| CONNECTIONS: ORAL
AND WRITTEN LANGUAGE |
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By
Karen Karner, M.S. CCC-slp, editor “THE COMMUNICATOR” |
How
many times have you said, “He (or she) writes the way he talks?”
What is the connection between the two, and why is it so difficult to
get speech impaired students to write a decent paragraph when they no
longer show deficits on standardized tests?
As
infants we listen and take in the conversation in which we are raised.
From this exposure comes our comprehension of language. If intact, and
at the proper age of development, we speak what we’ve heard. Learning
to write develops along the same vein. When we get to school, we learn
the rules of writing by listening to our teachers and repeating what we
learn. We trace and copy, working from letters to words to sentences,
and finally, paragraphs. We learn to read the language, receptively
taking it in and comprehending its form. If all develops well, we learn
that the way we talk is much different from the way we should write a
formal composition.
For
those who experienced difficulty learning to speak correctly, formal
writing can be like learning a foreign language. Yes, we usually write
in the same language that we use to speak, but the rules are altogether
different. Grammar? The idea that sentences do not end in prepositions
in formal writing makes no sense because we do it all the time when we
talk. Subject-verb agreement? Nowadays it is perfectly acceptable to
say, “Anyone going on the trip should get their backpacks ready.”
(It should say, “Anyone going on the trip should get his or her
backpack ready.”) Run-on sentences are common with these students
because we tend to tie every idea together with “and” or “like”
when we speak.
Speech
impaired students have to hear and practice proper speech patterns at a
higher rate than their peers in order to produce correct speech. When it
comes to writing, they have to see and hear proper writing patterns at a
higher rate than their peers in order to produce the same patterns, just
like when they learned to talk. During school they are expected to
produce coherent paragraphs, but they may not be at that point in their
writing development. Parents can help get them to that point by
working to strengthen grammar in shorter segments of writing.
A
couple of ideas:
Remember
when we adults were in school, and we took dictation? It still works.
Using your student’s spelling words, have your student write the
sentence you say in which you include a spelling word. If you know that
your child understands a direction that is 3-5 words in length, this is
the length of sentence that you are going to dictate. As accuracy and
memory get stronger, increase the length. This technique allows practice
in spelling while hearing correct grammar, and it increases auditory
memory.
To
help with sequential memory in writing and practice paragraph
construction, tell your student a short 3-5 sentence story. If you have
trouble coming up with one, consult a joke book or the daily comics.
Have him or her write the story on paper. Paraphrasing is allowed (no
one could remember word for word), but work for accuracy in grammar,
spelling, and correct sequence of ideas. This allows your student to
build proper writing skills in longer passages.
A
history of speech impairment often means difficulty with writing.
Starting small and building exposure to proper writing technique, just
as in learning to talk, can lead to stronger spontaneous writing.
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