label through discussion, it became clear to me that, for many, the label SEN was only adopted by individuals so that they can receive the social support, which is limited to funding guided by the unspecified criteria that has evolved from the vague term that is SEN. The label is used as a tool for oppression rather than a tool of accurate representation for people with disabilities. As Foucault (1978) clearly outlined, we label and categorise ourselves by adopting identities that allow us to create social relationships and fit into social structures. We respond to others based on whether we view them to be part of the in-group or outgroup (Waterhouse, 2004). By using these labels to categorise, we subconsciously use stereotypes to form our opinions of the individual or social group. This can lead to negative connotations being associated with terms such as SEN.

Many labels can adopt negative or derogatory connotations as a result of the stereotypes associated with them. In the case of terms that are used as insults such as ‘retard’ and ‘mentally handicapped’, they once had a role in scientific and medical literature, much in the same way that SEN does now. Hastings and Remington (1993) found that over time labels like SEN, tend to become heavily loaded with negative connotations as a result of being associated with learning disabilities. The label given to individuals with SEN can be known as stigma (Goffman, 1963). This is when there is a negative reaction from others in response to the label. This creates hostility between assumed and true identities. These responses are learned through repetition. This could be a result of the media’s portrayal of people with learning disabilities, or through the misuse of language regarding special needs. By changing the way that we speak about people with learning disabilities, we can change how people treat and respond to them. Just as the negative responses are learned, the change in language could spark more positive reactions which can be learned through repetition.

For many people with learning disabilities, the terms which they are often bombarded with act as a constant reminder of the barriers they face or reflect their social impairments. More often than not these individuals do not identify with the labels put on them and this leads to an identity conflict. By labelling individuals with a term they do not identify with, their voice is effectively being taken from them. Terms like autism spectrum disorder (ASD), imply that the individual is defective and requires repair. Autism itself is simply a difference in communication and mental programming. The individuals who experience this are not malfunctioning, they simply behave and think differently. Spectrum is vague and includes a melting pot of conditions and behaviours which many people do not identify with. The term disorder comes from the medical approach and is disliked by most of the autistic community. As previously mentioned, it implies that there is something broken that needs to be fixed, which is not the case. If a more social approach was adopted and the social barriers were removed, then there would be no ‘disorder’ present. Before studying this module, I believed that this was the best term to describe autism as it is a catch-all phrase that includes a multitude of people with varying social and physical capabilities. However, I have come to the realisation that this is not the case. Around the same time I started this course, I began watching a television series called ‘The Good Doctor’. It is about a junior doctor who has autism and receives a place as a surgical resident in a prestigious hospital. The main character, Sean, struggled to gain recognition for his surgical talents simply because he had the label of autism spectrum disorder. Many believed he was not capable of being a successful doctor as a result of his communicative issues, but a mentor of his acted as an advocate and fought for his place. By simply changing his label to Autism Spectrum Condition rather than disorder, people would have fewer negative views on his abilities and would have treated him like any other junior doctor with a physical medical condition. A simple change in the label, and returning a voice to the individual, removes the social barriers and the capabilities of the individual can be restored.

Reconstructing the Use of Language

To reconstruct the notion of appropriate language, it is essential to consider the voice of those directly affected e.g. disabled people. By organising the label with the term ‘disabled’ first, it emphasises the belief that the disability is a result of social barriers as outlined by Oliver (1990). By shifting the focus away from the individual and onto the environment, the needs of the person become clearer. When external factors are viewed as barriers it becomes much easier to make adjustments and therefore transforming the disability into ability.

When considering a change in SEN language, the views of the individuals must be heard as it is their voice that is the driving force behind the change. This was evident through the removal of the term ‘mental handicap’ in the United Kingdom (Eayrs, 1993). With self-advocacy groups increasing in number globally, it is clear that people with learning disabilities are more than ready to reclaim their label and fight for their voices to be heard. Groups such as ASPIE (2019) have been created to help individuals with Asperger’s syndrome identify more positively with their condition and find belonging with others like themselves. This new term has been claimed by thousands of individuals and has promoted a more positive sense of self-identity for people with Asperger’s. It is often difficult for new terms, such as aspie, to become popular with the wider population through fear and reluctance to change. For people who have no contact with autistic individuals, they may fear that this term is offensive as it sounds ‘wishy-washy’ and informal. Veering away from medical terminology creates uneasiness with people, especially when the language is not shared through the media. Haller, Dorries, and Rahn (2006) found that in over 20 years, newspapers have hardly reduced the use of the term ‘handicapped’, showing that people are reluctant and fearful of change. If we are to reduce fear and discomfort around language and ‘political correctness’ there must be an increase in publicity for people with learning disabilities. Often people with learning disabilities are overlooked and thought of as intellectually inferior, resulting in their voice not being respected, therefore preventing them from engaging in the conversations regarding terminology and labels.

A question that we must ask ourselves when addressing the concept of a change in language is, is it truly ethical? What would be gained by changing the term? The problem with changing the language we use is that the new terms will undoubtedly adopt the negative connotations in the same way that its predecessors have. As Steven Pinker (1994) stated, we end up with a ‘euphemism treadmill’, where new ‘politically correct’ terms acquire negative connotations and the problem arises again. It has become apparent that the issue does not lie with language itself, but with the attitudes of the people who use it. Pinker (ibid) phrased this issue very eloquently when he wrote ‘the euphemism treadmill shows that concepts, not words, are in charge: give a concept a new name, and the name becomes colored [sic] by the concept; the concept does not become freshened by the name’. Just as before, the voice of the individuals who are being labelled must be heard in order to halt this ‘treadmill’. Unfortunately, I have been guilty of using terms that I viewed as ‘politically correct’ when talking to and about people in my care. By examining my relationship with language, I have discovered that I did this out of fear and ignorance. I failed to consider the identity that my clients claimed and instead forced ‘political correctness’ and arbitrary oppression onto them for the ‘greater good’ of their needs. If I had reflected on the function of the label and how it impacts each individual’s identity, I would have recognised my role in creating the barriers which disable them.

Impact on Practice

In this section, I will look to the future and address the impact that my new thoughts and beliefs will have on my role, not only as a support worker but as an advocate for those people with learning disabilities.

To give people with learning disabilities a clear voice regarding the language used to describe their conditions I must act as an ‘agent for change’ as outlined by Pantić and Florian (2015). I must endeavour to remove the barriers that create inequality and ensure that all the needs of the people in my care are being met, not just the ‘additional’ needs. In doing so, I must challenge the authoritarian attitudes which are present in the care sector to ensure that I act as an advocate for those who are voiceless. I will actively help my clients engage in activities that promote a positive self-image, such as joining self-advocacy groups and interacting with people with whom they identify (Stainback et al, 1994).

In order to reduce negative attitudes and responses to people with learning disabilities, stigma must be reduced. This can be achieved, through social interaction and appropriate education regarding learning disabilities (Spagnolo, Murphy and Librera, 2008). By creating a possibility for interaction and learning, the fear surrounding ‘political correctness’ can be reduced as neurotypical individuals will have the opportunity to communicate with people with learning disabilities and hear their voice. This may challenge the status quo and may come under question by my colleagues but it is necessary as a tool for change.

Whilst reflecting on my thoughts I was able to challenge my relationship with language and analyse the roots of my beliefs. I now feel more confident as an advocate for people with learning disabilities which will greatly improve the relationships I have with my clients. I will now be able to foster an environment that promotes the abilities of people with disabilities and through the removal of social barriers.

Conclusion

The goal of this assignment was to deconstruct my thoughts and beliefs surrounding the current use of the term SEN and reconstruct the notion of language to become more inclusive. For the change in language to occur and be effective a more social approach should be adopted which places the ‘disability’ on the surrounding factors and barriers facing individuals rather than on the individual themselves.

The concept of SEN is complex and cannot be categorised into distinct groups. The current language is flawed and should continue to change in line with the movement led by the people it impacts most; those with learning disabilities. It is essential that people with learning disabilities regain their agency and that their voice underpins the new language. This cannot simply occur by a slight change in language but requires a change in focus. Rather than fostering an opportunity to further instil the insider–outsider attitudes of us vs them, an inclusive approach should be adopted and drive the focus onto us.

According to Aistear (2009, p7) “partnership involves parents, families and practitioners working together to benefit children” (ref). Collaboration then, is the highest level of working. When we collaborate together we accomplish a common goal which is the holistic development of a child (MIC, 2019). For this assignment I am going to be referring to Epstein framework for collaboration and more specifically her element on collaborating with the community. As I have a child with non-verbal skills in my service, I have been faced with challenges working with his parents and his speech and language therapist. I am going to discuss these challenges and the strategies I have used to overcome them.

Joyce Epstein developed a framework for partnering with parents. She identifies six ways that parents can get involved in their children’s education. By using this framework educators can develop partnership programmes to ensure a common goal which is the holistic development of the child. (MIC, 2019). The six ways parents can get involved are; parenting, communication, volunteering, learning at home, decision making and collaboration with the community. (MIC, 2019). Epstein’s framework provides strategies for each type of involvement as well as the challenges that they may face. Element six of the framework is about collaboration with community. The aim of this element is to identify and integrate resources and services from the community to strengthen the learning in a service (Graham, 2017).

As an INCO in my service, my aim is to enhance the inclusion of all children including those with additional needs. Oisin is a child in my service who has strong non-verbal communication skills. Element six plays a crucial role here in regards to my role as INCO. Oisin has recently been meeting with a Speech and Language Therapist. Liaising with them has now become especially important and together we want to develop strategies to support Oisin’s participation and to ensure Oisin and his family feel supported (MIC 2018). I want to keep in contact with Oisin’s parents to see how the sessions are going and to give advice and guidance on this journey. I would like us to work together to identify Oisin’s needs and to ensure all relevant information is passed on with the parents’ consent.

I have been trying to arrange a meeting with Oisin’s parents to discuss Oisin’s participation in our service. When Oisin is dropped off to our service it is often by his parents who are in a rush off to work. However, when he is collected it is by a babysitter and as a result it can often be very challenging to find the time to talk to his parents. Both of them work full-time and trying to arrange a meeting has proven difficult. I want to meet with his parents to communicate openly with them and encourage them to become passionate about his learning (MIC, 2019). As his parents are often in a rush they have no time for a meeting or a quick chat, they appear to have little knowledge or awareness on how important their participation is in his education (MIC, 2019).

To try and achieve the best for Oisin and ensuring his interests are at the centre of all decision making, I am trying to arrange another meeting with his parents to discuss Oisin. This time, I am going to offer his parents a variety of times and days to meet and then find out which suits them best. If this option doesn’t work, I can offer before and after work times to ensure the meeting goes ahead. I feel open communication is best to form positive relationships with his parents. I want them to feel supported and let them know we are here to listen to any concerns they may have. I want them to feel comfortable to come and talk to us and let them know we want the best for Oisin. Once we settle on a time, I want to reassure them about the meeting and inform them that they are the expert on their child (MIC, 2019). By collaborating with them and letting them know what is going on, I can get their consent to share information on Oisin with the Speech and Language Therapist. This will allow us to formulate the best plan to meet Oisin’s needs and aid us in completing an Individual Access and Inclusion Plan.

Oisin has begun visits to the Speech and Language Therapist recently. We have been receiving some information from his parents about how the sessions are going, but unfortunately we have not spoken to the Speech and Language Therapist ourselves. We want to know how things are going and if there is anything we can do to help; however we are finding communication with the therapist very challenging. We want to gain all the information we can on Oisin in order to complete and Individual Access and Inclusion Plan. We have tried to phone the therapist but as she is very busy we have not received a return phone call as of yet.

Communication involves giving, receiving and making sense of information (Aistear, 2009). If educators and professionals alike do not work in collaboration, effective communication is difficult to participate in (RCSLT, 2016). To try and improve our communication skills with the Speech and language Therapist, I want to try and arrange a face-to-face meeting. I would like to try and arrange a time that bests suits them and invite them into our service. Here, I would like them to observe Oisin and then talk about our concerns we have. From there I would like to formulate a plan based on Oisin’s needs. I want to reiterate the importance of this meeting to the Speech and Language Therapist, as we want the best for Oisin and that is completing and access and Inclusion plan.

I understand that the Therapist is very busy and this meeting may take some time to happen. So while we have been building links between the family and community I have recently been told about a Hanen course being offered in our local resource centre (MIC, 2019). As I want to keep on top of Oisin’s needs I would like to take part in this course. This way I will have access to expert advice, find support and be able to develop some strategies for working with Oisin while we are waiting for some feedback from the Speech and language Therapist.

To conclude it is evident that I am going to have some challenges in my role as an INCO. The best way to overcome these challenges to have a variety of strategies available and be able to tackle whatever is thrown at me. It is very important to be able to keep in regular contact with children’s parent and also to liaise with whoever will be working with any children in our service as together we can gather all the information we need to provide the best care and service for their children.

Language learning is a complex process which requires a thorough study. A lesson can be a complete failure if we don’t consider the possible blocks. When the desired result is not reached and the progress is unseen, it’s high time to weigh up the pros and cons of our pedagogic approaches. As educators, we need to do our best to minimise all the factors which may constrain the success of our students.

A great number of blocks are subjective and have little to do with teaching methods. Quite often they are related to the students’ perception of the world. People can have cultural, racial, religious or even sexist types of prejudice. Gender stereotypes are widespread, especially in the Arab society. A female teacher may not be taken seriously. Some psychological blocks are very hard to deal with. The state of health and mood influence the academic performance. Research also shows that introverts have to make a greater effort than extroverts to study languages. Shy people will unlikely to start a conversation and they will not to keep talking without a strong motivation. Indonesian students prefer to keep quiet because of the fear to make mistakes. Since laughing at those who do something wrong is culturally accepted in their country, no one wants to be the subject of ridicule. The Japanese avoid talking because they don’t want to cross the borders of speaking too much. Thus, the cultural background must not be neglected. A lot of adults think that they are too old to study. Some students are sure that if they want to speak a foreign language, they need to have an exceptional talent for it. As teachers, we should avoid the believes that English cannot be learned by some people because of their traits of character or because of their nationality. We need to be aware of certain peculiarities if we want to encourage our students and make the process of studies easier.

Though not everything depends on educators, they can do a lot to inspire the students and raise their achievement. Nevertheless, when they lack experience, sometimes it is just better not to create additional blocks to learners. One of them appears when teachers do all the speaking. Their talking time must be limited to give students more opportunities to express their thoughts. Another block is excessive error correction. Of course, students need to be aware of their mistakes, but even the improper tone is a serious hindrance to learning. If it depends on the teacher, it is good to form a group consisting of people of approximately the same level. Different language aptitude can become a stumbling block. Extra help should be given to those who do not keep up with the lesson pace. From my experience as a language learner and also as a teacher, I can say that the lack of motivation and poorly devised teaching materials are the main blocks which prevent language learning. For example, when I understood that I wouldn’t need German in my future career, no one could persuade me to continue studying it. The situation is different with Turkish which I study as a hobby. Enthusiasm alone won’t get you far when it comes to languages. I come across different self-learning modules and all I see is an enormous amount of theory and a great number of grammar exercises. As a teacher, I can also see that for a beginner whose aim is to start speaking English, an overwhelming number of grammar tasks is a real block. For instance, even though it is next to impossible to say something without the verb ‘to be’, our goal should not be limited to putting verbs into the correct form. We need to create the atmosphere of a dialogue which is similar to real-life situations.

According to other classification, blocks are divided into linguistic and extralinguistic. The first ones are connected with various language aspects. If students don’t have certain sounds in their mother tongue, they will have blocks in articulation. If there are no articles in their native language, they are sure to have problems with them. Thus, the blocks can be in pronunciation, grammar, vocabulary and the like. Examples of extra linguistic blocks include bad lighting, noise, poor quality of teaching equipment, etc. Whatever the blocks are, the educators should be able to predict and minimise them.

The topic of whether non-people can utilize language has been the subject of a lot of conversation from therapists and set up etymologists the same. One of the essential qualities of the human species is the capacity to make and use language abilities. In any case, the utilization of language in non-people has become a region of enthusiasm with the examination of language use by non-human primates having been expanded. Research has demonstrated a potential hypothesis that through on a transformative and organic premise, both human and non-people have creating phonetic capacities. It is my mean to show to what degree non-people can utilize language. Language is the most perplexing miracle of the human cerebrum. The separation among man and non-human can be thought of as their diverse utilization of language. There is a difference with respect to whether non-human species can utilize language. Language is a type of correspondence, through verbal and composed ways.

Language is an arrangement of correspondence utilizing sounds and images as indicated by linguistic principles. This framework can be seen as a progressive structure. That is, sentences can be separated into littler units or expressions – expressions can be separated into words – words can be separated into sounds. (Gazzaniga, Ivry and Mangun, 2014) Ongoing investigations have uncovered shared traits among human and non-humans: The essential distinction among human and non-human correspondence is that creatures are accepted to respond instinctually, in a stereotyped and unsurprising way. For the most part, human conduct is under intentional control and human language is imaginative and unusual. It is commonly accepted that solitary people have language. In nature, we discover various sorts of correspondence frameworks, huge numbers of which seem, by all accounts, to be remarkable to their holders, with one of them being the language of the human species. The reason for correspondence is the protection, development and advancement of the species. (Smith and Miller 1968:265) Language is viewed as a ground-breaking part of life for people and the universe of language inside the set of all animals is said to be very assorted. For instance, feathered creatures singing and so on. Creatures impart through cries, signals and mating calls which are consummately comprehended by individuals from similar species (Coon, 1992)

It is proven that apes are our closest relatives in nature, therefore, they are highly wanted subjects of tests researching this area – whether animals can use language or not. Many researchers have attempted to teach apes to communicate with humans in order to prove or disprove the theory that animals are able to use language.

One primary and popular study within this field is the study of the relationships between animals and chimpanzees by the psychologists Herbert Terrace, Laura-Ann Pettito and Tom Bever. Noam Chompsky, a psychologists, proposed that the use of language is completely and utterly uniwue to the human race and no other species are able to utilise the skills needed to form creative and grammatically correct sentences such as the human race. In order to test Noam Chompsky’s declaration, psychologists, Herbert Terrace, Laura-Ann Pettito and Tom Bever endeavored to show American Sign Language to a chimpanzee. Following quite a while of lessons Nim, it was demonstrated that he reliably neglected to ace key parts of human language grammar Although he was fruitful at speaking with a little arrangement of fundamental signs, he never procured the capacity to produce innovative, rule-represented sentences. The chimps can be contrasted with a little youngster where the small kid can name, remark, solicitation and more with their first words, the chimp utilized odds and ends of language, almost consistently, to make demands, for example, nourishment and so on from their parental figure be that as it may, were not ready to communicate implications, contemplations and thoughts by creating language (Petitto and Seidenberg, 1979) This research shows that although chimpanzees are able to communicate by means of requesting what they want, they are unable to creatively and perform grammatically correct sentences through verbal use.

A prime example whereby we learn that non-humans can understand language is the research ventures have discovered more help for the possibility that non-human creatures can learn and utilize language. Kanzi, a bonobo gorilla, learned geometric shapes, from a keyboard in order to help to destroy the equivocalness of hand signs. From the 1970’s researchers taught the chimps to associate the symbols with a variety of things, people and places, in and around the laboratory in which they habituated. He procured a few hundred words right now could utilize them in a wide range of mixes. His unconstrained utilization of the images for the most part kept the standards of language. Kanzi was likewise very acceptable at following human verbal directions. Specialists gave him 600 directions, including novel ones, for example, ‘Conceal the gorilla’ and ‘Put on the beast cover and alarm Linda’ Kanzi effectively performed 72 percent of these solicitations (Savage-Rumbaugh, Shanker, and Taylor, 1998)Later work with Matata, a bonobo, accidentally uncovered the gorilla’s young, received child, Kanzi to the counterfeit language. It was found that Kanzi comprehended and immediately delivered a set number of lexigrams without preparing. This lead to a move away from escalated instructional courses to a methodology in which Kanzi was treated as a ‘creating human newborn child’ (Johnson, 1995). The discoveries of this venture, wherein Kanzi figured out how to acknowledge word request and other grammatical signs, drove Savage-Rumbaugh to presume that bonobos have ‘simple linguistic capacity.’ (Johnson, 1995) This clear achievement of research with Kanzi was credited to her introduction to language right off the bat in her life and coaching actuated by the creature’s interest (Johnson, 1995). However, despite Kanzi’s responses being perceived as extremely impressive, many would argue that they are still very far from the unique human ability of language use.

Taking everything into account, the examination proof suggests that a few creatures, especially and all the more normally, chimpanzees can appreciate essential correspondences and images. From the instances of the investigations of the chimpanzees, it is demonstrated that non-people can utilize images to pass on thoughts and requests and demonstrates a general comprehension of fundamental correspondence in the set of all animals. Nonetheless, in spite of this, it is to a basic level that non-people can utilize language as people do. There is a key distinction between minor demonstrations of correspondence and utilizing language. Subsequently, it tends to be reasoned that non-people use language partially and a fundamental one in contrast with people, yet in reality can convey.

INTRODUCTION

Language, similar to some other idea, has a few definitions. This is, obviously, because of the way that individuals appear to see things from alternate points of view.

Language is the declaration of thoughts by methods for speech-sounds consolidated into words. Words are joined into sentences, this blend offering an explanation to that of thoughts into musings. Language is an arrangement of signs that we use in speaking with ourselves and with each other. Language additionally has composed signs which are the letters in order that we use recorded as a hard copy.

Communication, in any language, is just conceivable as a result of the linguistic images that capacity as indicated by certain principles and shows. Language is associated with the psychological procedure of comprehension. This is effectively discernable when one glances at how language is gained, particularly, in youngsters. Be that as it may, it goes past how we become familiar with a language. Communication is just conceivable due to the psychological procedure of encoding and translating data. Obviously, this is very perplexing. The multifaceted nature could be found in our failure to disentangle data in a language whose framework we have not procured. In any case, our intellectual capacity would, simultaneously, be available to learning the images of any language should one choose to learn it.

In short, language is the thing that empowers us to absolute particular sounds; go along with them into words, and into significant sentences to convey our thoughts and contemplations.

INTER-RELATIONSHIP OF LANGUAGE SKILLS

Among the four language skills of listening, speaking, reading and writing, listening and reading which are a progressive procedure have a place with linguistic comprehension while speaking and writing which are interrelated have a place with linguistic production. Linguistic comprehension and linguistic production are two parts of correspondence in which speakers and audience members, readers and authors are interconnected and inter conditioned as far as psychological and cognitive procedures just as data move process since similar modals of data process and such abstract variables in data process as measure of jargon, cognitive capacity.

RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN LISTENING AND READING

Better understanding of the inter-relationship among listening and reading must be useful in creating linguistic comprehension. Listening and reading are open skills; however audience members and readers don’t get data through outside improvement.

Listening and reading are correlative and strengthen one another. Initially, listening can encourage one’s ability of reaction to language, which prompts quicker reading. Such a quick and entangled reasoning procedure can drive forward the improvement of the audience members’ capacity to react rapidly to the linguistic importance. Consequently this capacity of snappy reaction is vital for speed reading and exact reading. Reading gives more chances to students to think in English.

Through reading, the students can broaden their schematic information which is helpful for improving listening comprehension. A great deal of reading empowers the understudies to get more contribution by presenting themselves to different sorts of linguistic material, to widen their insight, to expand foundation information and enhance schematic information, linguistic and non-linguistic.

RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SPEAKING AND WRITING

Speaking and writing have a place with productive capacity. Speaking and writing are interrelated and cause positive exchange one another. First, speaking initiates writing in a indirect manner. Improvement of writing doesn’t rely upon the advancement of writing skills as it were. Besides, additionally speaking can accelerate writing. Speaking is restricted in time so it ought to be done in a brief timeframe in which any amendment and revision can’t be made. The speakers ought to have brisk reasoning and quick reaction. Hence all the more speaking is helpful for writing since it can build up the capacity to utilize language.

RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SPEAKING AND LISTENING

On one hand, listening is first and the procedure of information while speaking is second and the procedure of yield in language procurement. Listening and speaking is an interrelated continuum. One figures out how to talk by listening. One can communicate just in the event that he understands what he hears; speaking is significant as a flagging gadget to haggle better listening. One can understand effectively what he can talk smoothly.

RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN WRITING AND READING

Reading and writing rely upon schematic information. Authors and readers utilize comparable sorts of information about language, information about substance, information about type shows, information about association and structure, which can reinforce an writer capacity to read and a reader capacity to compose. From the psychological point of view, Reading and writing share the equivalent cognitive procedure of individuals’ reasoning. reading is the reason for writing. reading like an writer permits one to really turn into an author. Reading will improve the advancement of English writing skills. writing improves reading. Writing is the most ideal approach to show and create reading proficiency.

USE OF RELATIONSHIP IN TEACHING OF ENGLISH AND URDU AT ELEMENTARY LEVEL

The advancement of any of the four skills relies upon and can prompt the advancement of the rest and at long last causes the improvement of generally language capacity. Following are the steps to be considered in teaching English and Urdu at elementary level;

1. USE OF COMPREHENSIVE TEACHING SKILL

So as to create in general language capacity, we can receive the entire language approach by methods for which four language skills can be introduced individually and indispensably. In showing where certain language aptitude is introduced, we can utilize different skills as either strengthening implies or for input, for example, speaking and writing skills can be introduced in listening class or in reading class. We can likewise give understudies such comprehensive exercises as ‘listening and speaking’ and ‘reading and writing’, which will make learning English and Urdu all the more inspiring and ensure practical and informative utilization of the language.

2. ADEQUATE LISTENING OF LANGUAGE LEARNING

The measure of vocabulary one has to be skilled over, assumes a significant job in creating language skills. Absence of vocabulary is one of the primary drivers of the underdevelopment of either language ability. Reading can help manufacture vocabulary that helps listening comprehension. Additional listening can enable these students to get and retain more words and data in a quicker manner.

3. FOCUS ON DISCUSSION

Discussion, the scaffold associating language contribution with yield, mirrors the change from educator focused teaching to student focused teaching. Discussion can be sorted out in reading class with the goal that what is being perused can be applied to oral articulation and simultaneously oral correspondence can improve reading comprehension. Students can offer remarks on each other’s first draft of writing or talk about the inquiries set forward in remarks. This sort of helpful writing empowers the students to hear immediate and ideal thoughts from others and then embrace the sensible proposals to modify their own writing. Thus the writing capacity will be improved all the more viably. Discussions in the wake of listening can check the proficiency of listening.

4. WRITING AN INTEGRAL PART OF LEARNING LANGUAGE

Writing is a fundamental piece of English instructing however it is additionally a feeble connection of English educating. Writing capacity can be improved in two different ways, expanding showing long periods of writing or introducing and working on writing skills in other individual aptitude introducing classes. Writing skills ought to be introduced in different pieces of educating, for example, consolidate introduction of writing with the introduction of reading. Essay writing was seen as more useful than responding to questions or taking notes paying little mind to students’ earlier information.

References

1. Chen, Jianmin. (1991). Distance between speaking and writing. Language Planning, 5, 40-41.
2. Eckhoff, B. (1983). How reading affects children’s writing. Language Arts, 60.6, 607- 616.
3. Flood, J. & D. Lapp (1987). Reading and writing relations: Assumptions and directions. In J. Squire (eds.), The dynamics of Language Learning. Urbana: National Conference in Research in English, 9-26.
4. Kucer, S. B. (1987). The cognitive base of reading and writing. In J. Squire (eds.), The dynamics of language learning. Urbana: National Conference in Research in English, 27-51.