What makes sentences complicated?
Preadolescents and adolescents with language disorders struggle to understand the types of sentences they are exposed to at secondary school. Academic language, or informational language is characterized by long, complex sentences and technical vocabulary, used to express higher level ideas (for more information about this type of language, see my blog post: https://secondaryschoolslt.wordpress.com/2026/04/15/what-is-expository-discourse-and-how-is-it-relevant-at-secondary-school/). Many students…
Is poor working memory the cause of comprehension difficulties in older students with language disorders?
Students with language disorders have difficulties that extend beyond language. There is an extensive research literature linking weaknesses in broader cognitive skills such as attention, processing speed, executive functioning, short term and working memory with language disorders (Leonard et al, 2007, 2013, Henry and Botting, 2017). Short term and working memory have received particular attention.…
Why do so many students with language disorders also struggle with literacy?
There is a significant overlap between language disorders and literacy difficulties. 50% of young people with Developmental Language Disorder (DLD) are unable to read simple texts, and more than 80% struggle to understand what they read (RCSLT et al, 2023). When a survey of children attending a special school for those with Specific Language Impairment…
What is literate language and how is it relevant at secondary school?
By the time they start primary school, most children have a robust lexicon of words that they are able to employ for different purposes (Benson, 2009). However, as they progress through the years, they begin to learn more and more words, slowly acquiring a rich and varied vocabulary, capable of expressing great subtlety in meaning.…
What is expository discourse and how is it relevant at secondary school?
Expository discourse, or “informational language”, as suggested by the name, is language used to explain, inform and describe (Ukrainetz, 2024). Also known as “the language of the curriculum”, it is the academic language used in class lectures and textbooks, and required in student presentations, essays and reports. It’s also used when explaining how to bake…
How are oral and written language different?
Written language is not just oral language “written down”, but is different in both style and function. Whilst oral language is typically less formal, with concrete, familiar words and simpler sentences, written language tends to be denser and more information-heavy, with specialist vocabulary and complex sentence structures (Benson, 2009). These differences can be traced back…
Why do some students struggle to understand what they read?
Reading comprehension is not a single skill, but a complex task underpinned by a range of different abilities and knowledge (Catts, 2021). To understand a text, students must first have adequate sight reading and decoding abilities, as well as fluency in reading. They will need to have adequate background and vocabulary knowledge, and be able…
What are the main challenges of secondary school for students with language disorders?
The move to secondary school (age 11 in the UK) is difficult for any Year 7 student, but especially so for those with language disorders. On a basic level, secondary schools are typically much bigger than primary schools. The number of students to a class can double in size, and there are large, confusing buildings…
What is cognitive referencing and should Speech and Language Therapists (SLTs) use it?
Cognitive referencing, also known as the discrepancy model, refers to the outdated practice of determining eligibility for a diagnosis, and/or Speech and Language Therapy (SALT) services by comparing an individual’s language abilities with their non-verbal IQ. According to this, children with language difficulties would be expected to have average overall intelligence, i.e. there ought to…
What does “illusory recovery” mean?
The term was originally coined by Scarborough and Dobrich (1990) in their renowned article, “Development of children with early language delay” (Scarborough and Dobrich, 1990). The authors were trying to reconcile two slightly contradictory findings in the literature: that “late talkers” (“children with limited expressive vocabulary at 18-24 months” (Bishop et al, 2016)) often recover…
Language Disorders: Is there a difference between disadvantage and disorder?
There has been some debate over the years around whether a language disorder should be distinguished from language disadvantage. The link between low socio-economic status (SES) and language difficulties is well established. In some deprived areas, as many as 50% of children do not have appropriate language skills for their age (Roy & Chiatt, 2013).…
Are there different subtypes of language disorder?
Developmental Language Disorder (DLD) is a broad category that encompasses a wide range of problems (Bishop et al, 2017). Some students may struggle to formulate complex, or even simple sentences; they may miss off grammatical inflections indicating verb tense or number, or experience other grammatical difficulties. For others, a small vocabulary, alongside difficulties learning new…
Developmental Language Disorder (DLD): A brief history of terminology
There has been a myriad of terminology used within the field of Speech and Language Therapy (SALT), and until recently, there was no agreed upon label for unexplained language difficulties (Bishop, 2014). Dorothy Bishop found that between 1994 and 2013, 132 different terms were used in the literature, with Specific Language Impairment (SLI) being the…
Do language disorders go away?
In 2017, a panel of international experts described a language disorder as language difficulties that are likely to persist into middle childhood and beyond (Bishop et al, 2017). So, by definition, a language disorder is a condition that does not go away or resolve on its own. Indeed, there is now plenty of research suggesting…
Later language development: what Speech and Language Therapists need to know about the secondary school years
Until relatively recently, the topic of later language development had been somewhat neglected. Whilst early childhood is seen as a time of rapid linguistic growth, later language development has been described as “gradual and protracted” (Nippold, 1998, p.3). Still, recent research has elucidated the many important advancements that occur during this period, calling into question…
What causes language disorders?
In the relatively short history of our field, much has been learned about language development and what is considered “normal” at different stages. This research, leading to the creation of a kind of “syllabus” to be followed, has allowed SLTs to carry out much of the work that we do (Paul & Norbury, 2012). However,…
What is Developmental Language Disorder (DLD)?
Say the words “dyslexia”, “autism”, or “ADHD”, and most people will have a reasonable idea of what you are talking about. But say the words “Developmental Language Disorder” to a random member of the public, and you’re likely to be met with a blank stare. Despite international efforts to raise awareness, understanding of the condition…
In at the deep end
I began my Speech and Language Therapy journey sobbing in the Additional Learning Needs room in the autumn term of 2014. It was the beginning of the academic year and I’d just gotten my first job as a Newly Qualified Practitioner (NQP) at an “academy” in a deprived borough of London. Unusually for a mainstream secondary…
Thoughts of a secondary school SLT 