Connecting Language Processes, Reading Comprehension, and Research- Key Insights from Swanson, Harris, & Graham

Connecting Language Processes, Reading Comprehension, and Research- Key Insights from Swanson, Harris, & Graham

An essential component of daily existence for humans is language. Academic progress is greatly impacted by language, which is also crucial in the classroom. Students frequently engage in a range of language-related teaching activities in the classroom. According to Swanson et al. (2014), there is a fundamental justification for integrating students into language. Students need language to comprehend teacher instructions and guidance, build relationships with peers, take part in class discussions, and expand their knowledge. Language is important to students because it forms the central part of their learning process. It helps them express themselves and communicate with their teachers and peers about what they have understood and what they need clarification on different subjects. Developing language skills helps students utilize the available reading materials effectively.

How Language Foundational Is for Students

According to Sardana and Rathore (2022), instructional language has the power to raise or lower educational standards. For pupils, language is an integral component of their daily lives—a real basis for education, especially in the field of reading. Schools frequently struggle to strike a balance between instruction and reading. Millions of children have been identified as having specific learning language disabilities (LLD) or specific learning disabilities (SLD). As a result, students struggle with language in both spoken and written forms, which could negatively impact their academic performance as a whole (Swanson et al., 2014). It is challenging for pupils to completely comprehend and grasp the instructions that the teacher provides, in addition to the guidelines for assignments, if they are unable to understand spoken and written language. These deficiencies may also have an impact on how students engage and build relationships with their peers. These are essential to the student’s overall growth. According to Johnson and Golombek (2018), Vygotsky’s theory of social genesis holds that engagement in social interactions mediated by people, concepts, and interactions is where an individual’s cognitive growth develops (p. 118). This is a crucial idea that has to do with students’ general academic achievement.

Apart from the previously listed domains, oral language is a potent predictor of reading (Dickinson et al., 2019) and can also have a significant impact on reading comprehension. According to Jamshidifarsani et al. (2019), reading is crucial in the modern world and should not be overlooked. Nonetheless, it’s necessary to pinpoint the treatments and strategies that work. Further, Jamshidfarsani et al. (2019) add that reading is a demanding subject with many facets that present difficulties for some students. This study demonstrates that there is a discrepancy in pupils’ academic and educational attainment. In elementary schools, students still do not read at grade level. The intimate link and parallels between reading and language demonstrate the significance of reading in education, interpersonal interactions, and other areas of a student’s social and intellectual life.

Learning and/or Language Disabilities (LLD)

Language-based learning disabilities (LBLD), also referred to as learning language disabilities (LLD), are characterized by behavioral and cognitive deficiencies in language processing, comprehension, and usage (Newhall, n.d.). Speaking, reading, writing, spelling, math, organization, focus, memory, social skills, perseverance, and self-control are among the academic struggles these students face (Newhall, n.d.). Furthermore, students with LLD diagnoses frequently struggle with communicating from a young age. Some of these pupils who experience difficulties communicating from an early age are frequently classified as language impaired or late talkers. This simply highlights the fact that they produce less speech than peers of the same age (Swanson et al., 2014, p. 257). While some LLD students perform quite poorly, the majority of LLD students fall somewhere in the center of the pack. This indicates that, particularly in the early preschool years, they have fewer language development deficiencies (Swanson et al., 2014). Furthermore, according to Swanson et al. (2014), language impairments are frequently found in preschool-aged children, and LLD is frequently evident beginning in the primary grades.

LLD is commonly observed in school-age children, as was previously indicated. Still, some symptoms are indicative of LLD. A language impairment diagnosis may be made for the child. The child’s capacity for spoken language during their preschool years would demonstrate this (Swanson et al., 2014, p. 258). Language has an impact on the following domains: phonology, pragmatics, morphosyntax, and semantics. These abilities must be developed in preschool to acquire languages later on. Students will eventually receive an LLD diagnosis during their school years if language problems are left untreated (Swanson et al., 2014). Regardless of diagnosis, all preschoolers who exhibit poor language systems are susceptible to LLD as the demands placed on their language systems grow (Swanson et al., 2014, p. 259).

When a child reaches school age, LLD frequently gets harder to identify. These pupils are capable of forming entire sentences and frequently give academic speeches. These students can also respond to simple inquiries and speak up for themselves. LLDs are more noticeable when there is an increase in complexity. Even with small ability gaps, these students frequently discover methods to make up for their deficiencies in primary school. Teachers frequently provide greater support to children early in the school day, but as LLD pupils advance, their learning supports tend to diminish. This can be the result of teachers not having access to enough interventions and techniques.

Targeted language interventions have the potential to significantly improve children’s oral language, according to Hulme et al. (2020). These authors also address the complexity of language and its various components, such as receptive and expressive skills or speaking and listening in simpler terms. The Nuffield Early Language Intervention (NELI) is one particular example of an early language intervention strategy. For pupils who lack sufficient oral language abilities when they start school, this is an intensive intervention. According to Hulme et al. (2020), the main objectives of NELI are to help students “build confidence in independent speaking, develop narrative skills, and vocabulary” (p. 374). Students with LLDs show a small but substantial response to this intervention. Investigating these and other strategies is crucial if one wants to work with students who have learning disabilities.

Reading

The concept of reading is divided into two sections. Reading comprehension is the process of comprehending what one is reading after they have read the text or content literally. When they get to the secondary level, students who still struggle with reading frequently do not have the vocabulary, word reading comprehension, or reading comprehension methods necessary to read and comprehend texts efficiently (Swanson et al., 2014, p. 375). Students who struggle with reading are sometimes two years older than their peers who have similar reading issues. Even though some of these children may have previously gotten reading interventions in elementary school, they still have problems in secondary education. These pupils frequently meet the requirements for secondary reading interventions. At the secondary level, this is resolved through response to intervention (RTI).

Swanson et al. (2014) explain why these pupils continue to show signs of reading difficulty—the regression or halting of progress toward success in reading sometimes referred to as the “fourth-grade slump.” The first reason is that the secondary children’s gains from elementary school were insufficient since they did not receive substantial intervention; therefore, they require more appropriate intervention. The secondary students’ increased proficiency in word reading and other fundamental skills is the second explanation. Despite their modest improvements, these pupils continue to appear to struggle with comprehension in the secondary context. The final justification offered by Swanson et al. (2014) is that when the interventions end, secondary students are unable to sustain their progress on their own in the classroom. Finally, there are little signs of reading difficulty, and the kids arrive late (p. 375). The research mentioned above clarifies why, despite early grade remediation, some students continue to exhibit deficiencies in later grades.

Swanson et al. (2014) present studies on using RTI with 6-8th graders. These are divided into three parts. Effective research-based classroom instruction is addressed in Tier One (p. 376). Tier Two is for secondary intervention. Academically struggling students benefit from this method. Tier Two pupils received targeted assistance and remediation for identified issues. This focused on reading, vocabulary, and understanding. Tier Three is the tertiary intervention for students with struggling reading skills. Swanson et al. (2014) explored collaborative strategic reading and reciprocal teaching as classroom-based approaches. Summarizing, questioning, clarifying, and forecasting are reciprocal teaching tactics (p. 382). Collaborative strategic reading (CSR) uses a comprehensive approach to improve reading comprehension before, during, and after reading. Increasing student text engagement and reading comprehension is the main goal (p. 382). While further study is needed, foundational research has shown the effectiveness of these therapies.

Technology

Technology is widely used in culture today. In particular, technology has altered how people engage and speak with one another. Swanson et al. (2014) aim to address how technology can be used in education to enhance literacy results and identify the tools or resources available for students to aid in comprehension when reading. There are a lot of educational programs available now that support conversational language, reading comprehension, and reading skills. Text-to-speech and speech-to-text apps are basic tools that let pupils have their texts read aloud to them by technology using different tools. These can prove to be very beneficial, especially in terms of reading comprehension.

Furthermore, these activities encourage the development of speech skills and active listening. Word recognition is another tool for written expression (Swanson et al., 2014). Many apps and other pieces of technology available today can predict what a user will type next. This is what computer-assisted instruction (CAI) entails. According to this study, using the particular abilities that were taught during the study, CAI had favorable results (p. 575). Programs and applications can be quite helpful in assisting students’ overall achievement. However, given the new programs that are emerging in the rapidly developing field of technology, further research is required on these programs.

Summary and Biblical Integration

In Philippians 4:7, “And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (New International Version, 2011, Phil. 4:7). This verse focuses much on peace and trust in God, particularly in times of difficulties, including, in this case, reading comprehension difficulties, which are related to a student’s general language proficiency. From a Christian perspective, fully understanding God’s serenity is all one needs. Furthermore, this tranquility enables individuals to relax and not worry about the challenges in their lives, letting them know that God is their Savior and that they shall find peace if they ask for His assistance. This is crucial when talking about learning language disabilities and the requirement for more study and action in the future. Language and reading comprehension are areas where LLD students typically struggle. Educators must support these students and work to address their issues.

In summary, this presentation addressed a number of connected subjects that are unique to LLD students. Pupils with learning and/or language disabilities frequently do not have the same basic proficiency in speaking, writing, and reading as their peers of the same age. There are numerous connections between language and reading. Furthermore, numerous initiatives have been made to provide early interventions for students who struggle with reading. However, when learners get to the secondary setting, these challenges frequently do not persist. The reading chapters addressed the response to intervention (RTI). RTI has been shown to help foster both an improvement in reading comprehension and reading abilities. The last chapter under study covers the technological advancements used to help children who struggle with reading, such as computer-assisted instruction, text-to-speech, and speech-to-text. All of these are easy-to-use programs that most students should use. Students with learning disabilities and reading difficulties, in particular, should make extensive use of the mentioned programs.

References

Dickinson, D. K., Hoffer, K. G., Rivera, B. L., Veneziano, E., & Nicolopoulou, A. (2019). The developing language foundation for reading comprehension. Narrative, literacy, and other skills, 21-41.

Hulme, C., Snowling, M. J., West, G., Lervåg, A., & Melby-Lervåg, M. (2020). Children’s language skills can be improved: Lessons from psychological science for educational policy. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 29(4), 372-377.

Jamshidifarsani, H., Garbaya, S., Lim, T., Blazevic, P., & Ritchie, J. M. (2019). Technology-based reading intervention programs for elementary grades: An analytical review. Computers & Education, 128, 427-451.

Johnson, K. E., & Golombek, P. R. (2020). Informing and transforming language teacher education pedagogy. Language Teaching Research, 24(1), 116-127.

Sardana, S., & Rathore, A. K. (2022, March 28). Effects of language on learning. Higher Education Digest. https://www.highereducationdigest.com/effects-of-language-on-learning.

Swanson, H. L., Harris, K. R., and Graham, S. (2014). Handbook of Learning Disabilities. Guildford Press

The Holy Bible: New International Version (NIV). (2011). Biblica, Inc. (Original work published 1973).

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After reading Chapters 14, 20, and 30 of the Swanson, Harris & Graham book, you will summarize the main points. The summary must draw information from the readings, and it must demonstrate a strong relationship between language processes, reading comprehension, and research.

Connecting Language Processes, Reading Comprehension, and Research- Key Insights from Swanson, Harris, & Graham

Parameters for this assignment include:

1. Include a title page, headings, and reference page in APA format.
2. Include a minimum of 7 citations within your paper in the current APA format and a minimum of 3 outside sources.
3. Must be 5-7 pages in length (excluding the title page, reference, page, and abstract).
4. Include the following topics:
   1. Importance of Language
   2. How is language foundational for students to:
      1. understand instruction, participate in classroom discussions,
      2. establish working relationships with peers and teachers,

• and synthesize information and expand knowledge?

1. Learning and/or Language Disabilities (LLD)
   1. Discuss the nature of LLD from the preschool years to the oral end of the continuum.
   2. Discuss primary grades when children are expected to use language for learning.

• Include research focused on various approaches to improving the early language skills of children who may be at risk for LLD.

1. Reading
   1. Discuss students with significant reading difficulties and those who are candidates for reading intervention.
   2. Many of these students have been provided reading intervention during the elementary grades yet continue to demonstrate reading difficulties at the secondary level.

• Conceptualize interventions for students at the secondary level citing evidence from the reading.

1. Technology
   1. How can the power of technology be used to enhance literacy outcomes?
   2. What does the research to date tell us?

• What devices/programs are out there to aid in reading comprehension?

1. Summary and Biblical Integration
   1. In a summary that discusses the findings and makes connections between all three readings. Use citations to support your assertions.
   2. Include a summary that includes a biblical perspective on the topics above.