Understanding and formulating spoken language
Some children may not be able to understand the words being spoken to them and/or the grammatical rules of sentence construction. Therefore, when their teacher tells the class what they need to do, or explains a new idea or concept,they may struggle to understand what is being said. Having an appropriate vocabulary is essential for the learning process, however learning vocabulary has been identified as one of the most significant difficulties for some children with SLCN, leading to much of their teacher’s talk being inaccessible.
The ability and confidence to ask questions is a vital skill for provoking and shaping new thinking. The Primary Strategy recognises the importance of language for thinking and encourages paired talk and discussion among pupils as a way to enhance learning. This is hugely difficult for children with
SLCN, so vital learning and opportunities to talk with peers can be missed. They may struggle with developing an age appropriate vocabulary, formulating sentences, using the right words in the right order and with following grammatical rules to understand or make it clear to others what has happened in space and time.
In addition, children may have difficulties effectively processing language. They may struggle to remember information given verbally, making it difficult for them to follow more than one instruction at a time.
For many children with SLCN, their language skills are not proficient enough to be used as a learning tool and so they can fail before the task has even begun. This can be incredibly frustrating and have a serious impact on how they see themselves and how they are seen by their peers.