Language comprehension is often a forgotten part of language intervention, yet it is so important for success in the classroom, in social interactions, and in reading. The good news is that there are already established assessment and intervention strategies tailored for speech-language pathologists which enhance language and reading comprehension.
Dr. Crystal Alonso has been focusing on language comprehension in some of the research she conducts at San Diego State University. We invited her to come present and highlight the importance of higher-level comprehension skills, such as inferencing and understanding text structure to develop reading comprehension. She has tested out evidence-based strategies to help speech language pathologists assess and enhance students’ language comprehension and related skills.
Spend six minutes here and then come join her speak!
How Can SLPs Enhance and Support Listening Comprehension Skills?
A study aimed at predicting listening comprehension in pre-kindergarten children identified early assessment tasks that can forecast second-grade comprehension abilities. It analyzed a large cohort and found that sentence repetition is as effective as a full assessment battery. The CELF-5’s Sentence Repetition task emerged as a simple, effective tool for speech-language pathologists, with additional sentences created to adapt it for preschoolers, enhancing its accessibility for practical use.
What is the Relationship Between Listening Comprehension and Reading Comprehension?
Listening and reading comprehension are intertwined aspects of oral language, as highlighted by PhD research from the Language and Reading Research Consortium (LARC) focusing on pre-kindergarten to third grade. The findings emphasize that effective reading comprehension hinges on both language understanding and word recognition. Speech-Language Pathologists (SLPs) are crucial in improving reading skills, illustrated by an example where a grandfather can understand German but cannot read it, while his grandson can decode the text but lacks comprehension.
How do we differentiate between low reading comprehension due to decoding and true comprehension difficulties?
Understanding the distinction between low reading comprehension due to decoding issues and genuine comprehension difficulties is essential. Approximately 50% of children encounter challenges in both word recognition and language comprehension. Children with Developmental Language Disorder (DLD) primarily struggle with language comprehension, while dyslexic children focus on word recognition. Both groups face initial phonological processing difficulties, but DLD children later encounter grammar and syntax issues, unlike their dyslexic peers. Effective assessment methods can help differentiate between DLD and dyslexia, even when children exhibit overlapping challenges.
Want to hear the full story and earn CEUs?
Check out this course: Supporting Language Comprehension: Top-down Strategies for Boosting Reading
Speech language pathologists often prioritize sound production, but language comprehension is crucial for academic success and social interactions.
Join Dr. Crystle Alonzo from San Diego State University as she shares evidence-based ways SLPs can support the language comprehension skills of our students and help their higher level language skills, such as inferencing and reading, soar.
