Oral Language and Reading
Table of Contents
Why Is Oral Language Important For Reading?
Oral language can provide valuable insight into future reading struggles. Individual sounds, also known as phonemes, are the foundation of both speaking and reading. When we speak we connect individual sounds to create words. When we read, we translate letters into individual sounds then blend them together to read words.
Speaking comes naturally to people and reading is learned. Because children speak before they read, their oral language can indicate future reading problems. If they are struggling to connect sounds to words when speaking, it is a safe assumption that they will continue to struggle when they have to connect sounds to symbols when reading. Understanding oral language milestones can help parents get ahead of any language difficulties, including dyslexia.
Speaking, Reading, and the Brain
Our brain has a prewired language system that we are born with. This is why a neurotypical child will learn to speak, simply by being exposed to their native language. The same is true with listening. Assuming there are no other contributing factors, a child is born hearing their environment. The magic of speaking and listening happens in the phonological component of our language system. When you want to say something, this component organizes all the sounds for you, in the correct order, so the speaker can produce words effortlessly. The phonological component is also responsible for processing sounds when listening. Our brain works wonders.
Unfortunately, there is no reading system built into our brains. It is a code that people must learn to break. In order to read, we must tie letters on the page to the sounds that they represent. Our brain recognizes the sounds which allow the language system in our brain to kick in. Reading is not instinctual like speaking is. Thankfully we can use our knowledge of language and the brain to help us get ahead of any reading difficulties.
Oral Language and Dyslexia
As stated earlier, phonemes are the basis of reading and speaking. Because spoken language happens at an unconscious level, it can be difficult for children to appreciate the individual sounds (phonemes) in words. Four out of five children will learn to break apart words into their individual sounds with no issues. One in five children will have difficulty segmenting words into phonemes. These children might be dyslexic.
The main difficulty with dyslexia is getting to the individual sounds of words. Dyslexic children have a glitch in the phonological component of their language system embedded in the brain. This glitch affects speaking, reading, and writing. The phonological compartment makes it so we are born with all the individual sounds in our language ready to go. It also organizes these sounds so we produce words effortlessly.
Children with dyslexia have a less effective phonological compartment. They are born with sounds that are not well-developed. This glitch in their language system is why dyslexics may have difficulty saying words correctly. Many times they have trouble selecting the correct sounds to complete the word they are thinking of. For instance, a dyslexic child might say emeny instead of enemy, or volcano instead of tornado. Follow our link to Word Finding Difficulty and Dyslexia to learn more about this.
The inability to break words into individual sounds is also the basis of literacy troubles. For a child to read, they must first understand that words come apart into phonemes. This skill is also known as phonemic awareness and is the single most important skill in reading according to Dr. Sally Shaywitz, author of Overcoming Dyslexia. Children then tie these individual sounds to the appropriate letters and begin to read and write. The glitch in their language system affects their ability to hear individual sounds and consequently affects their literacy skills.
Speech Indicators of Dyslexia
Now that you understand the oral language and reading link, we can use this information to monitor your child’s speech for potential dyslexia indicators. Below is a list of speech signs to look for pulled from the book Overcoming Dyslexia. Please visit our guide on how to monitor for signs of dyslexia in speech if you would like a more thorough explanation. It is broken down by age and provides valuable insight.
Speech Indicators of Dyslexia
- Trouble learning nursery rhymes
- Trouble rhyming and breaking words into syllables
- Difficulty learning and remembering letters
- Failure to develop phonemic awareness
- Difficulty blending sounds together
- Difficulties in pronunciation
- Mispronouncing unfamiliar words
- Pausing often
- Talking around words
Do you see any of these characteristics in your child? Did anything on the list surprise you? Let us know in the comments or drop us a message on our connect page. We would love to support you in any way we can.
One Comment
Nisee
Thank you for sharing this, it is important for parents to know and understand early on the signs. Awesome post!