Language Learning Difficulty
Signs of Language Learning Difficulties
-  In comparison to his/her peers, a child with language learning difficulties would start talking at a later point of time
- They will tend to graphophonic errors and may not know how to pronounce some words
- The vocabulary of children who face language learning difficulties broadens at a slower rate compared to others
- Whenever forming sentences/communicating with others, children with learning difficulties may not be able to find the right words to use and may take a longer time to convey what they are trying to say.
- During rhyming activities, children may not be able to find rhyming words as quickly as their peers
- They face difficulties when learning the alphabet, numbers and the days of the week.
- Concentrating, interacting with friends and following instructions are a struggle for them.

Developmental Overview of Emergent Reading
Initial Stage
(Early Infancy to Toddlerhood)
- Blurred distinction between toys and books.
- No clear concept of print as yet.

It is significant to provide children in the initial stage with books that 

example, to understanding that print like books etc, have a message in it.
 and also undersstanfin to read by pointing out the words while reading.
knowing where to go to after reading the last sentence, understanding the concepts of sentences, punctuation mark. have different meaning.

Strategies that support Emergent Readers

Set aside activities. 

 For either reading aloud or for individual reading.  this is to help prepare children in the journey of learning by modelling, reflecting and engaging them in reading pleasures.

 

-Pretending to read books,rhymes & chants 

-Demonstrate ability to understand oral message by listening and responding appropriately 

-Using a combination of drawing & writing to communicate 

-Knowing that words are read from left to right and top to bottom

 Being able to identify: first word in a sentence, first letter in a word.

Recognising familiar words like symbols “M” for McDonalds.

Recognising words that sound alike and matching words with initial sounds

Signs of late language development is starting to talk late, difficulty in pronouncing words, repertoire of vocabulary increases at a very slow rate, difficulty finding the right words.

 

On the initial stage, the infant/toddler has a blurred vision between toys and books and  also have no clear concept of what a print is yet. Thus, providing books with clear and simple instructions is important.

At the preschool stage, children would engage in independent reading. They would have to go through one-to- one correspondence which is word by word pointing and differentiate between the words that are being read and printed text. They would also recognise that books have common characteristics. They would also know the direction for reading and writing. They will also understand where to go after the end of a line also known as a return sweep and the concept of a letter, a word and a sentence. They will learn that the first and the last part of a word, sentence or a story and that the letter order in words are important.

-one to one correspondence which means the words read must match the words that are printed,.

-recognises that books have common features which are author, title , book spine , front and back.

-direction of reading is left to read, top to bottom. 

-return sweep which means knowing where to start from after a line ends

-whats the concept of a letter, a word and sentence 

-concept of first and last words of a sentence and story.

- differences of first and last letter of words

- the difference between upper and lower case letters 

-punctuation marks have different meanings 
 

e.g.

J - Jelly

O - Orange

H - Ham

N - Napkin

            >  Ensure that there are appropriate books and good lighting, with noise distractions reduced to barest minimums.

 

 

What is emergent reading/literacy? 

-       A combination of the skills, knowledges, attitudes that are fundamental in a child’s development relating to reading & writing activities 

 

Guidelines of supporting emergent reading 

-       When is a child ready to read? 

-       When should we as adults introduce children to reading? 

-       What are the skills that are needed to prepare the child for reading? 

-       What must the child know before he can read? 

 

Signs of emergent literacy: 

-       Letter M refers to Macdconald 

-       Sing ‘’eency wincy spider’’ with actions 

-       Flips through a book, pretending to read 

-       Able to recognize the models of cars and lebels them by brands 

-       ‘’Scribbles’’ and makes symbols, signs or letters( and/or attaching their own meaning to it.) 


Signs of children who had language disabilities: 
• When a child starts talking late, way behind the rate of development as compared to their peers
• When a child has difficulty pronouncing words
• When a child’s repertoire (supply) of vocabulary increases at a very slow rate
• When a child always encounters difficulty in finding the “right” (suitable) word
• When a child has difficulty searching for rhyming words
• When a child finds it a challenge learning the alphabet, numbers and even the days of the week
• When a child seems to have difficulty to focus in class
• When a child experiences difficulty communicating with friends
• When a child finds it challenging to follow instructions or the daily 



To support children with language learning disabilities:
 1. Read together and encourage the child to discuss the photos, predict outcomes and to ask questions that are relevant to the story
 2. Choose books that are of the child's ability (age-appropriate and development-appropriate)
 3. Have a library resource in class or visit community library resources
Introduce print literacy to children 


Initial stage of Emergent reading 
This happens during their later stage of infancy and toddlerhood. Children tend to think that their books and toys are the same, not understanding on to use them.

It is important that we provide them simple and clear illustrations, pictures that are familiar to the child, an example on how to handle the books, books that are durable and books that offer tactile experiences.



Concept of Print 
children learn through experience. They require physical experience that will help them remember what they are learning. 
when children read from physical copies of a book, they are able to learn the different parts in the books that are equally as important such as how to 🤬 to the next page and not skip any pages so it willbe in sequence order. 
They are able to grasps and learn the different concepts of reading. Forexample, what is the difference between a sentence and a whole story. 
Some children are not able to differenciate different word with similar spelling such as 'memories' and 'memorise'. Through reading print, they will be able to hear the way the two words are being pronounced and it will help them figure out the difference in it. 
Children are often not aware of the use of capital and small letters in words used in sentences. When they these are being introduce to them, they can learn more when is the appriate time fo them to use upper and lower cases in words. 
When a child requests for the teacher to repeat the book, this is a good sign as this means that they are interested in reading. it could be tiring for the teacher to be repeating the same stroy all over again but it will benefit the child in many ways. Through this way, the child will learn how to read a book on her own eventually.


Strategies that supports emergent reading

1. create an awareness for environmental prints. 
collect these prints such as signs, labels, logos and put them into a booklet. child would be able to uderstand and recognise the environmental prints used in different medias around them.
2. Creating booklets with pictures associated with the letters of their names. 

• M - Marshmallows, monkey, money
• O - orange, otah, octopus
• R - rainbow, rabbit
• G - goat, girl, GAP
• A - ants, astronaut, aeroplane
• N - nails, nose, neck


3. Reading activites
Set aside time in class or even at home for reading, whether reading aloud or individual quiet reading.  Appropriate books, area, lighting, noisy distractions switched off are examples that needs to be considered during reading time.

Conclusion: adults should pay attention to the initial fundamental steps to prevent stressing both the teacher and the child.  It is the responsibility of both parents and the school to prepare the child in learning to read by modelling, reflecting and engaging them in the pleasures of reading before the child truly finds joy in his/her individual attempt to explore print literacy.