Residency Observation Reflection #1- Inferential Language

Residency Observation Reflection #1- Inferential Language

Inferential language is a learner’s or an individual’s capability of making inferences. Inferential language skills enable learners to comprehend the meaning that is not clearly explained or stated within a text they have read or information they are listening to (Foorman et al., 2016). Thus, this is a vital skill that young students must learn and acquire because it enhances class participation while improving learner’s communication and language skills. Some practices that can be used to build inferential language skills include videos or films, short stories requiring inferences, and images to help learners infer information.

Question One: Practices for Building Inferential Language Skills

The practices I have observed in a practicum setting that focused on building inferential language skills include the use of short stories that need inference and inferring information from images. Notably, I have witnessed these two practices used in a practicum setting, which helped build the learner’s inferential language skills. First, the use of short stories that need inference is similar to those reflected in the inferential language videos because this is where the teacher narrates or reads a short story while allowing learners to visualize and infer characters in the story while closing their eyes. This is precisely what is featured in the second video as the teacher reads aloud a short story. At the same time, the students close their eyes to visualize and infer the story (Institute of Education Science, 2016b). Afterwards, the teacher asks the learners several questions, and they answer in complete sentences. This demonstrates exemplary inferential language skills because almost all learners are depicted raising their hands as they have different ideas to share about the shared story after inferring the text. It also helped the teacher to achieve whole-class participation. The second practice is inferring information from images. This practice is similar to the one showcased in inferential video 1, where the teacher shows the picture of animals presented on the cover of the book they are to read in class. Afterwards, the teacher begins asking questions about the creatures they see on the book’s cover (Institute of Education Science, 2016a). The strategy helped learners fine-tune their critical and visual thinking skills and ultimately enhanced classroom participation, where every learner had a response.

Question Two: Building Inferential Language Skills in My Own Future Classroom

I would incorporate video lessons in my future classroom to help build inferential language skills. The primary reason for using videos is that they improve learners’ engagement. Foorman et al. (2016) affirm that video learning has positive results on several levels, such as deeper learning and improved motivation, and it can significantly impact a learner’s ability to facilitate discussions and identify problems. For students requiring more assistance developing inferential language skills, I will incorporate animated videos or have them watch short films with no words during the lesson. As such, this will help them infer what is happening in the video based on their observations. After that, I will have the learners make a three-column table to record whatever they watched (events, people, or location), what they infer from the performance, and what they know from their background experiences. Kendeou et al. (2020) posit that animated films or short videos are handy for children as they help them develop excellent inferential language skills. Notably, videos allow children to practice inference-making skills without worrying about the reading mechanics, such as decoding words, among others.

References

Foorman, B., Beyler, N., Borradaile, K., Coyne, M., Denton, C. A., Dimino, J., & Wissel, S. (2016). Foundational skills to support reading for understanding in kindergarten through 3rd grade. Educator’s Practice Guide. NCEE 2016-4008. What Works Clearinghouse.

Institute of Education Sciences. (2016a, September 14). Video 1: Inferential language, read aloud & discussion [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JshNkNrblkA

Institute of Education Sciences. (2016b, September 14). Video 1: Inferential language, read aloud & discussion [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JshNkNrblkA

Kendeou, P., McMaster, K. L., Butterfuss, R., Kim, J., Bresina, B., & Wagner, K. (2020). The inferential language comprehension (iLC) framework: Supporting children’s comprehension of visual narratives. Topics in Cognitive Science, 12(1), 256-273.

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Identify practices that you have observed in a practicum setting that focused on building inferential language skills, and describe how the observed practices are similar to or different from those reflected in the inferential language videos.

Describe what you would do differently in your own future classroom to build inferential language skills. If you did not observe instruction that focused on inferential language, explain how you could have incorporated the practices for students in need of more support in developing these skills.

 

Remember to respond to your classmates’ posts (at least two). Your original post and responses will be graded using the Discussion Board rubric Download Discussion Board rubric.