Appendix G- Language as A Barrier to Learning

1. The importance of Language Development in Young Learner

 Different aspects of language are as follows:
 Spoken or expressive language is the language which is uttered orally to send sense to
others.
 Listening or receptive language is the language that is heard and meaning is attached to.
 Inner language or language of thought is language which utilised when a person is
thinking and is not uttered orally.
 Speech is the actual pronunciation of words and sounds and normal speech organs are
used.
 Written language is an innovative form of spoken language.
 Reading is an innovative form of receptive language.
 Cohen and Rudolph (1987: 58-69) mentioned the following importance of language
development in learners as background:
I. The normal development of language abides by developmental laws: spoken language
by babies start in the form of crying and babbling, the first word is followed at 12
months, two word sentences at 18-24 months and at the age of 5-6 years the child has
mastered of elementary structure and grammar. Usually, babies learn language from
what they hear and growth takes place in close association to the contact and
motivation that learners get.
II. Talking (spoken language) is natural and social: four to six years olds are enthusiastic
talkers and their vocabulary and experience are of such a nature that they can perform a
social dialogue, ask particular questions, answer sensible questions and comprehend
significant directions. Chatting in the pre-primary school is not prohibited but is
spontaneous, pleasing activity that learners will engage themselves with.
III. Inner language accompanies thoughts and actions: when young learners are busy with
a task, they will frequently chat out noisy and explain the process by which they are
carrying out a specific activity.
IV. Language reveals individual experience: learners utter the acquainted during play and
their language reveals the world in which they live.
V. Language involves attitudes collected from the adult world. Parents opinion and
attitudes are frequently revealed in what learners say or think.
VI. Language reflects language of thought. The way a baby is reaching out and
understanding of the world is on an entirely diverse degree to that of a young child.
Language and thought grow simultaneously: the language of a learner gives the teacher
a hint of their degree of thought and the knowledge to which they are exposed.
VII. Feelings can also be expressed orally, although it is far more demanding for learners to
explain their feelings that it is for them to express tangible experiences or try to describe
a word.
VIII. Misunderstandings. Learners cannot comprehend the phrase in its figurative meaning,
for instance, ‘’Jack broke his arm’’.
 Language is the most difficult and captivating function of people, however learners universal
usually learn their home language within only few years after they are born.
 Language must be taught although the capacity to utilise language and to chat is part of
being human.
 Language enables person in the environment to comprehend learners’ emotions, thoughts,
needs and what they mean.

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 It essential for the learners to first know few things in order to grasp a message through
language and be able to transmit a comprehensible message oneself:
I. They should be able to associate sounds to their meanings.
II. They must be capable to associate words with objects and thoughts.
III. They must grasp the rules according to which words are joined into language to
communicate broadly.
 Learners are required to learn language so that they can operate successfully in a
community, must be able to communicate with people and personal relations.
 Learners can utilise language to ask questions and get answers.
 Language also gives access to culture, knowledge, the past and everyday activities and all
those that are teaching them to grow into adults.
 Over language, thoughts, feelings and ideas are mainly controlled by the culture in which the
child develops.

1.1.The Acquisition of Emergent Literacy

 Language processes are: listening, talking, reading and writing and all improve in close
cooperation.
 As young as two years old, learners begin to become conscious of the written language,
especial learners who are exposed every day to written language.
 It is essential that learners develop through a number of significant and necessary phases.
 An emotional bond with books and encounter literature as something positive where
learners grow up in an environment where some family members read for them frequently
and where they experience books and stories.
 Many learners at the age of four to six-year-old are already capable to know a written word
if it appears in a well-known context, for instance STOP which is written on a stop sign.
 This may determine that reading is a skill that creates part of child’s daily life world and that
reading lessons are all over.
 Learners are eager to know what signs say, what that fascinating picture can tell them and
identify their own name and be capable to write it themselves soon after.

2. Manifestation of Language Problems at Pre-primary Level

 Language growth plays a significant role in the pre-school years as it enables learners to
communicate with the persons in their surrounding and this inspires their learning skills and
growth.
 Learners in the pre-school do not learn all the speech development and do not learn all the
sounds at the same time because they are still in the stage of development.
 As a result, different speech difficulties may still increase which can be fixed later, particular
sounds such as, ‘’s’’ and ‘’r’’ that give a challenge.
 The pre-primary teachers should always be conscious of speech problem that persist and
which need attention.
 Guideline for the recognition of language problems that may arise at the preschool level
provided by the Subject Committee for Pre-primary Education in Department of Education
and Culture (1991: 5-7) and De Witt et al (1994: 106- 106) are as follows:
2.1.Auditory Receptive Problems (listening Language)
 The following errors can be made by the learners even if they can hear:

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- They cannot differentiate between the sound they hear as a result, they fail to differentiate
sounds such as p/b, s/f.
- They cannot attach sense to what they hear.
- They experience a problem to differentiate between sentences where the emphasis or word
order differs.
- They find it difficult to respond to questions about a story which was read to them.
 The following can also be confusing:
- Pronouns can mean more than one object/ person for instance in the sentence Sophie
thinks she knows everything, ‘’she’’ could refer to Sophie or another individual.
- Similar word may have different meanings, for instance, The soldier stands guard. /The
soldier is a guard.
- Same pronunciation of words may have various meanings, for example, piece/ peace.
- Words consist of figurative or literal meaning. The man broke his arm. / The man is broke.

2.2.The Spoken Language

 Speech refusal. The learners who reject to speak to certain individuals but they can speak,
hear fine and can follow instructions appropriately. This can be regarded as a behavioural
problem.
 Inadequate language. Learners seldom communicate on a verbal level. The utilisation of
language and terminology is limited for successful communication.
 Unintelligible speech. These learners stammer and are then problematic to sound. This is
regularly an outcome inappropriate articulation of several of the sounds, as a result the
speech of learners hampers effective communication and learners frequently suffer
frustration which cause emotional and behavioural challenges.
 Temporal hearing loss. Learners may learn to articulate sounds inaccurately if they
encounter temporary hearing loss while in the process of developing articulation. The
pronunciation problem may continue after the hearing problems have been solved.
 Physical and/ or structural deviations. The speaking of learners with cleft lip and or/palate
is regularly nasal and particular sounds such as ‘’s’’ cannot be articulated appropriately.
 Articulation and rhythm disorders (stuttering). Stuttering requires referral to a speech
therapist because learners may be depressed.
 Voice volume. Voice pitch can be abnormally hard or harsh or soft and vague.
 Vocabulary. Young learners frequently utilise concepts that they have generated
themselves and which family members inspire, for instance, ‘’walkie’’ for ‘’shoes’’. They
also replace words that they do not know or cannot articulate with thingy.
 Sounds. Sounds in words are sometimes omitted such as ‘’leepy’’ for ‘’sleepy’’. Some words
may be switched with others for example ‘’fum’’ for ‘’thumb’’.
 Learners who experience challenges in language and speech must be treated the same as
other learners in the classroom and should not be retold of their problem.
 Learners can be transferred to a speech therapist who would work directly with the
teachers and parents in planning and applying a language schedule for the learners in places
where essential facilities are accessible.

2.3.Problems with a Second Language

 A second language must be taught actually and it is often involuntary upon learners.
 Language includes a cultural content and values, as a result, learners with a different cultural
background can experience problems in an environment which is foreign to them.

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 Learners are taught to cooperate, feel and contribute to the similar principles as those of the
community in which they are in.
 The teacher and a learner cannot share the same experience if their cultures are not the
same.
 The way in which people from various cultures communicate is not the same, for instance, in
some cultures it is forbidden to communicate out loud in class.
 Young learners are still in the phase where they are learning their own language, as a result,
they may encounter same challenges that they have when learning the first language.
 The condition is aggravated for learners who hear the second language at school only.

2.4.A Lack of Emergent Literacy

 Learners who enters school for the first time are encountering problems when the start to
read and write because they have not once been sufficiently exposed to books.

3. Assistance to Learning with Language Problems

 The teachers in primary schools should make it a point that learners can expand the
language skills so that learners who experience challenges in language can also gain.
 Teachers should familiarise learners to defining, labelling, analysing, questioning and
comparing not only through instructions.
 Learners who are learning in schools that teach learners from all race and language group,
learners are then educated in language which is strange to them.
 The classroom should be welcoming and they should experience supportive love and
attention.

3.1.The Role of the Teacher

 Learners’ limitation should be taken into consideration by not utilising complex language to
ask or say something.
 Communicate openly to learners in an interesting manner and speak to them in a pleasant,
personal and warm manner.
 Idiomatic communication should not be utilised in daily language.
 Speak in a natural, ordinary voice.
 Eye contact should be done when speaking to learners.
 Pay attention to the learner’s expression, body posture, tone of voice, etc. so that you can
comprehend what the learner is saying and ignore poor pronunciation or errors in grammar.

3.2.The Contribution of the Pre-primary School to Learners Emergent Literacy

 Learners should not be pushed to do writing and reading exercises if they are not ready yet
for these.
 They should notice the habits in which learners, at the very young age, start to play with
words in their own means.
 Spontaneous writing should be praised and encouraged.
 Classroom should be designed in such a way that attract learners to get involved and busy
with books.
 There should a corner for reading in the classroom which is filled with books where learners
have an access and most of the books should have been read for them.
 There should be a writing corner with adequate writing material, paper, attractive letters
and an alphabetic chart.

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  There should a message board with significant news and events of the day, cardboard post-
boxes to inspire the writing of messages.
 There should be periods where learners are read aloud.
 Reading should be assimilated with everything that is taking place throughout the school
day.
 Brown (1991:347) offers the following guidelines on finding suitable story material
Books should:
I. Be interesting
II. Suitable into child’s life-world and involve well-known features.
III. Story line should be logical
IV. Include repetition
V. Endings should be anticipated
VI. Be entertaining to the teacher
 The following activities are usually presented by primary school and which contribute to
developing literacy:
I. A table with necessary heading and notes.
II. Heading are often used daily articles for instance ‘’door’’ which exhibit names of things
can also be written, just like their own names.
III. Pictures of recipes in which the steps follow each other logically, utilised through baking
tasks.
IV. Names of learners should be written in their existence in the top left-hand corner of
their drawing.
V. A book which comprises of a sequence of drawings by previous preschool.

Activities

1. What is the significance of language development in young learners?

2. Briefly describe the manifestations of language development problems at a pre-primary?
3. What are the practical strategies to assist learners with language problems?