Language
What Is it, and How  Can We Facilitate Its Development?

by Reva Schafer, M.Ed.

When most people talk about language, they talk about reading and writing; when some people talk about language, they talk about reading, writing, listening and speaking; when a few people talk about language, they talk about reading, writing, listening, speaking, viewing and communicating.  So, what is language? It includes all of the aforementioned plus more-- social skills and conventions and thinking skills and strategies.

Language is:
-what we hear/see, how we hear/see it, how we organize it, how we integrate it, how we interpret it,  how we remember it
-what we say, how we say it, when we say it, where we say it, why we say it, to whom we say it
-what we do, how we do it, when we do it, where we do it, why we do it, to whom we do it
-what we think, how we think, why we think in certain ways, when we think in certain ways, where we think in certain ways.

Language is an integral part of human life.  It is a vehicle for growth. It involves exploring beings, objects, events, ideas and experiences.  It is making sense of the world using the meaning and context of self, family and cultural group.  It is personal, social and functional. It involves attention, reception, perception, association, interpretation, organization, information storage and reflection.  It affects our perception, degree of understanding, our acquisition of and degree of knowledge, thinking and problem-solving abilities and social skills. It is an active process learned through its use. It includes risk-taking and error as one experiments with various terms, interpretations of terms, and language forms and conventions.  It involves symbols and systems of organizing the symbols (patterns and rules) within a context of usage.  Language events (viewing, listening, speaking, reading, writing, thinking, interacting) are interactive, interrelated and interdependent.

For those of us who have naturally and automatically acquired language, without having to consciously think about it, it is difficult to recognize and understand the intricate processes involved in the acquisition of language.  In order to do so, it is necessary not to just study and apply the theories of language development but also to be a constant participant observer of all that we hear, say, do and think to become aware of the processes involved in language acquisition so we can develop and internalize an understanding of what language is, how we can best learn it, how we can use it to communicate our needs etc., how we can use it to communicate in social situations, how we can utilize it effectively for learning and growth, and how we can facilitate its development and use in others.

Language learning involves engagement, attention, modeling, demonstrating, discussing, reflecting, strategy planning and application, self- awareness, self-monitoring, and self-evaluation. To be effective and efficient, language learning must be:
1) child centered (uses the childís strengths and interests; attends to the childís cognitive needs, sensory issues and emotional states);
2) active (ìtalk, talk, talkî at the optimal level -- beware sensory overload; be a good model -- what you say and how you say it is an important influence; use the childís exceptional verbal imitation skills; expand on the childís expressive language; exaggerate speech/action for recognition);
3) meaningful (real and relevant experiences within a familiar context);
4) purposeful and functional (provide a reason for the child to want to communicate);
5) structured and organized (to help the child make sense of it; to use the childís strengths; to respond to the childís need for patterns, predictability and consistency; to measure progress via clearly delineated goals);
6) integrated (scaffolding to demonstrate relationships; to facilitate comprehension; to enhance transference and generalization; to use the childís visual and auditory/ visual rote memory strengths as links to auditory and other sensorial input); and
7) communication-based within a safe, secure environment (language develops its own inherent rewards; encourages risk-taking).

Although children with hyperlexia demonstrate numerous common characteristics, it is important to remember that each child is unique and will exhibit different types and degrees of language difficulties and therefore, would require an individualized programme to address individual needs.  Generally, though, these children learn language via:
1) gestalt processing;
2) visual means;
3) patterns;
4) echolalic or rote memorization techniques; and
5) routine.

Therefore it is necessary to provide:
a) a whole-to-part approach;
b) written and visual models (photographs, scripts, etc.) and cues/prompts;
c) language formats and rules;
d) rhythm and music;
e) examples for repetition (not explanations), and rote learning; and
f) schedules.

Language skills that should be addressed are:
  1) vocabulary -- labeling, classifying/ categorizing by attributes, functions, similarities/ differences, etc.  association, multiple meanings and expressions;
  2) communicating wants/needs;
  3) requesting wants/needs;
  4) taking directions;
  5) giving directions;
  6) protesting;
  7) making choices;
  8) answering questions;
  9) asking questions;
10) cause/effect relationships;
11) sequencing;
12) describing/defining;
13) developing dialogues;
14) social rules and conventions; and
15) transferring/generalizing use of communication to a variety of social contexts.

Both the teaching and learning of language are extremely challenging but also extremely rewarding.  All that is required is optimism, patience, creativity, flexibility, perseverance, and a sense of humour.

Reva Schafer is the mother of two children, a special education teacher and a certified Theraplay® therapist.

Theraplay® is a registered service mark of The Theraplay Institute, Wilmette, IL, USA.