Introduction to the Exemplary Practice
Students with language learning disabilities (LLD) demonstrate deficits in word recognition, listening comprehension, language, text processing skills, and metacognition, all which impact reading comprehension (Catts & Kamhi, 2005; Westby, 2005). “All language processes are dependent on the same superordinate cognitive abilities. The relations between oral language and written language are fundamental and reciprocal; reading and writing are initially dependent on oral language and eventually extend oral language abilities” (Westby, p. 157). This interactive nature highlights the need for explicit instruction not only in language, but in metacognition and text structures as well to ensure that students with LLD develop the skills necessary to comprehend what they read and hear. As students with LLD acquire and utilize their skills in listening and reading comprehension, it can be predicted that they will become increasingly independent in their ability to construct meaning from lectures and text within the classroom setting.
Students with LLD will often develop the conversational skills necessary to effectively communicate; however, their ability to use language to learn during listening and reading activities is significantly hampered. Many students are provided speech-language services by a speech-language pathologist who will attend to their language needs; however, explicit instruction in other deficit areas, such as metacognition and text structures will not be addressed. For speech-language pathologists to positively impact students’ academic learning, a deeper understanding about how language impacts learning to read; how other linguistic and cognitive areas in addition to receptive and expressive language and vocabulary affect academic performance; and what intervention approaches provide the best results is necessary. Westby (2005) stated,
“Reading to learn, or comprehending texts, requires understanding a literate language style, which involves comprehension of novel words and increasingly complex sentences; yet more than comprehension of novel words and complex sentences are required for reading to learn. Readers must possess and acquire ever-increasing knowledge of their physical and social world and they must know why they are reading; they must be aware of the communicative function, or genre, of the text” (p. 157).
It is therefore imperative that speech-language pathologists analyze their students’ skills beyond the language level and design instructional activities that address all the needs of their students as they relate to their listening and reading abilities.
Metacognition is a higher-level cognitive skill that facilitates knowledge and awareness of reading and listening tasks. Westby (2005) reported, “if students do not monitor their comprehension during conversation and repair conversational breakdowns, they are unlikely to monitor comprehension during reading and engage in strategic reading practices to assure they comprehend texts” (p. 212)This indicated that students with LLD, who exhibit deficits in listening comprehension and do not utilize strategies to improve comprehension, will experience the same deficits in metacognitive thought for reading comprehension. Speech and language pathologists can provide students with the necessary instruction in metacognition to improve skills in both listening and reading. This involves teaching students with LLD self-appraisal skills during listening and reading tasks, including what strategies to use, when and why to use them, and how to use them (Westby). In addition, students with LLD can be shown self-management skills that will teach them how to select appropriate strategies, evaluate the effectiveness of strategies, and change strategies when necessary (Westby).
Comprehension monitoring skills have been identified as an essential component of metacognitive strategies instruction (Kinnunen, Vauras, & Niemi, 1998; Walters & Chapman, 2000). “Comprehension monitoring is a necessary language skill in the classroom, as it is important for children to assess their own understanding of task instructions and teaching content” (Walters & Chapman, p. 48). Therefore, teachers and support staff, who provide explicit instruction in metacognitive strategies to students with listening comprehension and reading comprehension deficits, should include instruction in comprehension monitoring.
Students with LLD should also learn about text structures to create an internal representation, or a schema, of the different types of genres, fiction and nonfiction, that are utilized during reading and listening activities (Westby, 2005). This would facilitate awareness of what students need to attend to as they read or listen to text, which would improve reading and listening comprehension skills. Westby stated, “The speed of reading and comprehension of text becomes easier when the reader possesses intuitive knowledge of the text grammar structure of text” (p. 159).
Students with LLD will require explicit intervention that focuses on bringing their thoughts into awareness. This will need to be modeled by the teacher, who will gradually release responsibility to the students (Westby, 2005). Teaching children to comprehend what they hear and read goes far beyond explicit instruction in language. Teachers and speech and language pathologists must evaluate and extract the knowledge each student brings to the learning environment and foster this knowledge, through dialogue, while providing explicit strategies instruction to maximize listening and reading comprehension skills.