Chapter 7: Using Conversations to Listen to Language and Speech  

 
Fact: Reflection:  
7-1 (Using Conversations to Listen to  Our minds are receiving and processing 
Language and Speech)  various pieces of information all at once. 
❖ Observing by listening is done   
naturally all the time.   
➢ Inferences are made about  With inferences, can come bias. It is 
where the speaker is from,  important to check and be aware of 
the speaker’s self esteem,  potentially harmful biases. 
educational background, 
social situation, ethnic 
group, and even mental age 
➢ Listener notices: 
■ teeth formation 
■ facial expression  
■ body language 
■ eye contact 
■ sense of humor  
■ vocabulary choice 

7-1a (Listening as the Foundation for LD)  Communication is the way we function 
❖ Function of language is the  within society. If we never knew what 
communication of needs, and  others wanted to say or needed, we 
eventually, thoughts and questions  wouldn’t make any advancements. 
❖ Articulation   
➢ dependent on ability to listen   
and discern differences in   
sound   
➢ Reproduce diff sounds   
clearly enough to produce   
meaningful language   
❖ Vocabulary   
➢ Range of words for objects,   
feelings, actions, and   
thoughts   
❖ Grammar   
➢ Part of LD that applies the   
rules of the specific language   
to speech   
❖ All systems could be in working  With each experience, their language is 
order, but sometimes emotional  growing, and the experiences are 
stress, trauma, or abuse interferes  important pinpoints for the manner in 
with oral communication.  which the child chooses to communicate. 
 ❖ Action research: i​ nformal collection   
of information about a child or   
children   
➢ Way for teachers to find out   
what they want to know and   
seek answers from their own   
classroom   
❖ Conversations: t​ wo-way verbal   
experiences  Making the child feel important and 
➢ Informal conversations:  accepted begins day 1. 
spontaneous conversations 
between adult and child that 
yield information 
■ Arrival and departure 
times are important 
for conversation 

7-1b (Informal Observations of Language)  The more stressful environment I am in, 

❖ Effectiveness of convo/interview  the more stressed out I am. It's the same 
depends on your own conversational  for kids. They are still learning how to 
skills  process so much information at one time.  
➢ Listen actively and formulate   
questions based on the   
child’s lead   
➢ If child appears   
anxious/reluctant to speak,   
stop and observe in a more   
natural setting   
❖ Busy environment can interfere   
with interview   
➢ The emotional environment   
provides freedom of   
expression without fear of   
being told the answers are   
wrong, stupid, or   
unacceptable   
❖ Teacher has ethical responsibility  This is where biases can slip in knowingly 
not to probe into personal family  or unknowingly. Safety is a good measure 
matters and practices  of knowing when to question and when not 
➢ Only report child abuse  to.  
❖ When children are engaged in 
activities, words flow out 

7-1c (Child Interviews)  You wouldn’t want someone else asking 

❖ Gather info about child from child  your mom what you’re fav food is when 
 ❖ Interviewing children is an age-old  you are capable of answering on your own.  
technique   
❖ Formal tests of speech and  No matter the conversation type, I feel it is 
language are used by speech  important to make sure the child feels as 
pathologists to determine level of  natural as they can.  
child’s speech and language ability 
❖ Structured interview: planned 
conversations to find out specific 
info about a child 
❖ Diagnostic interview: conversations 
designed to yield developmental 
information about a child 
➢ Opinions are stated, 
interpretations or reasons for 
event can be explored 
❖ Facilitated conversations: planned 
conversation times to determine 
knowledge base  
❖ Dialogic reading has been found not 
only to improve the language and 
reading ability of the child but also 
create a positive attitude towards 
reading because of the 
conversational involvement with the 
adult 

7-1d (Documenting Children’s Language)  We can’t remember everything. (Thank 

❖ Main reason for writing down  goodness for pen and paper) 
observations is to remember   
❖ Written words have more meaning  Tone is everything. In the way we talk to 
when speaker’s voice and way of  children and others. 
speaking is recorded   
➢ Using audio allows teacher   
to give child and class all   
their attention   
❖ Confidentiality   Again, confidentiality is key.  
➢ Child is client 
➢ Everything is confidential, 
except child abuse 

7-1e (How to Find the Time)  Luckily, teachers are already talking with 
❖ Teacher talks with the children  their students, so the next step would be to 
throughout the day  make it intentional; in the same way you 
❖ teacher looks at every aspect of day  do for the curriculum. 
and thinks about potential moments 
 for individual conversations 
❖ Class list log near door or area that 
you will be near for a majority of 
day is helpful in capturing 
important moments 
❖ If recording becomes 
intimidating/intrusive, it modifies 
the results by changing behavior 
❖ Recordings filed in portfolio 

7-2 (Listening to Speech)   

❖ Listening before speaking is a habit 
that will help everyone in career 
and daily life 

7-2a (Receptive Language: Listening)   

❖ Listen before   
speaking=progression of lang. Dev   
➢ Vital skill that is used to   
react to danger signals and   
obtain information   
❖ Receptive language: ​that which is   
heard, taken in   
➢ More developed than ability   
to express thoughts verbally   
except where there are other   
factors such as   
auditory/cognitive disorders   
❖ Expressive language: m ​ essages that   
are communicated through words   
and gestures  Children are always looking and listening 
❖ All that is sung, read, and sung is  even when we think they aren’t.  
received   
❖ Speech and language are not  This is an important distinction to make as 
interchangeable  a future speech therapist so I don’t 
➢ Speech: ​the sounds produced  misdiagnose/treat a client.  
to make words, phonemes   
■ There can be speech   
without language   
➢ Language: t​ he meaning of   
the words and gestures that   
are communicated   
❖ Phonemes: b ​ asic unit of sound in   
spoken language 
➢ /u/, /o/,/n/,/k/ 
 ❖ Morphemes: s​ mallest unit of 
language; words 
➢ /m/,/p/,/d/ 
➢ By linking phonemes 
meaning is formed 
❖ Newborns have capacity to 
discriminate between 2 languages 
❖ Articulation: ​the sounds of speech 
❖ The role of the early childhood 
educator is one of the facilitator, 
interpreter, and responder rather 
than remediator 

7-2b (Expressive Language)  Making notes of a child’s development in 

❖ Stuttering occurs frequently to  this area would be the only way to ensure 
young children as language learners  they get proper assistance if needed.  
➢ Dysfluent: s​ peech disorder in 
which the speaker repeats a 
beginning sound or word 
➢ If it remains longer than a 
few weeks, further 
investigation should take 
place 

7-3 (Language Development)   

❖ 5 areas 
➢ Phonology (sounds of lang, 
“speech”) 
➢ Vocab (words of lang) 
➢ Grammar (sentence 
structure) 
➢ Discourse (how sentences 
are put together to tell 
stories) 
➢ Pragmatics (rules of lang, 
social context) 

7-3a (Language Acquisition Theories)   

❖ Skinner, Bandura: imitation and   
positive reinforcement is how   
language develops   
❖ Children who are deprived of   
hearing language can end up   
permanently incapable of learning   
and using language   
 ❖ Biology, early experiences, and   
brain development relate to  Teachers teach more than material, they 
language development  teach how to operate within the world. To 
❖ Adult role in language acquisition  think they do not is foolish.  
cannot be denied 

7-3b (Language Progression)   

❖ Holographic: ​one-word sentences 
that have meaning 
➢ Single words between 12 
and 18 months become 
requests or questions 
❖ Telegraphic: f​ ew-word sentences 
that have meaning 
❖ Language is developing, changing 
from simple to complex 
❖ Syntax: o​ rder of words in a 
sentence that gives them meaning; 
grammar 
➢ Cognitive or learning ability 
and physical developmental 
combine to make this happen 

7-3c (Functions of Language)   

❖ By 4-5 yrs old, cognitive 
development is moving towards 
symbolic stage (when reading and 
writing develop) 
❖ Non-verbal gestures such as signs 
or signals come before words 
➢ By observing gestures, 
providing vocabulary for 
feelings, and also listening 
for words, the caregiver can 
learn about the child’s needs, 
what he knows, and even 
what he is thinking 
❖ Pre-verbal children can learn to 
convey important messages such as 
“more, yes, no, come”, months 
before they can say the words. 
❖ Connection between physical, 
cognitive, and language 
developmental domains may result 
in building vocabulary and earlier 
 communication skills. 

7-3d (Dual Language Learners)  I found it interesting that english is not the 
❖ Preschool children come to school  official language. I assumed it was. Goes 
speaking language of the home  to show how biases and societal influences 
❖ English is not the language of the  can creep in.  
U.S. 
❖ LD is affected for both monolingual 
and DLL by influences such as 
parent’s education and 
socioeconomic levels 
❖ Pictured vocabulary words in the 
languages of all the children in the 
class promote cooperation and 
respect for all languages 

7-4 (Teacher’s Role in LD)   

❖ Teachers play a vital role in helping 
children use language to enhance 
their learning 

7-4a (Facilitating Language)  Foster, foster, foster all areas of 

❖ Children best learn language  development! 
through interaction with adults who 
show an interest in conversations, 
model verbal etiquette 
❖ Adding to what the child says 
expands the conversation and the 
child’s vocabulary 

7-4b (Elicited Conversations)   

❖ Photographs of experiences are 
excellent conversation starters 

7-4c (“Teacher, Be Quiet”)  Being loud doesn't equate to being heard.  

❖ The quieter the adult speaks, the 
quieter the room becomes in an 
effort to hear. 

7-4d (Language Role Models)  We must choose our words carefully and 
❖ Teachers of young children can  keep in mind how our non-verbal language 
fall into some bad habits that are  can come across as well.  
not helpful to children 
➢ Say, “Would you like me to 
help with that?” vs “Can 
 Mrs. Nilsen help you with 
that?” 
➢ Saying “Use your words” 
■ If child could, they 
would 
➢ How would you like it if they 
did that to you? 
■ Child is unable to put 
themselves in others 
shoes at this point 
❖ As language role models and 
empathetic humans, adults should 
speak to children in the same 
manner they speak to peers 
❖ Verbal tone and volume can add to 
aggressiveness of the classroom 
atmosphere by conveying anger, 
displeasure, and even dislike 

7-4e (Language and Literacy Connection)   

❖ Family income level, vocabulary, 
the opportunity to hear books read 
and to learn the concept of words 
and books, and child care quality all 
have correlations to later school 
success 
❖ Encourage children through 
responses to their questions, stay on 
subject, during free play 

7-4f (Language and the Common Core)  When reading the standards, I didn’t see 
❖ Alot of criticism around it  anything incredibly alarming and would be 
❖ Standards that must be  interested in why the controversy exists 
accomplished per grade level 

7-5 (Helping all Children with LD)   

❖ Teacher listens and observes first of 
all to find a way to interact, 
showing interest in the child, then 
to assess how best to communicate 

7-5a (Observing the Developing Language  Making notes is the only way to know 
of Infants and Toddlers)  whether a child is or isn't hitting the 
❖ Since language development is an  typical developmental milestones.  
indicator of many other domains of 
 development (social, perceptual, and 
cognitive), close observation of 
infants and toddlers as they begin 
to communicate is important 
➢ Concern arise when there 
are significant delays in 
reaching the speech and 
language milestones 

7-5b (DLL)  I am taking ASL now and am fascinated 

❖ Is it advisable for teachers to be  with it. I know that it will be useful in my 
bilingual, whether in a second  career and plan on continuing it at 
cultural language or sign language  university.  
❖ Sensitivity to child’s needs is called   
for when the child does not speak   
the language of the classroom or   
teacher   
❖ Preschool programs with full   
English immersion have been found   
to be less effective than bilingual   
teaching   
❖ Learning 2 languages after age 3 is   
beneficial to all   
➢ Won't result in academic   
delays when social and   
cultural strengths are also   
recognized   
❖ A basic educational principle is the   
acceptance of each child   
❖ By law, parents must receive notice  Knowing these laws as the teacher and 
of the plan and reports of their  helping the parents be aware of a law 
child’s progress in a language they  could make or break a child’s success in 
understand  this area. 

7-5c (The Quiet Child)  Take everything (all domains of 

❖ It is important to find out if they  development) into account before making 
child speaks when talking to family  any judgments. 
➢ Child should not be begged 
or bribed to speak 
■ Teacher should focus 
on child’s strengths 
and abilities, being 
patient and inviting 
■ To be effective, 
teachers and helping 
 professionals need to 
take time to learn 
about family’s culture, 
reexamine their own 
culture and possible 
biases 

7-5d (Children with Differing Abilities in  Everyone deserves an equal opportunity to 
Regular Classrooms)  learn.  
❖ Provide augmentative/alternative 
communication systems  
➢ Gestures, pictures, assistive 
listening technology 
❖ Other children become their role 
models, and communication skills 
become more functional in a 
responsive environment 
❖ Program responds to IEP/IFSP 
decisions in the same way they 
would for a child without differing 
abilities 
 
Not a tool for this chapter. Most of this chapter consisted of how to listen to language. 
This can be done through voice recordings