This document provides an overview of a professional development session for special education teachers on oral language. It begins with defining oral language and its importance for learning. It then outlines strategies for improving students' oral language skills, including introducing new texts, teaching group roles, and using Blank's Levels of Questioning. The document also discusses how oral language relates to literacy, common causes of language difficulties, and the language demands of the classroom. Sample activities are provided to incorporate the strategies into classroom instruction.

1. Oral Language
9/7/07 Special Education Teachers PD
Compiled and Presented by
Danielle Young

2. Session Outline
• Brief Overview of Oral Language
– What is it? Why is it important?
• Strategies for the Classroom
- Activity 1 – New Text Introduction
- Activity 2 – Teaching Group Roles
- Activity 3 – Blank’s Levels of Questioning
• Bandscales – Vanessa Boal
• Resources Available – Judy Hutchinson

3. How do Children Learn to
Talk?
They require:
• Good speaking and listening models
• An interactive environment
• Exposure to books and games
• Encouragement to play and make believe
• An introduction to rhymes and songs

4. How do Children Learn to
Talk?
• Encouragement to talk in a variety of
situations with a variety of people
• Repetitive language (eg. rhymes,
stories)
• A purpose for talking
• An expectation to communicate
• Opportunities to use and practice
language

5. What is Oral Language?

6. Speech  Language
In Speech Language Pathology terms,
speech and language are very
different
• Speech = the mechanical process, involving co-
ordination of brain, nerves, muscles, and breathing to
produce sounds
• Language = exchanging meaning using sounds, symbols,
words and groups of words (eg; following instructions,
speaking in full sentences, participating in conversations)

7. So...what is oral
language?

8. Language to Literacy Model
Martha Cummings, Ph.D. CCC-S
Speech Pathology Australia
National Conference Alice Springs 2002
Oral
Language
Phonological
Awareness
Phonics
Decoding
and spelling
Reading
comprehensio
n

9. Language
• Expressive Language (Speaking)
Expressive language is the ability to
express ideas, wants and needs ( Naming
objects, using the correct words, using the correct
grammar, sentence structure, retelling a story).
• Receptive Language (Listening)
Receptive language is the ability to
understand language (ie. Understanding vocabulary,
following directions, concept knowledge, understanding
different sentence structure)

10. Language
Pragmatics
Pragmatics is referred to as social skills or
conversational behaviours. It includes:
• Establishing and maintaining eye contact
• Beginning, ending and maintaining a conversation
• Turntaking
• Greetings
• Understanding body language
• Selecting a conversational topic
• Appropriately disagreeing

11. Language Difficulties
• What is a language delay?
– Acquisition of skills is behind peers but
developmental order is the same; remediable
• What is a language disorder?
– Difficulties or skills not seen in normal
development; may be remedied through
therapy
• What is a language impairment?
– Deficit skills are not able to be remedied;
lifelong difficulties

12. Causes
– Hearing loss (eg. middle ear infections)
– Genetic predisposition (ie family history)
– Siblings talking for them
– Language poor environment
– Psychological (eg. trauma)
– Intellectual or physical Impairment, Autism.
– Cultural factors (ie English second language)
– Unknown

13. How does language
affect learning?

14. Language demands of the
classroom
Language delays and disorders will
impact on all areas of the curriculum
e.g. maths concepts necessary for
comparing and categorising according
to number, shape, size
(ie. What is the number before 20, sort the
elephants from smallest to largest, sort the
objects into groups and name the categories)

15. Strategies to improve
language

16. Strategies to Improve
Language
Simplify
• Simplify your language when the child doesn't understand
• This may require you to
– Re-word your instruction or question, focussing on one information
carrying element at a time
– Break down the question or instruction into more manageable steps
Model and repair
• This is a positive way to stress the words or grammar you want the
child to learn
• Naturally include this in conversation
– For example:
– Child: Him felled down the stairs
– Adult: Yes. He fell down the stairs

17. Strategies to Improve
Language
Offering a choice
• This technique significantly reduces the complexity of the response
• For example: Where’s Spot? (No Response) Is he under the chair or table?
(Table)
Focussing on important information
• The technique helps children identify the part of the request they should
be attending to
• For example: How are these flowers different? (Yes they are different)
What colour is this flower? (Red) And what colour is this one? Etc
Relating unknown to the known
• The technique helps students to make meaning by activating prior
knowledge
• For example: The spaghetti is hard. How will it feel when it is cooked? (I
don’t know) Remember when we cooked the potatoes? How did they feel?
Ask Open ended questions (not yes/no)

18. Strategies to Improve
Language
DO NOT:
• Ask another child the answer
• Challenge the response when it is wrong (Why do
you think that?)
• Say No
These responses affect a child’s self esteem,
they know they are wrong and will gradually not
participate. Stay with the same child to get the
answer by providing prompts/strategies.

19. Activity 1 – New Text
Introduction
• Important to familiarise the
students with the vocabulary they
will need in order to understand it.
• Several activities can be completed
to introduce the text before it is
even read.

20. Group Work - Teaching
the Roles
• Encourager
• Manager
• Recorder
• Reporter

21. ‘Sick Grandma’ Activity
• What present would you choose?
• Why?
• Choices – walking stick, chocolates,
perfume, rug, book, flowers, apples,
hamburger, vitamin pills

22. Blank’s Levels of
Questioning
• Based on research conducted by Blank, Rose and Berlin with
year one students to analyse levels of comprehension
required for the classroom.
• The four levels are categorised according to complexity
from concrete to abstract
• Enables adults to direct questions at the child’s level of
understanding thereby ensuring success for the child
• Able to expose students to questions at the next level to
stimulate development of comprehension skills
• At the beginning of year 1 children need to understand
language from all 4 levels to understand all classroom
language
• Questions require both receptive and expressive language

23. Level 1 – Matching
Perception
“RIGHT THERE – the answer is in front of you”
Apply language to what is seen. Includes matching,
identifying, and naming objects
a. Matching objects “Find one like this”
b. Naming objects “What is this?”
c. Imitating a simple sentence “Say this”
d. Recalling objects or information “What did you
see? (frog)”

24. Level 2 – Selective
Analysis of Perception
“THINK AND SEARCH – the answer is in front of you but you
need to look for it”
Focussing on specific aspects of the question. Includes identifying
objects by function, describing and making basic classifications
a. Identifying an object by function “Find something that cuts
(scissors)”
b. Describing a scene “What is happening?”
c. Recalling information from a statement “What things……….?”
d. Completing a sentence “Finish this: I like…”
e. Attending to 2 characteristics “Find something that is sweet
and red (apple)”
f. Identifying differences “How are these different?”
g. Giving an example within a category “Find a fruit (orange)”

25. Level 3 – Reordering
Perception
“THE AUTHOR AND YOU – the answer is not in front of you,
use clues from the book and form your own answer”
Restructuring and reordering ideas. Includes assuming the role of
another, formulating generalisations and making basic
predictions
a. Predicting “What will happen next?”
b. Taking on the role of another “How would he fix it?”
c. Following a set of directions “Get the cup and bring it to
mummy”
d. Retell a routine sequence “Tell me how to make a sandwich”
e. Identifying similarities “How are these the same? (both hot)”
f. Understanding negatives “Find one that is not red”
g. Defining words “What is a….”

26. Level 4 – Reasoning
About Perception
“IN YOUR HEAD – the answer is not in the book – it is
your own opinion”
Problem solving at a higher level. Includes predictions,
explanations and logical solutions.
a. Predicting changes “What will happen if…”
b. Justifying “Why can’t you use a spoon to row a boat?”
c. Identifying causes “What made it happen”
d. Formulating a solution “What could you do?”
e. Problem solving “How could we fix it?”
f. Explanations “How can you tell he is sad? (because he is
crying)

27. Blank’s Levels of
Questioning Activity
From the book we read earlier come up
with…….
• 2 Level 1 Questions
• 2 Level 2 Questions
• 2 Level 3 Questions
• 2 Level 4 Questions
• Be prepared to answer why your
question is from that level.

28. Thank you for your
attention!
Bandscales – Vanessa Boal
Resources – Judy Hutchinson