This paper describes an approach to teaching grammar which has been designed for
school-aged children with specific language impairment (SLI). The approach uses
shapes, colours and arrows to make the grammatical rules of English explicit.
Evidence is presented which supports the use of this approach with older children in
the areas of past tense morphology, comprehension of dative structures and
comparative questions. I conclude that there is sufficient evidence that this kind
of intervention can be effective with these older children. This challenges the
current move to reduce direct intervention for school-aged children.
Aram, D. M.
,
Ekelman, B. L.
and
Nation, J. E.1984‘Pre-schoolers with language disorders: 10 years later’
, Journal of Speech and Hearing Research27,
232-244
.
2.
Beitchman, J. H.
,
Wilson, B.
,
Brownlie, E. B.
,
Walters, H.
and
Lancee, W.1996‘Long-term consistency in speech/language profiles: 1.
Developmental and academic outcomes’
, Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry35,
804-814
.
3.
Bishop, D. V. M.1979‘Comprehension in developmental language disorders’
, Developmental Medicine and Child Neurology21,
225-238
.
4.
Bishop, D. V. M.
,
Adams, C. V.
and
Rosen, S.2006‘Resistance of grammatical impairment to computerized
comprehension training in children specific and non-specific language impairments’
, International Journal of Language & Communication Disorders41,
19-40
.
5.
Bryan, A.1997‘Colourful Semantics’, in
S. Chiat
,
J. Law
and
J. Marshall
(eds), Language disorders in children and adults: psycholinguistic
approaches to therapy.
London: Whurr
.
6.
Camarata, S. M.
and
Nelson, K. E.1992‘Treatment efficiency as a function of target selection in the
remediation of child language disorders’
, Clinical Linguistics & Phonetics6,
167-178
.
7.
Camarata, S. M.
,
Nelson, K. E.
and
Camarata, M. N.1994‘Comparison of conversational-recasting and imitative procedures
for training grammatical structures in children with specific language impairment’
, Journal of Speech and Hearing Research37,
1414-1423
.
8.
Chiat, S.2000Understanding children with language problems.
Cambridge University Press
.
9.
Conn, P.1973Language therapy.
Invalid Children’s Aid Association
.
10.
Dockrell, J. E.
,
Lindsay, G.
,
Letchford, B.
and
Mackie, C.2006‘Educational provision for children with specific speech and
language difficulties: Perspectives of speech and language therapist managers’
, International Journal of Language and Communication Disorders41:
423-440
.
11.
Ebbels, S. H. 2005 ‘Argument structure in specific language
impairment: from theory to therapy’, unpublished PhD thesis, University
College London.
12.
Ebbels, S.
and
van der Lely, H.2001‘Meta-syntactic therapy using visual coding for children with
severe persistent SLI’
, International Journal of Language & Communication Disorders36(Suppl),
345-350
.
13.
Ebbels, S. H.
,
van der Lely, H. K. J.
and
Dockrell, J. E.2006‘Intervention for verb argument structure in children with
persistent SLI: a randomized control trial’
, Journal of Speech Language and Hearing Research (Submitted).
14.
Ellis Weismer, S.
and
Murray Branch, J.1989‘Modeling versus modeling plus evoked production training -a
comparison of 2 language intervention methods’
, Journal of Speech and Hearing Disorders54,
269-281
.
15.
Fey, M. E.
,
Cleave, P.
,
Long, S. H.
and
Hughes, D. L.1993‘Two approaches to the facilitation of grammar in children with
language impairment: an experimental evaluation’
, Journal of Speech and Hearing Research36,
141-157
.
16.
Fey, M. E.
,
Cleave, P. L.
and
Long, S. H.1997‘Two models of grammar facilitation in children with language
impairments: phase 2’
, Journal of Speech Language and Hearing Research40,
5-19
.
17.
Gap House School
. 2005‘Language through colour’, Developed at Gap House School,
Broadstairs, Kent.
Contact 01843 866672 for further information
.
18.
Gardner, M. F.1988‘Test of visual-perceptual skills (non-motor)’,
Available from
Ann Arbor Publishers Ltd
, PO Box 1, Belford, Northumberland, NE70 7JX.
19.
Guendouzi, J.2003‘ “SLI”, a generic category of language
impairment that emerges from specific differences: a case study of two
individual linguistic profiles’
, Clinical Linguistics & Phonetics17,
135-152
.
20.
Johnson, C. J.
,
Beitchman, J. H.
,
Young, A.et al.1999‘Fourteen-year follow-up of children with and without
speech/language impairments: speech/language stability and outcomes’
, Journal of Speech Language and Hearing Research42,
744-760
.
21.
Kaldor, C.
1999
‘From visual image to verbal and syntactic symbols: The
spotlights on language communication system (SPOTS-ON)’
, Paper presentation at the AFASIC Conference,
York, 1999 (Available from the author:pkaldor@yahoo.com).
22.
Kaldor, C.
,
Robinson, P.
and
Tanner, J.2001‘Turning on the spotlight’
, Speech and Language Therapy in Practice, Summer 2001.
23.
Lea, J.1965‘A language system for children suffering from receptive aphasia’
, Speech Pathology and Therapy8,
58-68
.
24.
Lea, J.1970The colour pattern scheme: a method of remedial language teaching.
Moor House School, Hurst Green, Surrey, UK
.
25.
Leonard, L. B.1975‘Developmental considerations in the management of language
disabled children’
, Journal of Learning Disabilities8,
44-49
.
26.
Leonard, L. B.1995‘Functional categories in the grammars of children with specific
language impairment’
, Journal of Speech and Hearing Research38,
1270-1283
.
27.
Leonard, L. B.1998Children with specific language impairment.
Cambridge, MA, USA: MIT Press
.
28.
Leonard, L. B.
,
McGregor, K. K.
and
Allen, G. D.1992‘Grammatical morphology and speech-perception in children with
specific language impairment’
, Journal of Speech and Hearing Research35,
1076-1085
.
29.
Lindsay, G.
,
Dockrell, J. E.
,
Mackie, C.
and
Letchford, B.2005‘Local educational authorities’ approaches to provision
for children with specific speech and language difficulties in England and Wales’
, European Journal of Special Needs Education20,
329-345
.
30.
Montessori, M.1918The advanced Montessori method II. The Montessori elementary material.
London: Heineman, UK
.
31.
Nelson, K. E.
,
Camarata, S. M.
,
Welsh, J.
,
Butkovsky, L.
and
Camarata, M.1996‘Effects of imitative and conversational recasting treatment on
the acquisition of grammar in children with specific language impairment and
younger language-normal children’
, Journal of Speech and Hearing Research39,
850-859
.
32.
Oetting, J. B.
and
Horohov, J. E.1997‘Past-tense marking by children with and without specific
language impairment’
, Journal of Speech Language and Hearing Research40,
62-74
.
33.
Polk Lillard, P.1972Montessori: a modern approach.
New York, USA: Schocken Books
.
34.
Redmayne, C.2006Pack 10 (Shape Up) of ten Language Packs.
Cambridge: Widget Software Limited
.
35.
Rice, M. L.
and
Wexler, K.1996‘Toward tense as a clinical marker of specific language
impairment in English-speaking children’
, Journal of Speech and Hearing Research39,
1239-1257
.
36.
Rice, M. L.
,
Wexler, K.
and
Cleave, P. L.1995‘Specific language impairment as a period of extended optional infinitive’
, Journal of Speech and Hearing Research38,
850-863
.
37.
Spooner, L.2002‘Addressing expressive language disorder in children who also
have severe receptive language disorder: a psycholinguistic approach’
, Child Language Teaching and Therapy18,
289-313
.
38.
Stothard, S. E.
,
Snowling, M.
,
Bishop, D. V. M.
,
Chipchase, B. B.
and
Kaplan, C. A.1998‘Language-impaired preschoolers: a follow-up into adolescence’
, Journal of Speech Language and Hearing Research41,
407-418
.
39.
Thordardottir, E. T.
and
Weismer, E.2002‘Verb argument structure weakness in specific language impairment
in relation to age and utterance length’
, Clinical Linguistics & Phonetics16,
233-250
.
40.
Tomblin, J. B.
,
Records, N. L.
,
Buckwalter, P.
,
Zhang, X.
,
Smith, E.
and
O’Brien, M.1997‘Prevalence of specific language impairment in kindergarten children’
, Journal of Speech Language and Hearing Research40,
1245-1260
.
41.
van der Lely, H. K. J.1996‘Specifically language impaired and normally developing children:
Verbal passive vs adjectival passive sentence interpretation’
, Lingua98,
243-272
.
42.
van der Lely, H. K. J.1998‘SLI in children: movement, economy, and deficits in the
computational-syntactic system’
, Language Acquisition7,
161-192
.
43.
van der Lely, H. K. J.
and
Battell, J.2003‘Wh-movement in children with grammatical SLI: a test of the RDDR hypothesis’
, Language79,
153-181
.
44.
van der Lely, H. K. J.
and
Harris, M.1990‘Comprehension of reversible sentences in specifically
language-impaired children’
, Journal of Speech and Hearing Disorders55,
101-117
.
45.
van der Lely, H. K. J.
and
Ullman, M. T.2001‘Past tense morphology in specifically language impaired and
normally developing children’
, Language and Cognitive Processes16,
177-217
.
46.
Watkins, R. V.
and
Rice, M. L.1991‘Verb particle and preposition acquisition in language-impaired preschoolers’
, Journal of Speech and Hearing Research, 34,
1130-1141
.
47.
Wilcox, J. M.
and
Leonard, L. B.1978‘Experimental acquisition of Wh-Questions in language-disordered children’
, Journal of Speech and Hearing Research21,
220-239
.
48.
Zwitman, D. H.
and
Sonderman, J. C.1979‘A syntax program designed to present base linguistic structures
to language-disordered children’
, Journal of Communication Disorders12,
323-335
.
Supplementary Material
Please find the following supplemental material available below.
For Open Access articles published under a Creative Commons License, all supplemental material carries the same license as the article it is associated with.
For non-Open Access articles published, all supplemental material carries a non-exclusive license, and permission requests for re-use of supplemental material or any part of supplemental material shall be sent directly to the copyright owner as specified in the copyright notice associated with the article.
