Strategies & Techniques Facilitating childrens listening and language skills in the classroom

Interpreting Say it as s/he would if s/he could

Example A pre-verbal child holds out a hand, and looks up at you, as you approach the table with some pencils -: David, you want a pencil.

Listening check Low, middle and high frequency sounds must be heard clearly in order to process speech effectively. Families take the lead role for listening checks. But if you suspect a problem you can do the LING 6 SOUND TEST

What is the Ling 6 Sound Test? A behavioral listening check to determine a cochlear implants effectiveness. The test can be used to determine what sounds the student can detect, discriminate and identify…

Auditory skill development detection = recognizing presence or absence of a sound discrimination = Discerning if sounds are the same or different identification = Pointing to a picture or reproducing the sound

LING 6 SOUND TEST Vowels:/a/ (as in farther) /u/ oo (as in too) /i/ ee (as in bee) Fricatives:// sh (as in ship) /s/ s (as in sun) Nasal:/m/ m (as in me)

Variables Technique – detection/identification Response – pointing/repeating Presentation level – whisper/normal/loud Distance – 3 feet / 6 feet / 12 feet Reliability – Good/fair/poor Monaural vs binaural

Instructions 1. Sit beside the student and instruct them to listen (can repeat at 3 feet) 2. Using normal conversational level, present each sound using listening alone 3. Present sounds in random order 4. Occasionally say nothing. 5. Goal – to have the student repeat the sounds

Tips…. Timing – keep it short and sweet! role reversal – let the child make the sounds and you respond accordingly imitation – play a copying game – allow the child to sequence sounds and you copy them

Acoustic Highlighting Your voice is your best tool. You can modify: Intensity – loudness Rate – speed/pausing & waiting Rhythm Intonation - musciality

Speech most audible if… No background noise Close to microphone Repetition is provided Simple utterance Slower rate of speech Key word(s) at end of the utterance Closed set Acoustic highlighting utilized

Speech less audible if… Background noise present Distance from microphone is increased Message presented only once Complex utterance Normal rate of utterance Little or no specific acoustic emphasis Key word(s) at beginning/whole utterance Open set

The Hand Cue used to emphasize use of audition signals the child to listen intently adult briefly covers mouth if there is eye contact with the child – can talk through a stuffed animal, toy or book adult prompts for vocal imitation

Acitivity Role play: Making speech audible Adult – engage the child for one minute with the toy/object in your bag. Child – respond to the audibility & acoustic highlighting rather than the content.

Experience Books The single most important activity for building a knowledge-base required for reading success is reading aloud (Trelease, 2001) Teach the child to want to read and focus less on how to read Identify Early Literacy Beginnings and Reading Alternatives for Poor Attention Spans

Experience Book Diary or journal from a very young age Uses topics of interest & real life experiences Can be use to build vocabulary, reinforce new grammatical elements (prepositions, pronouns etc) Encourage child to retell many times to familiar others (Miguel……) Stories/events re/created with the child- hands on!

Additional Book Ideas for Creating Readers Over sized big books Books with props/flap books Photo Albums Books with relevance – Things that go All about me Books with sounds Thematic teaching Informational texts

Soap making

Questions How did the early American colonists make soap? What is a strigil? How did the Spanish and Egyptians obtain alkalis?

How could this have been made easier? Discussion Vocabulary review Rate of presentation Repetition & Review Visual aids

Pre-teaching Best managed as a team – parents can provide useful support Prepares the child for new areas of learning – increases confidence Encourages acquisition of new vocabulary Allows child to access curriculum at their own level of language development – increase complexity gradually Enables language goals to be addressed alongside the curriculum

A Students perspective The thing I remember the most, especially in high school (Gr 6 to 12) is having Mrs Owen come in and spend time with me before we started a new topic in English or Science. When the class had new work, I was prepared. I knew some of the words and concepts. It was tiring sometimes because my mum would insist on doing it again (smile), but looking back now, it was worth it. (Nicky, 26, Audiologist).

Putting it all together….. Using the small picture card in your snack bag…consider how to adapt for: Pre –verbal child (make sounds/label) Early language user (combining 2 words) Sentence user (3+ words; here and now) Story teller (complex sentences; outside the here and now) Write down an example for each level – to share with the group. Prize for the best effort!