Disciplinary Literacy From a Speech-Language Pathologist's Perspective

    Authors

    B. J. Ehren; K. A. Murza;M. D. Malani

    Comments

    Authors: contact us about adding a copy of your work at STARS@ucf.edu

    Abbreviated Journal Title

    Top. Lang. Disord.

    Keywords

    adolescent literacy; disciplinary literacy; language disorders; reading; disabilities; roles of speech-language pathologists; secondary schools; struggling adolescents; CONTENT-AREA LITERACY; READING-COMPREHENSION; LEARNING-DISABILITIES; MIDDLE SCHOOL; ADOLESCENTS; STUDENTS; READERS; COMPLEXITIES; INSTRUCTION; KNOWLEDGE; Linguistics; Rehabilitation

    Abstract

    Disciplinary literacy is an increasingly popular focal area in adolescent literacy. In disciplinary literacy, the discourse features of specific knowledge domains (e. g., literature, history, science, and math) assume major importance in understanding and constructing meaning in each discipline. Because language plays a significant role in disciplinary literacy, speech-language pathologists (SLPs), as professionals with expertise in language, can contribute in important ways to adolescents' proficiency in this area. This is especially true with adolescents who struggle, for whom difficulty understanding or manipulating language may be at the root of their problems. Work in disciplinary literacy is consistent with roles and responsibilities of SLPs in schools, as outlined by the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (2010). The authors explore specific ways in which SLPs may address adolescent literacy by working directly with adolescents who struggle or with their teachers to support classroom instruction in specific content domains. A major concept presented is that adolescents who struggle are likely to need work on more fundamental language and literacy elements in addition to those germane to specific disciplines.

    Journal Title

    Topics in Language Disorders

    Volume

    32

    Issue/Number

    1

    Publication Date

    1-1-2012

    Document Type

    Article

    Language

    English

    First Page

    85

    Last Page

    98

    WOS Identifier

    WOS:000300410600008

    ISSN

    0271-8294

    Share

    COinS