What is phonics?

Phonics involves the relationship between sounds and their spellings. The goal of phonics instruction is
to teach students the most common sound-spelling relationships so that they can decode, or sound out,
words. This decoding ability is a crucial element in reading success.

Why is phonics instruction important?

Most poor readers tend to rely so heavily on one reading strategy, such as the use of context and picture
clues, that they exclude other strategies that might be more appropriate. To become skilled, fluent
readers, children need to have a repertoire of strategies to draw on. These strategies include using a
knowledge of sound-spelling relationships — in other words, an understanding of phonics. In addition,
research has shown that skilled readers attend to almost every word in a sentence and process the letters
that compose each of these words.
Therefore, phonics instruction plays a key role in helping students comprehend text. It helps the student
map sounds onto spellings, thus enabling them to decode words. Decoding words aids in the
development of word recognition, which in turn increases reading fluency. Reading fluency improves
reading comprehension because as students are no longer struggling with decoding words, they can
concentrate on making meaning from the text.
In addition, phonics instruction improves spelling ability because it emphasizes spelling patterns that
become familiar from reading. Studies show that half of all English words can be spelled with phonics
rules that relate to one letter to one sound.

How is phonics different from phonemic awareness?

Phonics involves the relationship between sounds and written symbols, whereas phonemic awareness
involves sounds in spoken words. Therefore, phonics instruction focuses on teaching sound-spelling
relationships and is associated with print. Most phonemic awareness tasks are oral.
Despite these different focuses, phonics instruction and phonemic awareness instruction are connected.
In fact, phonemic awareness is necessary for phonics instruction to be effective. Before students can use a
knowledge of sound-spelling relationships to decode written words, they must understand that words
(whether written or spoken) are made up of sounds. Phonemic awareness is the understanding that a
word is made up of a series of discrete sounds. Without this insight, phonics instruction will not make
sense to students.
What are Auditory Discrimination Difficulties?
 
Caused by a physiological hearing problem, or an auditory perceptual difficulty, auditory discrimination
difficulties can result in the child mis-hearing, mis-pronouncing words and being unable to accurately
recreate the sound presented to him. This can lead to difficulties with speaking clearly, (he can’t clearly
hear what he is hearing or what he is saying, so can’t self correct) and with learning phonics.
Consequently his development in listening, speaking, reading and spelling is inhibited. It can also cause
the child a lot of unhappiness and frustration. He probably feels he is underachieving and so do his
parents. His peers might not be sympathetic. He often becomes disaffected and gives up, either opting out
or becoming a behaviour problem.
If caused by a physiological problem, which could be a long term degree of deafness, or could be
something less persistent, like glue ear, a physician can often prescribe corrective or compensatory
measures to improve the situation.
But sometimes, the problem can be caused by an allergy, like a food intolerance, where the ear canals are
affected and the symptoms impede the quality of sound received by the ear. For example, I have known
children who have auditory discrimination difficulties who, once diagnosed as intolerant of dairy
products, are steered strictly away from all milk, cheese, yogurt, rice
puddings etc. and their hearing improves, their speech becomes clearer, their pronunciation more
accurate, and progress acquiring literacy skills accelerates. Unfortunately, these children often love the
food that gives the allergy, but if this is what is causing the problem, then the answer is sadly, but
blatantly clear!
The great news is that clearly undertaken action plans can result in a vast improvement for the child’s
hearing and speech, whether the original difficulty was a physiological hearing deficiency or an auditory
perceptual difficulty. The child not only achieves better hearing and clearer speaking, but he has a better
facility to help with all areas of his literacy development and with his overall confidence
Helping a child with Auditory Discrimination Difficulties
 
1) Seek medical advice to ascertain if the problem is physiological, (e.g. a prescribed physical deafness) or
the result of a food intolerance.
2) Sometimes, after medical investigation, the physician says, “I can find no physiological cause for these
symptoms!” That does not mean the hearing deficiency is imagined for it could be caused by an auditory
perceptual difficulty…the way the brain interprets the sound “heard”.
3) Whatever the case, take compensatory measures straight away, as there is no time to lose…,BUT make
sure that any help given is not only prescriptive, but is also done in a relaxed and fun way. The child must
feel no anxiety whatsoever, or other problems could
occur, sometimes severe, like stammering or, in one severe case I know of, when the child became an
elective mute.
4) Have fun with sounds. List the sounds the child has difficulty with, but don’t just work on these. Work
on the sounds he does well too, so that there are lots of opportunities to praise for correct sound
copying. Play games making and copying sounds, singing sounds, putting sounds to rhythms. Once he
has mastered a
difficult sound, find a similar one to work on and then add it to the one he has just mastered so stringing
sounds together. Make the sounds up against the child’s skin, like on his forearm or back of his hand. Let
the child watch your face carefully to see how you make a sound or word and give him a mirror to  help
him copy your mouth shape as he tries for himself. If the child has difficulty with a breath sound, have a
feather to show him how the air should come out. If he can hear a recording of his successes that is
wonderful, as he then knows for himself how well he is doing. If available, professional advice from a
speech therapist could be of enormous help. The more fun it is, the quicker the
success.
5) In the classroom, the teacher must make sure the child can see the face of the speaker, and teachers
should avoid standing with their back to the light as this causes the child to see a silhouette and not  a
clear image of the mouth.
6) Importance should be given to encourage everyone to project their voices clearly and, in question and
answer sessions, the teacher should clearly repeat the answer of the quieter voiced child, so that the child
with impaired hearing can hear the answer too. Too many teachers approach the soft voiced child so they
themselves can hear, forgetting that children further across the room won’t have been able to do so.
Another wasted opportunity for learning!
7) Any visual images help the hearing impaired child as he can take clues from charts and pictures and
illustrations as well as from the teacher’s own body language.
Semantic Language

Semantic language skills refer to an understanding and appropriate use of meaning in single words,
phrases, sentences and even longer units. Semantic language skills include the ability to: understand and
state labels, recognize and name categorical labels, understand and use descriptive words (including
adjectives and smaller parts of whole items), comprehend and state functions, and recognize words by
their definition and define words.
Also included within semantic language skills is knowledge of vocabulary concepts such as synonyms and
antonyms. Semantic language at a higher level also includes an understanding of semantic ambiguities in,
for example, multiple meaning words and figurative language.  Strong semantic language skills are
crucial for developing an understanding of the world and an ability to express oneself clearly and
meaningfully. 

Some children demonstrate broad-based semantic difficulties while others show weakness in more
specific areas, such as understanding categorization or providing word definitions.  In other cases,
children have acquired a large vocabulary but have word finding difficulties and are unable to express
words of which they have knowledge. It is similar to having a word on the tip of your tongue but being
unable to retrieve/find the word on demand/when needed in conversation. The child with such
difficulties may over-use the word stuff or thing. The child may also try to express a spontaneous idea and
end up talking around in circles, unable to get the specific idea out.

It is not unusual for children who present with motor speech difficulties such as apraxia to also have
concomitant problems with semantic organization of their language and syntax. Specific word finding
difficulties (naming difficulties or making odd word choices) may be observed. Language at the phrase
and sentence level is also often disorganized in children with disorders of motor speech control
(see Syntax for more). Word order may be jumbled, or there are obvious difficulties following the rules of
grammar/using correct grammatical forms in their expressive output.

At Children’s Speech and Language Services we thoroughly evaluate semantic language skills in our
children having difficulties with word retrieval and/or sharing ideas verbally in order to understand each
child’s language strengths and challenges.  We carefully plan activities individualized to the needs of each
child.  For children with concomitant disorders of motor speech control, target words and phrases are
developed to both improve motor speech control and build semantic language skills.

What might semantic language problems look like in a child?

 Have difficulty following verbal directions

 Use a limited number of words to express himself
 Experience difficulty asking and answering questions
 Struggle to understand the relationship between words, such as words in the same category and
synonyms
 Find it hard to understand sentences containing figurative language
 Struggle to follow along and participate in conversations
 Overuse the words stuff and thing because specific names are difficult to retrieve
 Use non-specific referents in conversation (it, that rather than specific item)
 Have difficulty getting a point across during conversation, often talking around in circles
 Find it hard to share spontaneous ideas in interactions with others

Morphology and Syntax

Language is comprised of sounds, words, phrases and sentences.  At all levels, language is rule-based. At
the sound level, phonology refers to the rules of the sound system and the rules of sound combination.  At
the word level, morphology refers to the structure and construction of words.  Morphology skills require
an understanding and use of the appropriate structure of a word, such as word roots, prefixes, and affixes
(called morphemes).  Strong knowledge of grammatical morphemes, such as use of –ing for a present
progressive verb, /s/ to indicate a plural form and correct use of verb tense, is necessary in order to have
well developed morphology skills.  Syntax refers to the rules of word order and word combinations in
order to form phrases and sentences.

Solid syntactic skills require an understanding and use of correct word order and organization in
phrases and sentences and also the ability to use increasingly complex sentences as language
develops.

Children with morphology and syntactic deficits experience difficulty learning and using the rules that
govern word formation (morphemes) and phrase/sentence formation (syntactic structures).  At the word
level, these children may not correctly use plural forms or verb tenses.  At the phrase or sentence level,
children with syntactic deficits might use incorrect word order, leave out words, or use a limited number
of complex sentences, such as those that contain prepositional clauses.  Children with disorders of motor
speech control are likely to have concomitant difficulties with morphology related to impaired speech
control.  For example, a child with a motor speech disorder may not be able to produce /s/ and /z/ and
therefore does not mark plural forms.  Disorganized and/or immature language in phrases and sentences
is also seen frequently in children with motor speech disorders, as words may be omitted or sentences
simplified due to difficulty with speech production.  At Children’s Speech and Language Services,
therapists will assess a child’s skills of morphology and syntax and develop a treatment plan tailored to
the needs of the child.  Children will work on developing an understanding and use of age appropriate
morphemes and syntactic structures during interactive therapy activities.  For children with co-occurring
disorders of motor speech control, target words and phrases are developed to both improve motor
speech control and improve the use of grammatical morphemes and syntax.

How does difficulty with morphology and syntax present in a child?

A child with morphology and syntax deficits may:

 Demonstrate inconsistent or incorrect word order when speaking

 Use a limited number of grammatical markers (e.g. –ing, a, the, possessive ‘s, be verbs)
 Have difficulty understanding and using past, present and future verb tenses
 Show limited understanding and use of plural forms
 Struggle with story retell tasks

Pragmatic / Social Language

Social language, also called pragmatic language, refers to the use of language in social situations.   Social
language skills include the ability to use language for different purposes, such as to greet others, make
requests, ask questions, and make comments.  Social language also includes the ability to understand the
rules of conversation, such as taking turns, introducing a topic, and staying on topic.  Using non-verbal
communication appropriately, including eye contact, body position, and facial expression, during social
interactions is another critical aspect of social language.  All of these important social language skills are
built upon an awareness of the listener’s perspective during social exchanges.  Social language deficits
frequently co-occur with other speech and/or language disorders.  Often, children who are challenged by
speech and/or language disorders require additional support and guidance to initiate and maintain a
social interaction and to communicate effectively and confidently with peers.
Because children encounter a variety of social situations in everyday life, social language deficits
have a significant impact on a child.  Forming friendships, participating in play dates, and being an
accepted member of a classroom can all become difficult in the face of a social language disorder.

We are committed to helping children improve their social language skills at Children’s Speech and
Language Services.   For our young children with social language deficits, opportunities to socialize with
similar-aged peers in therapy rooms or in our sensory-motor room are provided whenever possible. 
During a ten to fifteen minute social time, therapists help children with greetings, non-verbal
communication, simple conversational skills, cooperative play and turn-taking.  Similarly, for older
preschoolers and school-aged children, we address social language skills such as conversational skills,
non-verbal communication, perspective taking, turn-taking and flexibility during conversations and
cooperative games.  We also offer social skills groups for preschoolers and school-aged children.

What might a social language deficit look like in a child?

A child with a social language deficit may:

 Tend to play alone or with adults because he or she does not have the tools to initiate and
maintain play and conversation with peers.
 Use language for few but not many purposes. For example, a child may use language to make
requests for desired objects and activities, but might not greet others, make comments, or
ask/answer questions.
 Show limited awareness of the listener, have difficulty following conversational rules such as turn-
taking and staying on topic, and struggle to use appropriate non-verbal communication such as eye
contact during conversations.

Problems on Discourse

 More often than not, the problem that a writer or speaker deals with is determined by the discourse that
they're using. Do you find it odd that history textbooks have little to say about world view? That's
because the "rules" of historical discourse tend to find historical "problems" in areas other than world
view. Discourses, however, are constantly changing, that is, their "rules" are constantly changing. What is
seen as a problem at one time is no longer considered a problem later; what is ignored in a discourse
often becomes a central problem later. So questioning how a writer or speaker chooses their "problems"
has great influence over the future; if enough people decide that a discourse or discipline is ignoring a
fundamental issue, eventually that issue becomes fundamentally a part of that discourse or discipline.

Phonology
Phonological deficits include

 delay in acquisition of phonological skills, including errors similar to those of younger, typically
developing children but with greater variability in production at similar stages of phonological
development;
 tendency to vocalize less and use less varied/less mature syllable structures than those of same-
age, typically developing toddlers;
 problems with early speech sounds affecting intelligibility, generally resolving over time;
 difficulty learning the speech sound system of language, resulting in poor repetition of single and
multisyllabic nonwords;
  limited phonological awareness (e.g., rhyming, sound/syllable deleting, segmentation, and
blending).

Morphology and Syntax

Morphology and syntax deficits include

 late acquisition of word combinations;

 restricted mean length of utterance (MLU) in morphemes for younger children (although
developmental order of morpheme acquisition may be similar to that of typically developing
children) and shorter utterances in words for school-age children and adolescents;
 errors occurring most often on verbs (especially verb endings, auxiliary verbs, and past tense
marking of regular and irregular forms), function words (e.g., articles and prepositions), and
pronouns;
 errors of omission occurring more frequently than errors of misuse, although occurrence of both
error types may be inconsistent;
 use of more mature and less mature word forms;
 difficulty comprehending grammatical morphemes, particularly units of short duration
(phonetically less salient);
 deficits in morphological awareness (e.g., derivational morphemes, such as prefixes and suffixes,
including inflectional morphology, such as plural, present progressive, and past tense markers);
 difficulty judging grammaticality;
 difficulty identifying and correcting grammatical errors;
 difficulty identifying parts of speech;
 problems comprehending and using complex syntactic structures;
 extensive use of simple, non-subordinated utterances in narratives;
 use of subordinating clauses of the earlier developing types, when complex sentences are used;
 difficulty with curriculum-related expository discourse production;
 difficulty decoding (comprehending) morphologically complex words that are common in various
academic subjects.

Semantics
Deficits in semantics include

 slower rate of vocabulary development than that of typically developing children (not attributed
to second language acquisition);
 late acquisition of first words and word combinations;
 delays in verb acquisition, particularly in languages in which verbs are highly inflected
morphologically;
 poor fast-mapping (after a brief or single encounter) of a new word to its referent;
 difficulty understanding new words, particularly action words;
 word-finding difficulties;
 slower confrontation naming that may reflect less rich and less elaborate semantic memory
networks;
 use of filler words like "um" to take up time while the child is searching for a word or formulating
thoughts;
 difficulty monitoring comprehension;
 difficulty requesting clarification;
 difficulty understanding questions and following directions that are heard;
  difficulty paraphrasing information;
 problems comprehending and using synonyms and antonyms, multiple-meaning words, and
figurative language (e.g., idioms, metaphors, proverbs, humor, poetic language);
 poor organization of narratives and expository discourse (impacts ability to convey intended
meaning);
 poor comprehension of narrative or expository text, particularly when it is necessary to draw
inferences from literal content or when expository text is associated with different academic
disciplines.

Pragmatics
Deficits in pragmatics include

 difficulty initiating play with peers, may play alone;

 difficulty understanding others;
 perceived immaturity in relation to same-age peers;
 difficulty expressing ideas, feelings, and personal experiences;
 use of same pragmatic functions as typically developing peers, but may express them differently
and less effectively;
 difficulty initiating and sustaining conversations;
 less effective at securing conversational turns than same-age, typically developing peers;
 less flexible language when attempting to tailor a message to the listener or when repairing
communication breakdowns;
 limited classroom discourse skills (e.g., language productivity and complexity, self-monitoring;
turn-taking), depending on the context (e.g., curriculum-related or non-academic peer
interactions);
 difficulty making relevant contributions to classroom discussions;
 uncertainty about what to say and what not to say;
 uncertainty about when to talk and when not to talk;
 difficulty using language to sequence events of a story—narratives lack cohesion;
 tendency to omit some story components.

Behavioral/Emotional/Social Considerations
Children with language disorders may experience social/emotional problems and/or exhibit behaviors
secondary to language impairment. These difficulties may impact self-perception and awareness,
academic performance, peer relationships, and social interactions. Furthermore, the impact of language
disorders can result in misperceptions and misattributions of the child's behavior (Cohen, Davine,
Horodesky, Lipsett, & Isaacson, 1993).
Children with spoken language disorders may

 exhibit behavioral difficulties, including hyperactivity and attentional difficulties (Dockrell,

Lindsay, Palikara, & Cullen, 2007),
 demonstrate behavioral reticence (withdrawal, wariness, shyness) that can affect initiation of
close relationships in adolescence (Fujiki, Spackman, Brinton, & Hall, 2004),
 have difficulty inferring emotional reactions of others (Ford & Miloski, 2003),
 have difficulty judging when it is appropriate to hide emotions/feelings (Brinton, Spackman,
Fujiki, & Ricks, 2007),
 have difficulty regulating emotions (e.g., monitoring, evaluating, and modifying emotional
reactions; Fujiki, Brinton, & Clarke, 2002),
  have poor social self-esteem (Marton, Abramoff, & Rosenzweig, 2005),
 have difficulty forming and maintaining close social relationships—as adolescents, may be less
emotionally engaged in their close relationships (Wadman, Durkin, & Conti-Ramsden, 2011),
 be at risk for bullying and other forms of abuse (Blood, 2014; Brownlie, Jabbar, Beitchman, Vida, &
Atkinson, 2007).

Metalinguistic Awareness Helps Students Deconstruct & Truly “Get” Language

“Metalinguistics”  and “metalinguistic awareness” aren’t exactly words and phrases that most people
know. As a parent, you may have never heard of metalinguistics. It rarely comes up in conversations with
other parents or even teachers.

Metalinguistics awareness is the ability to look at language as a thing; to evaluate language as a process
or even a system; and to maneuver around successfully in using language. Typically adults do not talk
about the syllables in the words they are speaking or the actual meaning of a word in a sentence — which
are metalinguistic skills. The term was coined in the 1970s when researchers used it to describe the
process of learning multiple languages, however it applies to many facets of language.

Once you have metalinguistic ability and can understand the intricacies of your native language such as:

 how meaning and nuances and inferences beyond meaning are conveyed,
 that meaning can be changed by moving words around
 that language is not absolute, that changing the name of an object does not change the object
you have the tools for comprehension with metacognition.  Metalinguistic ability also sets you to
successfully begin to learn another, new language. As a result, you can start to compare and contrast the
languages and remember that in one language you do a-b-c, whereas in another, the rule is d-e-f.

Metalinguistic Awareness Depends on Metalinguistic Skills

Metalinguistic awareness also refers to the awareness that you can change language in different ways,
that you have the power to manipulate it. For example, if you write a letter to someone and realize
afterwards that sentences #4 through #7 do not make sense, you can rewrite those sentences. You have
the power to change them.

As they grow up, kids start to examine their own work.  They should start to look at their essays and
homework assignments with a more thinking and critical eye. They will begin to see that there may be
better ways to say something. For example, they may write a sentence like:

“I went to the big pond for a big day of fishing in the lake.”

Metalinguistic awareness will alert them to the fact that there’s a discrepancy in the sentence: is it a pond
or is it a lake?  With metalinguistic awareness, a person can reflect on the language.

They could also understand – with metalinguistic awareness – that not all language is literal.  For
example, if someone says, “My little dog is an Olympic athlete,” it doesn’t mean that the dog participates
in the Olympic athletic events. Instead, it means that the dog is athletic, good at athletic skills, and the
owner thinks that the dog has a lot of potential.

This is a necessary step to metacognition, the ability to monitor your own understanding as you listen
and read – knowing about knowing. Metacognition is the last step to high school reading proficiency.
 Learning Glitches Undermine Metalinguistic Awareness
Children with auditory processing disorder (APD) have difficulty with metalinguistics and metalinguistic
awareness. However, programs created to assist children, teens or adults with APD focus on
metalinguistic skills to bring these learners success.
As a parent, improving your child’s metalinguistic skills allows you to ask him or her to do their
homework and to check it. You can expect higher grades and higher understanding.

Symptoms of expressive language disorder

Children with expressive language disorder have difficulties combining words to form accurate phrases
and sentences. For example, a child may not use the correct form of the verb tense (they might say ‘I
goed’ when they mean ‘I went’) or they might omit important grammatical words (they might say ‘I going’
when they mean ‘I am going’). 

They typically produce much shorter phrases and sentences than other children of the same age, and
their vocabulary (the number of words they know and use) is smaller and more basic. 

Children with expressive language disorder are usually below the average level for their age in:

 putting words and sentences together to express thoughts and ideas

 recalling words
 using language appropriately in a variety of settings with different people (for example, at home,
in school, with parents and teachers).

Specific examples of expressive language impairment include:

 a seven-year-old child being unable to join sentences with words like ‘and’, ‘but’ or ‘if’ (such as ‘I
went to the movies. I had popcorn’ instead of ‘I went to the movies and had popcorn’ which is a more
mature form of expression
 a three-year-old child who speaks in two-word phrases only (such as ‘mummy car’ when they
mean ‘That’s mummy’s car.’).

Symptoms of expressive language disorder differ from one child to the next and depend on the child’s age
and the degree of the impairment. Common symptoms include:

 making grammatical errors, leaving out words and using poor or incomplete sentence structure
(for example, ‘He going work’ instead of ‘He’s going to work’ and ‘I talk’ instead of ‘I can talk’).
 using noticeably fewer words and sentences than children of a similar age
 using shorter, simpler sentence construction than children of a similar age
 having a limited and more basic vocabulary than children of a similar age
 frequently having trouble finding the right word
 using non-specific vocabulary such as ‘this’ or ‘thing’
 using the wrong words in sentences or confusing meaning in sentences
 relying on standard phrases and limited content in speech
 sounding hesitant when attempting to converse
 repeating (or ‘echoing’) a speaker’s words
 being unable to come to the point, or talking ‘in circles’
 having problems with retelling a story or relaying information in an organised or cohesive way
 being unable to start or hold a conversation 
 not observing general rules of communicating with others
 having difficulty with oral and written work, and school assignments.

Symptoms of receptive language disorder

 There is no standard set of symptoms that indicates receptive language disorder, as it varies from
one child to the next. However, symptoms may include:
 not seeming to listen when they are spoken to
 appearing to lack interest when storybooks are read to them
 difficulty understanding the meaning of words and sentences
 difficulty remembering all the words in a sentence in order to make sense of what has been said
 inability to understand complicated sentences
 inability to follow verbal instructions; especially if the instruction is long or complicated