So you’re all prepped for your new teaching year – your classroom décor is sorted, name cards are laminated to the tables and you’ve even programmed for the first couple of weeks (well ok, not most of you but for the over achievers, gold star. Your ‘first week of school’ teacher checklist is looking good!
Then you get the memo that one of your students has recently been diagnosed with a language disorder.
The allied health assessment reports start coming in. The teacher’s aides / paraprofessionals) are looking to you for guidance. The student’s parents are eager to speak with you. And all of a sudden you wonder where all your time went.
So let’s dive into what is a language disorder, why it is essential for you, as a dedicated teacher, to wrap your head around it and, most importantly, how you can support your students with language disorders:
How Common Are Language Disorders?
Language Disorders are not uncommon – approximately 10% of school children are diagnosed with language difficulties and a whopping 90% of these kiddies attending mainstream school.
This means that chances are, sooner or later, you will need a working knowledge of language disorders teaching strategies so that you can do what you do best – teach!
For me, it happened in my first teaching year – I had four students in my class with diagnosed language difficulties. I needed to upskill quickly and efficiently! So trust me when I say that I’ve been where you are! So let’s take a deep dive into the world of language disorders and work out a plan to make those first few teaching weeks smooth, calm and effective – for both you and your class.
What is a Language Disorder in a Child?
A language disorder refers to a difficulty understanding or using language – whether it be spoken language, using symbols, written language or comprehending information. We can go one step further and define language disorders into more specific categories:
What Are the Types of Language Disorders?
1. Receptive Language Disorder
Receptive language refers to what we understand – we demonstrate our understanding by following directions and instructions or carrying out tasks in the order that was specified.
How Do Students Show Receptive Language Skills in the Classroom?
In your classroom, your students show their receptive language capabilities by following your verbal instructions (e.g. ‘hats in your bags and sitting on the floor’) and by sequencing activities correctly (e.g. ‘write your name at the top, colour and cut out the craft’).
2. Expressive Language Disorder
Expressive language is like the flipside of receptive language – expressive language refers to the language that we use – everything from the speech sounds we produce, words, sentences, as well as grammar, sentence structure and vocabulary.
How Do Students Show Expressive Language Skills in the Classroom?
In the classroom, your students show their expressive language capabilities by verbally answering questions, structuring text types appropriately and retelling stories accurately (just to name a few examples!)
Students can also have a combination and present with a receptive expressive language disorder, meaning that they have difficulty both understanding and using language.
Also read: 5 Signs of Developmental Language Disorders in Your Classroom
Why does it matter if our students have a language disorder The truth is, our entire teaching day requires students to have an adequate understanding and use of language – here are just a few examples:
-Sharing what they did on the weekend
-Writing a recount
-Following instructions on a worksheet
-Asking for help
-Relating a shared big book to a previous experience
-Labelling a diagram
-Asking to use the bathroom
-Completing home reading each night
-Negotiating different opinions in the playground with peers
So what DO we do in those first few teaching weeks when our students have a language disorder? What are our receptive language disorder strategies? What are our expressive language disorder strategies? Let’s find out!
3 Language Teaching Strategies for Your First Week
Tip #1: Support students with language disorders with a daily and weekly schedule in your classroom:
If you type appointments into your Iphone, check the calendar before booking in a coffee catch up or circle the pupil free days in your diary, guess what – you use visual supports to plan our your week!
The truth is, having a visual way of knowing what’s coming up benefits everyone (and keeps my household running). And so it makes sense, that for a student finding it challenging to follow or use language, providing prompts in the way of a visual calendar can make a world of difference.
And don’t forget – your students with receptive expressive language disorders, like all children, have a lot to think about at this time of the year too – getting used to their new school shoes, missing their bestie who’s in the other class and remembering what new classroom to go to.
So the more we, as teachers, can reduce the cognitive load for students with language disorders, the calmer and more regulated they will be. Start slowly and include a simply daily schedule on your main Smart Board/gathering area.
It could be as simple as:
- Morning Circle
- Quiet Reading
- Fruit Break
- Writing
- Lunch
- Maths
- Library
- Recess
- Art
- Home time
Bonus points for having a visual image of each but even just writing the list is a great way to start. Refer to it after every activity, e.g. ‘ok, fruit break is over, now it’s time for writing’.
You can do the same with the school week – simply make a note of the key activities that occur on each day of the week – those extra things like music, library or PE.
No time to create a weekly schedule? I’ve got you covered! You can secure your FREE ‘Weekly Schedule’ printable below.
The best part? You can EDIT the weekly schedule template and add your class’ specific photos and text, making the resource unique and special for YOUR classroom!
Tip #2: Support students with language disorders through establishing classroom routines and procedures:
This is one that I really struggled with as a first year teacher. I was so keen to get out that big book with the matching puppets, sing songs on my guitar and teacher my students to write their names. That’s what kindergarten is all about, right?!
And I confess – in that first term of my first teaching year, I really struggled to work out my classroom routines and procedures. Of course I did! I’d never done this before! I remember going to my Supervisor in tears half way through the term, complaining that my kindergarten students with language disorders ‘weren’t settling’. Looking back, it wasn’t that they weren’t settling – it was because I needed to focus on supporting these students through establishing classroom routines and procedures!
Take it from me – Before any meaningful teaching and learning can occur (and I know you’re dying to get there but hold that thought!), one of your biggest language disorders teaching strategies needs to be developing your classroom routines and procedures.
Why? Because throughout your teaching day, there are so many routines and procedures – everything from where to sit when students first enter the room, what to do when a pencil needs sharpening, where to place lunchboxes and what to do when work is completed. And with a full class of children, this is hard enough – but with students with language disorders, not knowing these routines can place even further demands on their cognitive load, leading to difficulties anxiety and overwhelm.
Tip #3: Reach out to your students' allied health professionals
I see it happen all the time – because those first few weeks are a blur, often, we don’t end up identifying the students who visit a speech pathologist, occupational therapist, psychologist or behaviour therapist, just to name a few until half way through the term… and by the time we play email/phone tag, it’s the end of the term before we gain insight into how we can support these students in the classroom.
Allied Health Professionals are in your corner – they want to support you as much as they can AND they want to learn from you! Remember, as the teacher, YOU will be the one who gets to know your child with delayed language development better than any professional! You will see them six hours a day, five days a week, across different learning environments and on excursions. You will plan for your students across different Key Learning Areas, for individual work as well as group work. You have are in the unique position of observing not only their academic side but also their social side, as they form friendships and negotiate differences.
So this year, be on the front foot – with the family’s permission, send out a super brief email this week to your students’ allied health professionals in that first week or two. Introduce yourself, enquire about your students’ appointment frequency, goals for therapy and most importantly, ask what may help this student in the classroom.
Discovering that your student has a language disorder can feel overwhelming. But with a few tried and tested tips, you can ensure that you set your classroom up for success to support all students on their learning journey.
