Unit 4: Methods and techniques of language development in DHH students
4.1 Principles of teaching language
4.2 Methods of teaching language; Natural, Structural & Combined
4.3 Techniques of teaching language: News conversation, Directed activity, Visits, Storytelling
4.4 Dramatization, play and activities for language development
4.5 Poems and rhymes for developing language and supra-segmental
4.1 Principles of teaching language
The identification of communicative competence as the goal of language learning has led to a major shift in the ways that language teaching professionals understand and carry out their work. The result has been a move from an older traditional model to a newer contemporary one.
Traditional model: In the traditional model, language learning is understood as a product of transmission. The teacher transmits knowledge about the language. The learner is the recipient of the transmission.
Contemporary model: The contemporary model views language learning as a process of discovery. The learner develops the ability to use the language for specific communication purposes. The teacher models language use and facilitates the learners development of language skills that can be applied in real-life situations.
Comparing the Two Models
The traditional model is often described as teacher centered and classroom oriented, while the contemporary model may be described as learner centered and community (or real world) oriented. The differences between the traditional model and the contemporary model are summarized in the following table.
|
TRADITIONAL MODEL |
CURRENT MODEL |
|
Focus is on teacher |
Focus is on both learners and teacher |
|
Focus is on language forms and structures (what the teacher knows about the language) |
Focus is on language use in typical situations (how learners will use the language to convey meaning) |
|
Learning materials are made for the classroom |
Learning materials are drawn from real life |
|
Teacher talks; learners listen |
Teacher models; learners interact with teacher and one another |
|
Learners work alone for the most part |
Students work in pairs, in groups, or alone depending on the purpose of the activity |
|
Teacher monitors and corrects every learner utterance |
Learners talk without constant teacher monitoring; teacher provides feedback/correction when questions arise |
|
Teacher answers learners questions about language |
Learners answer each other s questions, using teacher as an information resource |
|
Teacher chooses topics |
Learners have some choice of topics |
|
Teacher evaluates learning |
Learners evaluate their own learning; teacher also evaluates |
|
Classroom is quiet |
Classroom is often noisy and busy |
Language learning is related to the formation of a set of habits. In the case of learning one's mother tongue, though these principles are involved, a learner acquires the language, being unaware of it and without any conscious effort. But when a language is being acquired in a formal set up, as a second language, it becomes necessary for a language teacher to apply all these principles for the teaching and learning of a language. Sharma and Tuteja (2001) gave the principles of language learning which are as under:
1. Principle of Speech
When a second language is taught in a school situation, it is common that the teacher follows LSRW skills. She follows oral approach in the beginning to teach the audio-lingual skills first followed by reading and writing. Language as we all know is vocal-auditory channel. This principle very clearly explains that without the primary knowledge of language patterns, speech is incomplete, imperfect and inefficient to decipher the written material. If the students master the language orally, they will be ready to read and write as a follow up activity. Students who first learn to write or understand the script cannot as a rule learn to speak by thems elves. Teacher can use suitable models of speaking like tapes or disc recordings so that the students learn the language by imitation.
2. Principle of Basic Sentences
These are practical principles advocated by almost all linguists based on psychological justification. Students can easily imitate or repeat longer utterances or sentences easily in their mother tongue rather than in a foreign language. The memory span of the child will be short and there is every chance that he forgets what he listens to, when he is learning a second language. The student cannot use the examples to understand the grammar or create other sentences by analogy because he does not remember them. To help him overcome this difficulty, he can start using and memorizing simple conversational sentences.
3. Principle of Patterns as Habits
The primary aim of learning language is using it in day-to-day life. For writing, one can use sentences and they are constructed with the help of patterns. To know the language is to use its patterns of construction with appropriate vocabulary at normal speed for communication. Verbalizing or understanding a pattern is of little use until the student forms the habit to practice patterns. Practice will assist the student to learn and use the language through variation as related to the situation.
4. Principle of Sound System
Language is spoken in form and is verbal in nature. Language should be taught to the students with the help of sound system. These sounds can be taught to the students through various methods like demonstration, imitation, props, contrast and practice. The sound system has to be taught with the use of structures and vocabulary. But the child cannot learn through mere observation. Partial attempts, drops in the form of articulator clues and minimal contracts eventually focus the phonemic differences and the child will learn to grasp the intricacies of sound.
5. Principle of Vocabulary Control
When a child begins to learn any language, one first learns to master the sound system and then grammatical patterns. To help one construct correct sentences, vocabulary should be taught. But this should be minimal, selected and graded properly. If too many words are thrust on the minds of the students, they cannot probably learn quickly. So, if the load of vocabulary is minimum at first, they can easily learn basic patterns and significant sounds. Vocabulary can be expanded later when these basic structures have been mastered through practice.
6. Principle of Teaching the Problems
The child invariably learns first language and second language in a school situation. It is also very true that there exist a lot of structural differences between the first language and the second language. These can be termed as problems. Though these are not exactly problems; they require conscious understanding. The teacher need not concentrate on these aspects in the beginning itself and teach the problems to the students. Instead, the teacher can present language in meaningful situations. This helps the students pick up language and its use clearly. Practice of language in situations will make the student learn language without any confusion.
7. Principle of Writing as Representation of Speech
This principle means to say that teaching of the graphic symbols and the associations of these symbols with the language units they represent are separate tasks. It also implies that teaching reading and writing are distinct from teaching speech and should not be confused with it. Language learning is based on LSRW skills. The conventional and scientific principles of learning emphasize that language learning starts with the teaching of listening first.
8. Principle of Graded Patterns
Patterns should be taught gradually in cumulative graded steps especially in second language teaching. This principle specifies that it is better to teach with the help of sentence patterns, rather than with the words. Early in teaching, there should be graded questions and responses, request and greetings as well as statements. This can be followed by sub-sentence elements such as, parts of speech, structure of sentences; words and modification structures. Later on, we can add new element or pattern to previous ones.
9. Principle of Language Practice versus Translation
It is a universal fact that languages are equal and important. But it is also true that no two languages are similar. There is no possibility of complete equivalents or substitutes in any two languages. Hence, word-to-word translations are impossible. If at all the translation is done, it tends to produce incorrect constructions.
10.Principle of Authentic Language Standards
A language has to be taught as it is. A language is a structure of communication and no single dialect can be accepted as standard, the usage of people using the language should be taken into consideration. This principle implies to say that the language used by people is authentic. While it is being taught it has to be kept in mind that usage of language occupies prominent place in the learning of language.
As natural acquisition of communication skills is hampered by hearing impairment to varying degrees, it is necessary for the school to provide additional programmes to facilitate the development of language and fluent speech in the children.
Since hearing impaired children suffer from different degrees of hearing impairment and their speech and language abilities are different, individual Speech and Language sessions, tailored to meet their different learning needs, are necessary. It is best to arrange short, frequent sessions for the children to meet the same teacher or speech therapist. The teaching session should best be conducted in a quiet environment (preferably a sound-proof room). Group Speech and Language sessions are also recommended as they help to generate interactions between the children and the teacher and among the children themselves.
It is important for the teacher and the speech therapist designing and conducting these sessions to be competent in Speech and Language teaching and to have a sound knowledge of children's language development in their early childhood.
Speech and Language includes such learning areas as auditory learning, speech teaching, speech reading, language learning and
social skills in communication.
These various learning areas are elaborated as follows:
Auditory Learning
Auditory learning is a process in which hearing impaired children develop their residual hearing through guided listening practice. The teacher needs to give the children auditory exercises which involve the use of environmental sounds, music and speech. Auditory learning requires a clear presentation of a systematically arranged, progressive sequence of activities. These activities will ensure that, through the following stimuli employed, the children will acquire the skills of detection, identification, discrimination and comprehension:
(a) Basic skills required in detection include:
Auditory awareness -- the awareness of the presence and absence of sounds
Auditory attention -- the ability to attend to sounds
Localization -- the awareness of the direction of sounds
Auditory memory -- the ability to recall a sequence of sounds heard, e.g. a rhythmic pattern made by a musical instrument or by the human voice
(b) Basic skills required in identification, discrimination and comprehension include:
Identification of the sources of sounds -- e.g. a drum, a rattle, a telephone, animal noise, the human voice (male and female) and other environmental noise.
Differentiation of the following qualities of sounds -- duration (long and short sounds), intensity (loud and soft sounds), and pitch (high and low sounds).
Imitation of sounds -- the ability to repeat a sound heard, e.g. by beating a rhythmic pattern on a drum or by saying a phoneme, a syllable, a word, a phrase or a sentence heard.
Response to sounds -- the ability to react appropriately to different sounds, especially to the spoken language, by carrying out a command, answering a question or re-telling a short story heard.
Speech Teaching
|
(a) |
Speech teaching is closely linked to auditory learning. If the natural learning approach fails, a more structured one should be used. A cumulative, sequential programme is recommended. The teacher should help the children learn speech first in the auditory mode. The visual mode or even the tactile mode, if required, can also be enlisted. But, whatever mode is used, he should still emphasize the importance of the auditory mode. |
|
(b) |
At a phonetic level, the teacher needs to ensure that the children can produce speech with appropriate suprasegmental elements (duration, intensity and pitch) and the phonemes (vowels, diphthongs, consonants and blendsv ). |
|
(c) |
At a phonological level, attention has to be given to morphology, semantics and syntax. The transfer of skills from the phonetic to the phonological level requires careful planning on the part of the teacher. Besides, the teacher needs to ensure that the children are given sufficient motivation, practice and reinforcement. |
Speech Reading
Speech reading should be learnt as a supplement to listening. It should not be regarded as a separate skill. To prepare the children for real-life situations, speech reading and listening skills should be practised both in the presence and absence of background noise. Language Learning
It is important for hearing impaired children to be given sufficient opportunities for meaningful verbal interactions both in real life and in contrived situations. In developing daily conversational skills in the children, the teacher can consider the following suggestions:
(a) using questions to develop answering skills
(b) using open-ended questions to develop narrative skills
(c) using action phrases or pictures to develop sequencing skills
(d) using pictures or activities to develop descriptive skills
(e) using activities to develop questioning skills
(5) Social Skills in Communication
Some of the social skills are: initiating a conversation, maintaining eye contact with the speaker, taking turns, asking for an explanation when necessary, ending a conversation, etc. These social skills can be developed in contrived situations.
Following are language approaches, and the skills that are sometimes included in each of them:
Records of the children's personal information should be kept. The information should include their medical history, causes and onset of deafness, previous speech and language learning and attainment, hearing age (the age when a child first uses a hearing aid), hearing aid usage, etc.
Based on the information, a programme can be designed in progressive stages to ensure the transfer of learnt communication and problem-solving skills from the classroom to everyday life situations.
Evaluation of Speech and Language programmes may take many forms. Periodic assessment, formal or informal, may be used to detect the children's levels of attainment and provide a basis for designing remedial programmes in Speech and Language learning.
4.2 Methods of teaching language; Natural, Structural & Combined
Natural Method
The natural method is a communicative view of language which stresses the fact that language is composed of different parts. It recognizes the difference between learning a language consciously and unconsciously. It is also known as a direct method of teaching.
This approach aims to mimic natural language learning with a focus on communication and instruction through exposure. It de-emphasizes formal grammar training. Instead, instructors concentrate on creating a stress-free environment and avoiding forced language production from students.
Teachers also do not explicitly correct student mistakes. The goal is to reduce student anxiety and encourage them to engage with the second language spontaneously.
Classroom procedures commonly used in the natural approach are problem-solving activities, learning games, affective-humanistic tasks that involve the students own ideas, and content practices that synthesize various subject matter, like culture. The Natural Approach takes its cues from how first language is naturally learned by children. That process is then simulated for teaching adults a second language.
Just as there s a silent period when babies don t utter a single comprehensible word, the Natural Approach gives time for learners to simply listen and absorb the language. Producing correctly pronounced words and phrases comes later in the learning curve. The emergence of speech isn t a first priority. Listening comprehension is the priority.
So, early on in the process, students don t need to speak at all. They have to observe, to read the situation, to guess the meanings of words, to make mistakes and self-correct, just like babies!
In addition, the Natural Approach sees a difference between learning and acquisition.
Learning a language requires textbooks, grammar lessons and rote memory. Acquiring a language only requires an immersive process of repetition, correction and recall. While other methods have teachers leading students in a choral pronunciation of words written on a board, the Natural Approach has the teacher bouncing a ball and repeatedly saying ball. She s also showing them pictures of different kinds of balls. She has the class play a game with the object. Or she hides the object and says, find the ball!
The Natural Approach believes that the more the students lose themselves in the activity, the better their handle on the language will be.
Advantages of Natural approach:
students acquire the target language in a natural and easy way.
well-designed and carefully chosen materials ensure that the students
acquire language from easy to difficult, from simple to complex, and from
concrete to abstract.
the natural approach creates an excellent environment for beginners.
students interact in meaningful situations at their own level.
this approach requires all activities to be engaging and motivating
Disadvantages of Natural Approach:
students may speak fluently, but not always accurately
amassing engaging, meaningful tasks this approach requires is quite a bit of
work for the teacher
doesn t seem as effective for more advanced students
some students require a more demanding approach in order to improve
Hearing children in their early years undergo natural language development through the parent/child interactions witnessed all over the world. The bonding, the play, the face to face interactions and the songs and games of parenting allow the child s language to develop naturally. This is the foundation of the Natural Aural Approach by building on this natural interaction and ensuring an intensive and high quality experience, language development in deaf children is equally facilitated.
The natural response of all babies brains deaf or hearing is to key in and to respond to oral language and the voices of their caregivers. With effective early interaction, normally hearing children derive their knowledge of vocabulary and their understanding of the syntax and semantics of language. By the age of four, most will have achieved this remarkable feat in a relaxed and comfortable manner out of their communication experiences within the routines of their daily lives. The creation of similar, relaxed communication experiences from which hearing impaired children can also absorb language is one of the central tenets of the Natural Aural Approach.
As children say what they hear, the Natural Aural Approach prioritises the use of residual hearing as the basis for effective communication, language and later achievement. It highlights the need for effective hearing aid and cochlear implant fitting, management and ongoing support following as soon as possible after the diagnosis of a hearing loss. Practitioners of the Natural Aural Approach think about hearing rather than deafness, explore what can be heard and develop the innate potential of the child. With optimal auditory and audiological management from the point of diagnosis the deaf baby, infant and child has every opportunity to learn to listen. However the Natural Aural approach is more than just developing listening awareness. It is a way of living learning to listen and listening to learn.
Natural Auralism IS:
Structural Method - Fitzgerald Key, APPLE TREE programme, Barry Five Slate system, Colour Code System
Structural approaches believe that language can be reduced to a learnable set of building blocks. There are rules, known as grammar and syntax, that govern how to combine these basic elements. These rules can be memorized to achieve a high level of proficiency in a language.
Some proponents would even go so far as saying that there s a predetermined sequence in which a language should be learned. Grammar textbooks are the most commonly used material in this category.
Bremington: Structural approach to English a Scientific study of the fundamental structure of English language, their analysis and logical arrangement .
Menon & Patel: The structural approach is based on the belief that in the learning a foreign language, mastery of structure is more important than the acquisition vocabulary .
1. It imparts the knowledge of structures in English to facilitate language learning.
2. Students can gain mastery of over 275 basic vocabularies and structures by the time they finish school.
3. The child learns word order, use of words, and grammar automatically after learning the structure of sentences.
4. It is called English through play way because it encourages learners to use English every day.
5. It focuses on the basic four language skills learning, writing, speaking, and reading.
1. The problem of teaching English is not solved by the selection and gradation of structures because it only helps the teacher to learn what is taught and what to teach next.
2. The continuous teaching of structures can make the class dull, mechanical, and monotonous.
3. It may be more suitable for junior classes but not applicable for higher classes with many branches of the English language.
4. This approach follows a rigid methodology.
5. It is time-consuming and completing the syllabus may be difficult.
The Fitzgerald Key was developed by Edith Fitzgerald in 1929 (Lautenschlager, 2016). At the time, the primary focus of this tool was teaching grammar to individuals who were hearing impaired or deaf. This visual support system has since expanded and evolved over time.
The Modified Fitzgerald Key, as it relates to AAC, is a system of using color-coded display designs within an AAC system to increase visual access and linguistic relationships (Thistle & Wilkinson, 2009).
Presently, the term Modified Fitzgerald Key has extended to the realm of augmentative and alternative communication (AAC). The Modified Fitzgerald Key, as it relates to AAC, is a system of using color-coded display designs within an AAC system to increase visual access and linguistic relationships (Thistle & Wilkinson, 2009). Basically, it uses a specific color-coding system to represent different grammatical categories and parts of speech (e.g., green for verbs, yellow for pronouns, orange for nouns, etc.). The Modified Fitzgerald Key can be incorporated into low tech AAC systems, such as communication boards, to high tech AAC systems, such as speech-generating devices (SGDs). For SGDs, the Modified Fitzgerald Key is a primary feature for many pre-programmed core word templates.
Color coding symbols by grammatical categories or parts of speech is a well-established practice. There are two main approaches to doing this, the Modified Fitzgerald Key, and the system developed by Goossens, Crain, & Elder.
Modified Fitzgerald Key
Goossens, Crain, and Elder
Both conventions are used in AAC. Which one should you use? Whichever seems best for the clients you serve. The most important thing about the color coding schema is that it stay consistent. We don t want to make a communication with pink verbs only to find that the SGD displays verbs in green. It s important to check in with anyone involved in making or choosing AAC materials for your client so that everyone is on the same page.
Ways of Coloring
Using color coding by part of speech can help the communicator locate the desired message on a communication board. There are three basic ways to implement this:
Background: The cell has a colored background fill. Sometimes the background fills the entire cell and other times a white box is left around the AAC symbol or the text.
Border: The cell has a colored border. Borders can vary in shape and line thickness to further differentiate classes of words. E.g.,Main verbs might have a thick green border and auxiliaries could have a thin green border.
Title Bar: The area around the text has a colored background but the rest of the cell does not.
Again, the most important thing is to be consistent in using these strategies. If a thin pink border signifies a present tense verb on one of Johnny s communication boards, then that same border should be used on his other boards, SGD, AAC app, etc.
APPLE TREE programme
Another extensively used program that emerged during this period was the Apple Tree curriculum developed by teachers at the Iowa School for the Deaf. A Patterned Program for Linguistic Expansion Through Reinforced Experiences and Evaluation is still commercially available and advertised not only for use with d/Dhh children but for other special education populations and for English language learners. The curriculum includes a set of ten workbooks presenting ten basic sentence patterns and additional transformation forms. Though these workbooks were intended only to supplement other more natural language learning experiences, many schools for the deaf in the U.S. adopted them as a complete language program for language instruction.
The new Apple Tree Curriculum for Developing Written Language is a language system that provides a sequence of procedures for the construction and development of basic English sentence structures. Retaining the same time-tested teaching strategies as the original, its main thrust is to help the student develop written language skills.
Although this curriculum was designed for the hearing impaired, it is also appropriate for students learning English as a second language and those with specific language impairment.
Improvements in the new edition include redesigned workbooks and teacher's manual, updated illustrations, and fully integrated pre- and post-test materials included within the manual for convenience. The content of the curriculum has been revised to reflect the needs of diverse populations.
The Apple Tree Program:
Reinforces and builds on material previously introduced. Allows for development of vocabulary and related concepts. Uses small steps to ensure students' success and continuous learning
To help students to improve written language proficiency, the Apple Tree Curriculum uses a core repertoire of five teaching strategies: Comprehension, Manipulation, Substitution, Production, and Transformation. A brief explanation of each follows:
Comprehension is developing the student's understanding of vocabulary, concepts, and the structure of written language patterns. When an individual is exposed to new vocabulary, ideas, or concepts, he or she must be given ample opportunity to relate this to what he or she already knows and to internalize this within the realm of his or her own experience before the person can be expected to give it back in the form of natural language. Too often, we fail to allow the time or provide meaningful experience for this internalizing process.
Manipulation is a procedure to help the student understand the structure of language. By manipulating words or phrases, the student develops an awareness that certain words fit into specific slots or positions in a sentence. It may seem at first to be card shuffling tricks, but for most individuals a "do-it-yourself" packet of word cards is worth more than a thousand words of verbal explanation of how a sentence is made. For students with hearing impairment or specific language disability or for speakers of English as a second language, the manipulation of sentence segments into proper positions gives a visual image of the language structure.
Substitution is a teaching procedure that allows the student to use the known to explore the unknown. By working with only one variable at a time within the sentence structure, the student can feel secure in his or her writing ability and can achieve a greater degree of success.
Production results when the student has comprehended and internalized the structure form so effectively that he or she can produce it spontaneously.
Transformations are the rearrangements made in the simple sentence patterns. The basic structure of language is presented in the positive form, but everyone needs a more complex language with which to express the total self. This program presents strategies for teaching the negative transformation and puts much emphasis on the vital question transformations. All children are curious, but too often the curiosity of an individual with hearing impairment or specific language disability is stifled because he or she has not learned how to ask questions.
Barry Five Slate system
Another structured and grammatical approach to teaching English was the Five Slate System, later known as the Barry Slate System, published in 1899 by Katherine Barry, which according to Schmitt was widely used in the early 1900s at many schools for the deaf. At the time, Barry was a teacher at the Colorado School for the Deaf. Her purpose was to present a visible sentence skeleton to the students in which the students could place simple language forms. The five slates , set up as columns, refer to the different parts of speech: subject, verb, object of the verb, preposition, and object of the preposition. Eventually, a sixth slate was added for time and time phrases. Initially the slates used students names and familiar objects and events to teach the system, and then students were expected to rely less on the slate headings, having internalized each sentence structure. Barry s curriculum was one of the first published curricula for the deaf and hard of hearing and was used at nearly every school for the deaf in the country during the early twentieth century.
Each of the systems constructed by Wing, Barry, and Fitzgerald emphasized the use of visible cues to indicate parts of speech and how to use them to form simple English sentences. The ultimate goal for each curriculum was to enable d/Dhh students to understand English sentence structure and then to be able to generate meaningful sentences independently. Although the Wing Symbols, The Five Slate System, and the Fitzgerald Key were widely accepted by deaf educators and used for generations in the schools, it is questionable whether this goal of generalization was fully achieved for most d/Dhh children, and there was no research base to formally document their success other than anecdotal acclaim or critique.
Combined Method (Maternal Reflective Method)
Children listening to each other, talking to each other, sharing, having arguments, expressing opinions confidently and holding on to them, displaying a sense of humour, appreciating the spoken and unspoken feelings of others, using figurative language creatively.
This is what we strive for in our aim to develop a living, spoken language for the deaf children we teach. The Maternal Reflective Method is an approach to language teaching which was pioneered by an educational psychologist Father Van Uden, in St. Michielsgestel, a school for the Deaf in Holland.
For many years, staff in St. John s searched to find a way of teaching a living, spoken language to deaf children. There was the belief that language must be real to have any meaning, that it must be a vehicle to convey fact, idea and emotion from one human being to another and that it must be used as a means to an end.
Human values are deeply enshrined in the process which begins to take place when there is real conversation e.g. awareness of another, the wish to communicate with another, the willingness to listen to another, the willingness to take one s turn with another, and a real interest in what another has to say, in short, the quality of empathy.
Close links with St. Michielsgestel, enabled us to appreciate the consistency, continuity and commitment which was needed to develop the approach at St. John s. Whilst the philosophy and principles of the method have been maintained, it has been adapted over the years to accommodate the complex needs of our population and changes in educational policy.
The Method takes into account the value of the most natural and universal language learning process i.e. that of the parent and child.
It also provides the opportunity to prolong this phase of language learning, by creating meaningful conversation experiences which can be reflected upon in written texts and in subsequent lessons. The text is written by the teacher. As profoundly deaf children have less opportunity to listen to language and to hear it in daily life, to the same level as hearing children, the language can be too fleeting for a deaf child to internalize and acquire the rules of language.
To enrich and reinforce the linguistic development, texts are written by the teacher based upon conversation in class. This immediately gives a greater transparency of meaning as the child will know/recognise the content of the text, making it meaningful, motivational and relevant.
The text can also be written to the linguistic level of the pupils and vocabulary language structure can be reinforced in each text. This becomes the reflective element to the MRM when the children develop their reading skills and learn to understand and compartmentalize the rules of language in a more conscious way and so the child s understanding of language is being continually developed text upon text.
The Maternal Reflective Method (MRM) as a language teaching approach focuses on fostering reflective thinking and emotional awareness in caregivers (or teachers), which then positively influences the child s language development. Though the MRM is more commonly discussed in psychological or attachment theory contexts, it can also be applied effectively in teaching language, particularly when working with young children or language learners who are at an early stage of development.
In this context, the Maternal Reflective Method is rooted in the principles of reflective practice, attachment theory, and emotional regulation, all of which can enhance a child s language acquisition. This method encourages caregivers (often mothers, but could be any primary caregiver or teacher) to engage in deep reflection on their interactions with children, paying close attention to both the child s communication and their own responses. These reflections help guide and shape language teaching strategies that are emotionally attuned, responsive, and developmentally appropriate.
Core Principles of Maternal Reflective Method in Language Teaching:
1. Reflective Practice in Language Interactions:
o Teacher/Parent Reflection: Teachers and caregivers reflect on how they engage with the child in language-focused activities. For example, they consider how their own language use, tone, and responsiveness might impact the child s language development.
o Self-Awareness: A caregiver or teacher becomes aware of their language patterns, emotional responses, and interactions. They ask themselves questions like, How am I engaging with the child s speech? or Am I responding in a way that encourages more language exploration from the child?
o Modeling and Adjustment: Teachers or caregivers who reflect on their actions can adjust their approach to be more supportive of the child's current developmental stage and language needs.
2. Empathy and Emotional Attunement:
o Understanding the Child s Emotional State: MRM emphasizes understanding the emotional state of the child to enhance language learning. For instance, when a child is frustrated or excited, how the caregiver responds emotionally and verbally can either support or hinder language development.
o Responsive Language: When a caregiver is attuned to the child s emotions, they are more likely to respond to the child s verbal cues in ways that are supportive. For instance, responding with expanded language (e.g., the caregiver expanding a child s utterance: "I see the dog!" becomes "Yes, that s a big brown dog! The dog is running!") encourages further language use.
3. Theory of Mind (ToM) and Language Understanding:
o Child's Perspective: The teacher or caregiver practices putting themselves in the child s shoes, helping to better interpret what the child is trying to communicate, even if it s unclear at first.
o Supportive Communication: The ability to recognize the child's emerging language skills and offer language that reflects the child s intended message strengthens the bond between caregiver and child. For example, when a child says something partially, the teacher could help clarify and expand on it, promoting richer language experiences.
4. Creating a Safe, Nurturing Environment for Language Exploration:
o Safe Language Environment: A reflective caregiver is able to create a space where the child feels safe to experiment with new words and ideas. The emotional safety provided by the caregiver or teacher allows children to take risks in language, which is crucial for development.
o Positive Reinforcement: Reflective caregivers or teachers provide encouraging feedback that motivates children to engage further in language use. This positive reinforcement can come in the form of verbal praise or helping to extend conversations.
The Maternal Reflective Method in language teaching provides a framework for building strong, emotionally attuned relationships between caregivers/teachers and learners. By emphasizing reflection on both the child s and the caregiver s emotional and cognitive states, this approach fosters language learning in a way that is responsive, individualized, and sensitive to the child s needs. This method creates a positive and supportive environment for language acquisition, encouraging children to explore, experiment, and develop their language skills with confidence.
4.3 Techniques of teaching language: News conversation, Directed activity, Visits, Storytelling
Teaching language to hearing-impaired students can be a unique challenge, but by using a variety of creative and interactive methods such as news conversation, directed activities, visits, and storytelling, educators can provide an enriching language-learning experience. These approaches help engage students, provide context for language use, and reinforce their understanding. Here's how each of these methods can be adapted to teach language to hearing-impaired students:
1. News Conversation
Objective: To introduce students to new vocabulary, concepts, and real-world events through a structured conversation.
How to Implement:
Benefits:
2. Directed Activity
Objective: To teach students language skills through hands-on, structured, and guided activities that involve communication and problem-solving.
How to Implement:
Benefits:
3. Visits
Objective: To provide real-world exposure to language and promote learning through direct interaction in community or educational settings.
How to Implement:
Benefits:
4. Storytelling
Objective: To enhance language comprehension, creativity, and communication skills through visual and interactive storytelling.
How to Implement:
Benefits:
Each of these methods news conversation, directed activities, visits, and storytelling can be highly effective for teaching language to hearing-impaired students. By using a combination of visual aids, sign language, written text, and interactive experiences, these approaches provide students with multiple opportunities to develop their language skills in a meaningful, engaging, and contextually rich environment. The key is to ensure that communication is accessible, that language is presented in an interactive way, and that emotional and social contexts are incorporated to make learning enjoyable and motivating.
4.4 Dramatization, play and activities for language development
Dramatization, play, and activities are powerful tools for language development in hearing-impaired children. These methods not only make learning fun but also provide immersive, interactive, and social opportunities for students to enhance their vocabulary, grammar, social communication, and expressive language skills. Below are ideas on how dramatization, play, and activities can be adapted for language development in hearing-impaired children:
1. Dramatization (Role-Playing)
Objective: To encourage students to practice and use language in various social contexts, enhancing both expressive and receptive language skills.
How to Implement:
Benefits:
2. Play Activities
Objective: To integrate language learning with hands-on experiences, making it more engaging and enjoyable for hearing-impaired students.
How to Implement:
Benefits:
3. Structured Language Activities
Objective: To provide targeted language instruction through structured, engaging activities that promote language skills in a controlled environment.
How to Implement:
Benefits:
4. Sensory Storytelling and Visual Supports
Objective: To enhance language comprehension and expression through storytelling with visual, auditory, and sensory aids.
How to Implement:
Benefits:
Incorporating dramatization, play, and activities into language development for hearing-impaired children creates a rich, engaging, and interactive learning environment. These methods can help improve vocabulary, sentence structure, social interaction, and language comprehension by immersing students in hands-on and visual learning experiences. Whether through role-playing, play-based activities, structured tasks, or sensory storytelling, these methods make language learning both enjoyable and effective.
4.5 Poems and rhymes for developing language and supra-segmental
Poems and rhymes are excellent tools for developing language skills in hearing-impaired children, as they help build vocabulary, rhythm, pronunciation, syntax, and social communication skills. Rhymes, in particular, create a fun and engaging way to expose children to repetition, rhythm, and phonological awareness, while poems provide opportunities to explore expressive language and emotions.
Here are a few suggestions on how to use poems and rhymes effectively for language development in hearing-impaired children, followed by some simple poems and rhymes that can be adapted for the classroom or at home.
How Poems and Rhymes Help Hearing-Impaired Children
1. Rhythm and Repetition: Rhymes naturally involve repetition and rhythm, which are key for reinforcing language concepts. Repeated sounds, words, and phrases help children recognize language patterns and practice their expressive and receptive language skills.
2. Vocabulary Building: Poems and rhymes expose children to new words and phrases in a playful context. You can use visual aids or sign language to support the new vocabulary, making it more accessible for hearing-impaired children.
3. Language Structure: Through rhymes, children can learn about sentence structure, word order, and grammatical patterns. This helps them understand how sentences are formed and how to use words in the correct context.
4. Expressive Language: Poems allow children to express emotions, actions, and ideas. They can act out the words in the poem with sign language, gestures, or facial expressions, which improves both their understanding and use of language.
5. Engagement and Motivation: Poems and rhymes can be highly engaging for children, and their rhythmic, melodic nature makes them fun. This encourages children to participate actively, which in turn boosts language acquisition.
Other Activities to Enhance the Use of Poems and Rhymes
1.
Create Visual Aids:
For each rhyme, use flashcards or illustrations to reinforce
vocabulary and support understanding. For instance, show a picture of a sheep
while reciting "Baa Baa Black Sheep" to help associate the word with
the visual.
2.
Sing with Sign Language:
For each rhyme, teach the students the corresponding sign language for
key words, such as "clap," "happy," "mouse," or
"clock." This strengthens both expressive and receptive
language skills in a visual and physical way.
3.
Gesture and Action:
Encourage students to perform actions related to the rhyme (e.g., clapping,
stomping, moving like animals). This helps reinforce the language through kinesthetic
learning and makes the experience more interactive.
4.
Personalize Poems:
Have students come up with their own versions of the poems. For example, they
could change the colors, animals, or activities in "Baa Baa Black
Sheep" to make it more personal or relatable. This exercise promotes
creativity and language use.
Using poems and rhymes in the language development of hearing-impaired children is an effective way to encourage active language use, build vocabulary, and enhance comprehension. With the right tools like sign language, visual aids, and interactive actions, you can turn these simple rhymes into powerful language-learning experiences. The key is to make the rhymes as visual, interactive, and engaging as possible, allowing hearing-impaired students to connect with the language in a meaningful way.
Suprasegmental aspects of language
The suprasegmental aspects of language refer to features of speech that go beyond individual sounds (like phonemes) and focus on the larger patterns of speech that convey meaning, emotion, and emphasis. These aspects are essential in both spoken and signed languages as they affect prosody, which is the rhythm, melody, and intonation of speech. Suprasegmentals are important because they help convey emotion, intent, and clarity beyond the basic meanings of words.
Suprasegmentals are typically categorized into pitch, stress, intonation, duration, and rhythm. In spoken language, these features help listeners understand the speaker's emotions, emphasis, and the structure of sentences. In signed languages, similar suprasegmental features appear in facial expressions, body posture, and the movement of the hands.
Key Suprasegmental Features of Language
1. Pitch
2. Stress
3. Intonation
4. Duration
5. Rhythm
Suprasegmentals and Language Development in Hearing-Impaired Children
For hearing-impaired children, understanding suprasegmentals can be challenging since they primarily rely on visual cues (sign language, lip-reading, or gestures). However, these suprasegmental features are just as crucial for meaning, emphasis, and emotional expression in sign language as they are in spoken language. Here s how suprasegmentals play a role:
1. Expressing Emotions: Suprasegmental cues like eyebrow movements, mouth shapes, and head tilts help convey emotions, tone, and intent, making sign language more dynamic and expressive.
2. Clarity and Comprehension: These features help children understand the structure of sentences, differentiate between questions and statements, and add nuance to their communication.
3. Social Interactions: By recognizing and using suprasegmental features, hearing-impaired children can navigate social norms more effectively, learning when to emphasize or de-emphasize certain parts of a conversation or how to express surprise, excitement, or uncertainty.
The suprasegmental aspects of language pitch, stress, intonation, duration, and rhythm are fundamental to both spoken and signed languages, providing important cues that help convey meaning, emotions, and nuances. For hearing-impaired children, developing an understanding of these features is vital for effective communication, as they rely heavily on visual and non-verbal cues to grasp the subtleties of language. Educators and caregivers can support this development by integrating facial expressions, body language, and visual cues in both sign language and spoken language interactions.