1. Language, the Vehicle That Drives the Curriculum: Identifying Vulnerabilities in Prospective Students
NYSAIS
Admissions Directors’ Conference
April 26, 2017
Lydia H. Soifer, Ph.D.
Pediatric Language and Literacy Specialist
Educational Program Consultant
© 2017 Lydia H. Soifer, Ph.D. All Rights Reserved

2. Who is this Child? Neurology Personality Temperament
Lydia H. Soifer, Ph.D., 2006
RRe
Cognition
Attention/
Executive
Functions
Emotional
Function
Sensory Motor
Language
Academics
Working
Memory
Personality
Temperament

3. The Components of Language
Bloom and Lahey 1978
CONTENT
Meaning component
Vocabulary and beyond
USE
Reasons to use language (purposes)
Purposes and intentions for using language
Conversational competence
FORM
Sound system
Word structure
Grammar
Content
Use
Form

4. Language and Cognition (Bloom and Lahey 1978; Soifer 2006)
Form
Use
Content
Attention
Memory
Executive Functions
Information Processing
Affect
Experience
© 2017 Lydia H. Soifer, Ph.D.
All Rights Reserved.

5. Oral Language is the Foundation of Literacy
Content
Use
Listen Speak
Read Write
Decoding
Vocabulary - Sentence Comprehension
Paragraph - Text Comprehension
Form
© 2017 Lydia H. Soifer, Ph.D.
All Rights Reserved.

6. Oral Language is the Foundation of Literacy
Content
Use
Listen Speak
Read Write
Decoding
Vocabulary - Sentence Comprehension
Paragraph - Text Comprehension
Form
© 2017 Lydia H. Soifer, Ph.D.
All Rights Reserved.

7. Common Symptoms of Specific Language Problems: CONTENT
Word finding difficulties
Overuse of limited vocabulary
Inappropriate use of words (chooses wrong word)
Narrow, more concrete meanings for words
Difficulty with multiple meaning words
Deficient comprehensions of basic vocabulary and concepts
Difficulty categorizing in verbal tasks
MICHAEL AARONSON LOOKING AT THE OLD VERSION OF THE PPVT IN WHICH THERE WERE LINE DRAWINGS NOT COLORED PICTURES:
“BETTER NOT GIVE THSE GUYS TO THE FUTURE BECAUSE THERE’LL BE DIFFERENT KINDS OF SLEEPING, MOVING, THERE’LL BE A DIFFERENT KIND OF HISTORY TEST.”
MOM WENT TO A BRIDAL SHOWER. BEFORE SHE LEFT, SHE EXPLAINED TO HER SON WHAT A BRIDAL SHOWER WAS. LATER WHEN THE CHILD WAS ASKED WHERE HIS MOTHER
WAS, HE RESPONDED, “OH, SHE WENT TO A BATH.”
© 2017 Lydia H. Soifer, Ph.D.
All Rights Reserved.

8. Common Symptoms of Specific Language Problems: USE
Less conversational control in terms of introducing, maintaining and changing topics
Difficulty determining the language demands of a situation, either social or academic
Problems determining and adapting to listener needs
© 2017 Lydia H. Soifer, Ph.D.
All Rights Reserved.

9. Common Symptoms of Specific Language Problems: FORM
Difficulty in activities related to phonological awareness
Use of immature grammar
Difficulty understanding and using multiple part verb forms
Limited use and understanding of conjunctions
Difficulty determining the relationships in more complex sentences
ASKED WHY THE GIRL IN THE PICTURE WAS SAD, ANN, 8, SAID: “BECAUSE SHE DOESN’T GET AS MUCH AS THE ATTENTION.
© 2017 Lydia H. Soifer, Ph.D.
All Rights Reserved.

10. Common Symptoms of Language Problems: Language and Cognition
Content, Use, Form and Cognition
Trouble remembering information and repeating information presented orally
Difficulty following oral directions
Use of stereotyped starters
Difficulty organizing thoughts and being succinct
© 2017 Lydia H. Soifer, Ph.D.
All Rights Reserved.

11. Common Symptoms of Language Problems: Language and Cognition con’t
Reduced ability to abstract and express details effectively
Difficulty making inferences, prediction, drawing conclusions
Difficulty providing information in sequence
Difficulty in auditory memory, attention, comprehension
© 2017 Lydia H. Soifer, Ph.D.
All Rights Reserved.

12. Early Identification of Language Based Reading Difficulties
Speech Sound Awareness
Word Retrieval
Verbal Memory
Speech Production and Perception
Comprehension
Productive Language
MICHAEL AARONSON LOOKING AT THE OLD VERSION OF THE PPVT IN WHICH THERE WERE LINE DRAWINGS NOT COLORED PICTURES:
“BETTER NOT GIVE THSE GUYS TO THE FUTURE BECAUSE THERE’LL BE DIFFERENT KINDS OF SLEEPING, MOVING, THERE’LL BE A DIFFERENT KIND OF HISTORY TEST.”
MOM WENT TO A BRIDAL SHOWER. BEFORE SHE LEFT, SHE EXPLAINED TO HER SON WHAT A BRIDAL SHOWER WAS. LATER WHEN THE CHILD WAS ASKED WHERE HIS MOTHER
WAS, HE RESPONDED, “OH, SHE WENT TO A BATH.”
© 2017 Lydia H. Soifer, Ph.D.
All Rights Reserved.

13. Language Expectations for Adolescents
Language for more intensive social interactions
Language at a more literate level
Language for critical thinking and executive function
Vocabulary of literate forms
Advanced adverbial conjuncts (similarly, moreover)
Adverbs of likelihood (definitely, possibly) and magnitude (extremely, considerably)
Precise and technical terms related to curricular content (bacteria, fascism)
Verbs with presuppositional (regret), metalinguistic (predict, infer, imply), and metacognitive components (hypothesize, observe) components
MICHAEL AARONSON LOOKING AT THE OLD VERSION OF THE PPVT IN WHICH THERE WERE LINE DRAWINGS NOT COLORED PICTURES:
“BETTER NOT GIVE THSE GUYS TO THE FUTURE BECAUSE THERE’LL BE DIFFERENT KINDS OF SLEEPING, MOVING, THERE’LL BE A DIFFERENT KIND OF HISTORY TEST.”
MOM WENT TO A BRIDAL SHOWER. BEFORE SHE LEFT, SHE EXPLAINED TO HER SON WHAT A BRIDAL SHOWER WAS. LATER WHEN THE CHILD WAS ASKED WHERE HIS MOTHER
WAS, HE RESPONDED, “OH, SHE WENT TO A BATH.”
© 2017 Lydia H. Soifer, Ph.D.
All Rights Reserved.

14. Identification of Language Based Difficulties
The concerns
Does not always understand or give the expected answer
Slow to listen and respond
Responses are brief and not always specific
Vocabulary is restricted; definitional forms are immature
Grammar is unsophisticated
Limited use of subordinate and coordinate clauses
Limited use of mature coordinating and subordinating conjunctions
MICHAEL AARONSON LOOKING AT THE OLD VERSION OF THE PPVT IN WHICH THERE WERE LINE DRAWINGS NOT COLORED PICTURES:
“BETTER NOT GIVE THSE GUYS TO THE FUTURE BECAUSE THERE’LL BE DIFFERENT KINDS OF SLEEPING, MOVING, THERE’LL BE A DIFFERENT KIND OF HISTORY TEST.”
MOM WENT TO A BRIDAL SHOWER. BEFORE SHE LEFT, SHE EXPLAINED TO HER SON WHAT A BRIDAL SHOWER WAS. LATER WHEN THE CHILD WAS ASKED WHERE HIS MOTHER
WAS, HE RESPONDED, “OH, SHE WENT TO A BATH.”
© 2017 Lydia H. Soifer, Ph.D.
All Rights Reserved.

15. It Isn’t Easy. You Need a Really Good Ear!
MICHAEL AARONSON LOOKING AT THE OLD VERSION OF THE PPVT IN WHICH THERE WERE LINE DRAWINGS NOT COLORED PICTURES:
“BETTER NOT GIVE THSE GUYS TO THE FUTURE BECAUSE THERE’LL BE DIFFERENT KINDS OF SLEEPING, MOVING, THERE’LL BE A DIFFERENT KIND OF HISTORY TEST.”
MOM WENT TO A BRIDAL SHOWER. BEFORE SHE LEFT, SHE EXPLAINED TO HER SON WHAT A BRIDAL SHOWER WAS. LATER WHEN THE CHILD WAS ASKED WHERE HIS MOTHER
WAS, HE RESPONDED, “OH, SHE WENT TO A BATH.”
© 2017 Lydia H. Soifer, Ph.D.
All Rights Reserved.

16. Language, the Vehicle That Drives the Curriculum: Identifying Vulnerabilities in Prospective Students
NYSAIS
Admissions Directors’ Conference
April 26, 2017
Lydia H. Soifer, Ph.D.
Pediatric Language and Literacy Specialist
Educational Program Consultant
© 2017 Lydia H. Soifer, Ph.D. All Rights Reserved