Classroom factors and oral language development in mildly retarded children

Abstract

The present study examined the possibility that special class teachers demonstrate considerable inter-class variation in their ability to promote language gains in their pupils, and that the classroom behaviour of teachers and pupils differentiates special classes in which pupils show characteristically high or low gains in receptive and expressive language development. A survey was made of receptive and expressive language development of all pupils in primary special classes in the Christchurch Metropolitan area. The children were retested after six months, and high- and low-gain classes were identified for both receptive and expressive language development on the basis of mean pupil gains. A series of two studies were undertaken. Study 1 was a comparison between classes showing high and low gains in receptive language development in terms of the classroom activities of pupils and teachers, and Study 2 involved a similar comparison between classes showing high and low gains in expressive language development. The classroom activities of teachers and pupils were observed, and the amount of time the children spent in language related classroom activities and the extent and manner in which the teachers monitored the children's activities were determined. In Study 1 (receptive language) the results indicated that the children from high-gain classes, in comparison with those from low-gain classes, spent more time in informal reading, "directed reading" and "directed writing", and less time in "handwriting", "non-directed writing" and "attending to the teacher". It was also found that the teachers of the high-gain classes made fewer negative statements and devoted less time to administrative activities than the low-gain teachers. In Study 2 (expressive language) the results indicated that children from the high-gain classes, in comparison with their low-gain counterparts, spent more time in "speaking informally", "group activity", "attending to task", "handwriting", and less time in "attending to teacher", "attending to peers", "teacher directed language", "subject initiated speech" and "teacher initiated speech". It was also found that teachers from high-gain classes spent more time than low-gain teachers in "solo-praise", "interacting with others" and "administration", and less time in "neutral class" and "group instruction". It was concluded that Christchurch special classes differed markedly with respect to the language gains made by pupils, and that differences in pupil and teacher behaviour clearly differentiated high- and low-gain classes. Moreover, while both receptive and expressive language development seemed to be facilitated by teacher and pupil behaviour, the factors which promoted the pupils' receptive language did not appear to be those which promoted expressive language. The findings were discussed in terms of the need for the development of experimental and language programmes in New Zealand special classes and the need for further research into the factors which differentiate effective and ineffective oral language programmes for mildly retarded children.