Acquiring English Language Skills

Newsletter #42 for Internationally Adopting Parents
December 14, 2006
PAL Center Inc.

In this issue

Group Consultations Calendar

Post-adoption family consultation and counceling

Group Consultation #5

Language based disabilities
and their management
at school and at home Moderators:
Natalia Likhtik, Licensed Bilingual Speech-Language Pathologist
Boris Gindis, Ph.D.

We will be talking about various manifestations of language issues, the consequences of waiting "for better English" and your actions that may improve your child's situation or make it worse.

Typical native language delays and disorders of institutionalized children. Are they important in the process of a new language learning?
Signs of the English language delay
Working on language delays at home
Working on language delays at school
Is bilingualism an option for my child?

Is it a language learning temporary difficulty or learning disability? Your child's case discussion.

You receive this newsletter as a former client or correspondent of
the Center for Cognitive-Developmental Assessment & Remediation, or a former student
of the BGCenter Online School,
or a user of the International Adoption Articles Directory.

Latest Articles
from the
International Adoption Articles Directory

Dr. Bryce Hunter
Earth's Answers - B Vitamins by Dr. Bryce Hunter
B- vitamins are a group of eight individual vitamins. They are necessary for us to maintain our health, aids in the functions of the nervous system and they breakdown carbohydrates into essential energy compounds, which provide energy and stamina to the body. Many doctors and the research of nutritionist's suggest that these essential complexes of B-vitamins are some of the most abundant on the planet. However, they are consistently eliminated or in many of our processed food.

Romain Levesque
The Differences between Foster Care and Adoption
Of course, there are many differences between foster care and adoption, ranging from the trivial to the significant.

Susan Chen
How Lawyers Aid Juvenile Delinquency Cases
When a child between the ages of ten and eighteen commits a crime, the act is described in legal term as delinquency and the matter is resolved through the intervention of the juvenile court.

Speech Pathologist's Corner

Steps to Help Your Child Acquire English Language Skills

In this newsletter we continue printing 4 steps that our speech pathologist Natalia Likhtik offers to new adoptive parents as a guide for helping children acquire the English language faster.

Step 2

We use an expanded variety of strategies and repeat new words in various settings; we teach children a more thorough understanding of the new words and concepts. One simple way to introduce new words is to replace the over used complimentary words, "good" and "special," with more specific compliments (e.g., "That picture is so colorful and bright! It reminds me of the sunset." "You are such a responsible helper! I only asked you one time to stop playing and to pick up your toys, Thank You.")

Goal:

You need to recognize opportunities and methods to introduce new words.

You need to select a core set of concept words to target on a weekly basis.

Strategies:

Define words verbally (e.g., "We say Putrid when something smells really, really nasty").

Provide examples or comparisons (e.g., "Rough is what your daddy's chin feels like in the morning…. ouch!").

Use concrete words to label objects and events (e.g., "Listen. That dog is not barking. It sounds like he is whining; he's howling).

Use words to express relational and categorical concepts (e.g., "This kiwi is a fruit. So are apples. What else is a fruit?")

Demonstrate concepts with appropriate words and/or props (e.g., "This is a hoe; you use it to scrape away the weeds in the garden like this." Demonstrate action)

Compiled by Natalia Likhtik
Licensed Bilingual Speech-Language Pathologist
www.bgcenter.com/BE/NLikhtik.htm
www.bgcenter.com/BGCenterServices/SpeechandLanguage.htm