Chapter+6



SCENARIO  Ms. Campbell is a language specialist who works with students at both the elementary- and middle-school levels. She has several elementary-level students who have difficulty retrieving words when speaking. Often, these students will shift in their seats and say, “I know it” when trying to describe an event. In addition, these students have trouble participating in group discussions, sharing ideas on a topic, and developing ideas that follow previous learning. Interpreting critical parts of a story is a tremendous challenge for these students. Recently, many of these students have demonstrated immature social skills. They may misinterpret social cues, fail to think of others’ thoughts and feelings, and be unable to predict the consequences of their behavior.

1. One of Ms. Campbell’s students is a bilingual student who speaks Spanish and has acquired English as a second language. What factors should Ms. Campbell consider when assessing this student? Ms. Campbell should do assessments on this student in Spanish. She needs to take into consideration the grammar background that this student has. For example, in English we say "blue coat" but in Spanish they say "coat of blue." These small differences in grammar can significantly affect the students performance on English tests, but may not reflect the students writing, reading, listening, and speaking skills. That is why it is important for Ms. Campbell to assess the student in Spanish.

2. Describe two formal language assessment instruments that Ms. Campbell can use to gain information regarding her students’ language abilities. *Test of Word Finding- 2 would be a great formal language assessment for Ms. Campbell to use. It is for students ages 4-12 and there is another form for people ages 12-80. Ms. Campbell could use this test to assess students on their word finding and comprehension levels. Having an adolescent form of the test would allow Ms. Campbell to test the upper middle school students using a more challenging test to see if/how much they have improved on their word finding and word comprehension skills. *Test of Pragmatic Language- 2 would also be a great formal language assessment for Ms. Campbell to use. In the scenario, it said that the students have immature social skills. This test assesses students on how they act and handle a situation based on the environment they are in. The age group is 6-18 which would work very nicely for the students Ms. Campbell works with.

3. Ms. Campbell believes that one of her kindergarten students has phonological deficits that affect language development. How can she test this student’s phonological skills? The best way to test phonological skills is through direct observation. The book states, "The examiner engages the student in spontaneious speech with picture or toys as stimuli to elicit speech from the student" (p. 209). Phonology can also be assessed informally by analyzing how well the student produces phonemes in single words. The book states, "The examiner makes a list of all the consonant phonemes and collects pictures to depict words that contain each phoneme...The examiner lists all the phoneme errors and determines which phonemes should have been mastered at the student's developmental age" (p. 209).

4. Ms. Campbell wants to use strategies for increasing language production. Present three strategies that may improve the expressive skills of her students. * Comment or elaborate on students' ideas to demonstrate how more information can be expressed and how concepts can be associated. * Use activities such as role playing and charades to improce a student's use of language in different contexts and to enhance the ability to recognize the importance of nonverbal skills such as eye contact, facial expression, and gestures. Also, model and reinforce appropriate turn-taking in conversations. * To improve a student's verbal expression, encourage storytelling activities in which the student must name all of the objects or pictures, tell what is happening, and create an ending.

5. Describe two instructional language games that can be played by Ms. Campbell’s students in small groups.  *Language for Learning, Language for Thinking, and Language for Writing (p. 231) is another great strategy for Ms. Campbell. This program was designed for student in Pre-K to fifth grade. It focuses on expressive and receptive language and cognitive development. This program fits the age group that Ms. Campbell works with and also fits the criteria for improving the expressive skills of her students. <span style="color: #800080; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 140%;">*Descriptors (p.230) would be a great game for Ms. Campbell to have her students play in small groups. The objective is to increase use of effective communication skills. In the scenario, it was said that her students have difficulty participating in group discussion and sharing ideas. This instructional game would help her students become more comfortable working with the other students.

<span style="color: #800080; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 140%;">*A third strategy that Ms. Campbell could use, that is not in small groups, is Vocabulary Development (p.233). Often times when students have a hard time expressing themselves it is due to their size of vocabulary. Vocabulary Development is a computer software program that helps build vocabulary skills for students grade three through nine. Students are able to progress through the program at their own pace. There is also a Vocabulary Development 2 that has more complex structure and challenges students to determine the meaning of a word based on experience and context.

Reference: Teaching Students with Learning Problems, 8th Edition, Cecil D. Mercer; Ann R. Mercer; Paige C. Pullen (2011)