Remedial techniques in developing written expression

Abstract

The development of skill In written expression in students with a specific language disability has always seemed to me of paramount im portance, second only to the acquisition of actual reading skills. For I believe that one cannot separate honestly these two main phases of language—the receptive aspect and the expressive aspect. One fits hand in hand with the other. As one teaches reading and language interpreta tion, he must inevitably invade the general areas of both oral and writ ten expression. But in this discussion the main emphasis is to lie on written expression. And in my opinion, teachers of remedial or re constructive language must begin to stress writing as soon as possible. To be sure, one could possibly discourage a student by starting too soon; but once a child can put into writing even the simplest forms of expression, I urge that he do so, despite inadequate spelling and hand writing. Teachers should encourage writing and find reason to commend a student for his performance, but should be extremely careful to start with very basic work. And false commendation is never desirable. In general, I believe a child learns to express himself in writing primarily by one of two ways: imitation of others or a graduated ap preciation of the structure of the sentence, As I see it, the student plagued by a specific language disability will find limited success, at best, by the first approach. In fact, I believe relatively few students without language trouble possess sufficient imitative power—and of this I am glad—to develop their writing by imitation. Hence I turn to the development of an understanding of the struc ture of that basic unit of thought—the sentence. Beginning with a gram matical approach of a functional nature, I want a child to learn the noun and the verb—the subject and the predicate. I want no formal, high-sounding definitions, for too often they are meaningless to the stu dent. I prefer to tell him that a noun is a word which makes sense after "a," "an," or "the"; a verb is a word of doing—leaving that foggy "state of being" until later. The pupil need be able to read or to say only such a simple sentence as "I go" or "The boy runs," and he is off to a start. Gradually then, we teachers can clothe that skeleton with flesh—with