Online ISSN: 2325-7466
2006
Triannual
National Association of Special Education Teachers (NASET)
United States

Articles

Teachers’ Instructional Language with Children with Mild and Severe Language Difficulties in Self-contained Special Education Classrooms

  • Wenjing Zheng, Ph.D. (Author) Minot State University image/svg+xml
    Wenjing Zheng, Ph.D., is an assistant professor of special education at Minot State University. Her research has focused on paraprofessional training, teacher preparation, and assistive technology.
DOI
https://doi.org/10.64546/jaasep.526
Abstract
Teachers’ instructional language is often described as key in facilitating the learning of children with disabilities. This article explored two teachers’ instructional language as used in interactions with children with mild and severe language difficulties in one-on-one instructional sessions. The results showed that teachers used more declarative sentences to convey information with students with mild communication difficulties and more imperative sentences to express requests with students with severe communication difficulties. The language used across all students was mainly on the concrete level, with little opportunity to facilitate higher levels of cognitive activities. One teacher used longer sentences with a student with mild impairments than with a student with severe language difficulties. The most frequently used words reflected the use of core vocabulary in the classrooms. Implications and limitations of the study are discussed. [Note: The author and abstract found via the url is for another article and is incorrect.]
Keywords
Children, Communication Disorders, Elementary Schools, Interpersonal Communication, Language Impairments, Language Usage
References

Beattie, R., & Kysela, G. (1995). A descriptive study of communicative intensions used by hearing teachers and preschool children with hearing loses. Journal of Childhood Communication Disorders, 17, 32-41. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/152574019501700106

Beukelman, D., & Mirenda, P. (1992). Augmentative and alternative communication: management of severe communication disorders in children and adults. Baltimore: Paul H. Brookes Publishing Co.

Blank, M., Rose, S. A., & Berlin, L. J. (1978). The language of learning: The preschool years. Orlando, FI: Grune & Stratton, Inc.

Chapman, R. B., Larsen, S. C., & Parker, R. M. (1979). Interactions of first-grade teachers with learning disordered children. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 12(4), 225-230. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/002221947901200403

Chapman, R. B. (2000). Children’s language learning: An interactionist perspective. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 41, 33-54. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/1469-7610.00548

Chiang H. M., & Lin Y. H. (2008). Expressive communication of children with autism. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 38, 538-545. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-007-0423-z

Clark, C. P. (2000). The differential effects of simplified speech versus typical speech on response accuracy in discrete trial teaching formats with pre-kindergarten age students with autism. Unpublished dissertation, Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton, FL.

Commeyras, M. (2007). Scripted reading instruction? What’s a teacher educator to do? Phi Delta Kappan, 88(5), 404-407. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/003172170708800515

Cooper, H., & Good, T. (1983). Pygmalion grows up: Studies in the expectation communication process. NY: Longman.

Dodd, B., Holm, A., Crosbie, S., & McIntosh, B. (2006). A core vocabulary approach for management of inconsistent speech disorder. Advances in Speech-Language Pathology, 8(3), 220-230. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/14417040600738177

Dresser, R. (2012). The impact of scripted literacy instruction on teachers and students. Issues in Teacher Education, 21(1), 71-87.

Dukmak, S. (2010). Classroom interaction in regular and special education middle primary classrooms in the United Arab Emirates. British Journal of Special Education, 37(1), 39-48. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8578.2009.00448.x

Edwards, S. (1991). Comparing how mothers and teachers talk to children: Is it different and does it matter? Child Language Teaching and Therapy, 7, 298-309. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/026565909100700305

Ernest, J. M., Thompson, S. E., Heckaman, K. A., Hull, K., & Yates, J. (2011). Effects and social validity of differentiated instruction on student outcomes for special educators. Journal of the International Association of Special Education, 12(1), 33-41.

Firmender, J. M., Gavin, M. K., & McCoach, D. B. (2014). Examining the relationship between teachers’ instructional practices and students’ mathematics achievement. Journal of Advanced Academics, 25(3), 214-236. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/1932202X14538032

Freer, P. K. (2008). Teacher instructional language and student experience in middle school choral rehearsals. Music Education Research, 10(1), 107-124. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/14613800701871538

Garrard, K. (1986). Mothers’ questions to delayed and non-delayed children. Journal of Childhood Communication Disorders, 9, 95-106. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/152574018600900201

Jordan, A., Lindsay, L., & Stanovich, P. J. (1997). Classroom teachers’ instructional interactions with students who are exceptional, at risk, and typically achieving. Remedial and Special Education, 18(2), 82-93. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/074193259701800202

Jordan, A., & Stanovich, P. (2001). Patterns of teacher-student interaction in inclusive elementary classrooms and correlates with student self-concept. International Journal of Disabilities, Development and Education, 48(1), 33-52. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/10349120120036297

Justice, L. M., Mashburn, A., Pence, K. L., & Wiggins, A. (2008). Experimental evaluation of a preschool language curriculum: Influence on children’s expressive language skills. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 51, 983-1001. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1044/1092-4388(2008/072)

Kim, O., & Hupp, S. (2005). Teacher interaction styles and task engagement of elementary students with cognitive disabilities. Education and Training in Developmental Disabilities, 40, 293-308.

Light, J., & McNaughton, D. (1993). Literacy and augmentative and alternative communication: the expectations and priorities of parents and teachers. Topics in Language Disorders, 13(2), 33-45. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1097/00011363-199302000-00005

Murphy, C. M. (2006). The comparative effects of simple and complex instructional language on the acquisition and generalization of receptive language tasks by children with autism. Unpublished dissertation. Ohio State University, Columbus, OH.

National Center for Education Statistics (2021), retrieved from https://nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/display.asp?id=59

Nind, M., Kellett, M., & Hopkins, V. (2001). Teachers’ talk styles: communicating with learners with severe and complex learning difficulties. Children Language Teaching and Therapy, 17(2), 145-159. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/026565900101700204

Popich, E., & Alant, E. (1997). Interaction between a teacher and the non-speaking as well as speaking children in the classroom. The South African Journal of Communication Disorders, 44, 31-40. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4102/sajcd.v44i1.226

Razgunas, R. M. (2007). Levels of abstraction in shared book-reading with head start preschoolers with speech-language impairment. Unpublished Master Thesis. Wayne State University, Detroit, MI.

Richards, B. (1987). Type/Token Ratios: What do they really tell us? Journal of Child Language, 14, 201-209. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0305000900012885

Rimm-Kaufman, S. E., Voorhees, M.D., Snell, M. E., & La Paro, K. M. (2003). Improving the sensitivity and responsivity of preservice teachers toward young children with disabilities. Topics in Early Childhood Special Education, 23, 151-163. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/02711214030230030501

Rowell, P. M., & Ebbers, M. (2004). Constructing explanations of flight: A study of instructional discourse in primary science. Language and Education, 18(3), 264-280. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/09500780408666879

Stuart, S., Vanderhoof, D., & Beukelman, D. (1993). Topic and vocabulary use patterns of elderly woman. Augmentative and Alternative Communication, 9(2), 95-107. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/07434619312331276481

U.S. Department of Education. (2007). Twenty-seventh annual report to congress on the implementation of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, 2005 (Vol. 1). Washington DC: Author.

Vygotsky, L. (1978). Mind in Society: The Development of Higher Psychological Processes. London: Harvard University Press.

There are 33 references in total.
How to Cite
Zheng, W. (2023). Teachers’ Instructional Language with Children with Mild and Severe Language Difficulties in Self-contained Special Education Classrooms. Journal of the American Academy of Special Education Professionals, 18(2), 159-173. https://doi.org/10.64546/jaasep.526

Spring/Summer 2023

Article Information

  • Article Type Articles
  • Submitted May 21, 2023
  • Published June 15, 2023
  • Issue Spring/Summer 2023
  • Section Articles
  • File Downloads 0
  • Abstract Views 0
  • Altmetrics
  • Share
Download data is not yet available.