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How Might Pragmatic Language Skills Affect the Written Expression of Students with Language Learning Disabilities?

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How Might Pragmatic Language Skills Affect the Written Expression of Students with Language Learning Disabilities? LWW/TLD TLD200065 January 27, 2011 15:40 Char Count= 0 Top Lang Disorders Vol. 31, No. 1, pp. 40–53 Copyright c 2011 Wolters Kluwer Health | Lippincott Williams & Wilkins How Might Pragmatic Language Skills Affect the Written Expression of Students with Language Learning Disabilities? Gary A. Troia, PhD This article describes ways in which pragmatic language abilities may play a role in the writing per- formance of children and adolescents with language learning disabilities. First, a brief overview is presented of how pragmatic language difficulties might negatively influence writing performance. Next, research on the writing performance of students with language and learning problems is reviewed. Key components based on these reviews are incorporated into a sociocognitive model of writing in which pragmatic language abilities are highlighted and illustrated as they apply to writing poetry. Finally, some suggestions are offered for scholars and practitioners to encourage attention to pragmatic issues in the writing of children and adolescents. Key words: children and adolescents, language impairment, learning disabilities, pragmatics, writing RITTEN EXPRESSION can be a de- Research over the past three decades has Wmanding form of communication for provided substantial insight into the writ- children and youth with speech/language im- ing problems experienced by children and pairments and learning disabilities. These two adolescents with disabilities, both in terms categories represent nearly 68% of all indi- of the nature of their difficulties as well viduals between the ages of 6 and 21 years as the underlying causes (see Silliman & served under the Individuals with Disabili- Berninger, 2011). There have been many ef- ties Education Act (U.S. Department of Educa- forts to identify the cognitive and linguistic tion, 2003). For a variety of reasons, writing underpinnings of literacy problems in these is an area of difficulty for many children with populations, or more broadly, children and disabilities, and problems with pragmatic as- adolescents with language learning disabil- pects of written language, which are the focus ities (LLD), but these have largely focused of this article, deserve attention but often are on the domains of memory, executive con- overlooked. trol, phonology, morphosyntax, and seman- tics (e.g., Bishop, North, & Donlan, 1996; Bourke & Adams, 2010; Catts, Fey, Zhang, & Tomblin, 1999, 2001; Dockrell, Lindsay, Connelly, & Mackie, 2007; Roth, Speece, & Author Affiliation: Department of Counseling, Cooper, 2002; Stothard, Snowling, Bishop, Educational Psychology and Special Education, Chipchase, & Kaplan, 1998). Many individ- Michigan State University, East Lansing uals with LLD also experience difficulties Corresponding Author: Gary A. Troia, PhD, Depart- in the realm of pragmatics (e.g., Bishop ment of Counseling, Educational Psychology and Spe- cial Education, Michigan State University, East Lansing, & Adams, 1991, 1992; Bishop & Norbury, MI 48824 ([email protected].) 2002; Leonard, 1998), possibly due, in part, DOI: 10.1097/TLD.0b013e31820a0b71 to deficits in right hemisphere processing 40 Copyright © 2011 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. Unauthorized reproduction of this article is prohibited. LWW/TLD TLD200065 January 27, 2011 15:40 Char Count= 0 Pragmatic, Written Expression, and Students with LLD 41 (Shields, 1991). Thus, it should prove fruit- teraction and adjustment are not well under- ful to explore how pragmatics, the use of lan- stood. It is not known to what extent deficient guage in social contexts to fulfill communica- social skills related to pragmatic language dif- tive purposes and regulate social interactions ficulties, as well as the pragmatic difficulties (Bates, 1976; Prutting, 1982), and difficulties themselves, influence written expression. in this domain, may be manifest in written ex- pression as well. PRAGMATICS, WRITTEN LANGUAGE, Pragmatic difficulties can be expected to AND STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES have a negative impact on students’ social and emotional well-being (Schalock, 1996). Written expression, in most circumstances, For instance, individuals with LLD tend to par- may be viewed as a form of communication ticipate in fewer peer interactions and are for social purposes aimed at achieving social- less preferred communication partners (e.g., interaction goals. Although currently it is un- Cartledge, Frew, & Zaharias, 1985; Fujiki, Brin- clear how the social adjustment problems of ton, Robinson, & Watson, 1997; Gertner, Rice, children with LLD interact with writing de- & Hadley, 1994; Hadley & Rice, 1991; Juvo- mands in the classroom, pragmatic difficulties nen & Bear, 1992; Pearl et al., 1998; Rice, can be expected to limit the development of Sell, & Hadley, 1991; Weiner & Schneider, written expression for these children through 2002). Consequently, they have difficulty es- their disruption on participation in social lit- tablishing and maintaining friendships. More- eracy practices as well as their direct impact over, these individuals exhibit a greater in- on the use of language forms and functions. cidence of problem behaviors, most often Aspects of at least three fundamental compo- internalizing behaviors (e.g., Cohen, 1986; nents of pragmatics may be involved: presup- Fujiki, Brinton, Morgan, & Hart, 1999; Fu- position abilities, discourse regulation, and jiki, Brinton, & Todd, 1996; Redmond & nonliteral (figurative) language usage. Rice, 1998). Children and adolescents with Pragmatic difficulties likely have a pro- LLD also perceive themselves as socially less nounced impact on writing performance adept than their peers (e.g., Jerome, Fujiki, when perspective taking is at a premium, Brinton, & James, 2002). Overall, these stu- such as when tailoring a written text for a dents display fewer sociable behaviors, such specific audience. Perspective-taking relies on as sharing, cooperation, and offering com- at least one particular aspect of pragmatic fort, which are strongly related to positive functioning—presupposition—which is di- peer relationships (e.g., Bender & Wall, 1994; rectly related to social cognition and theory Brinton & Fujiki, 2004; Hart, Robinson, Mc- of mind, both of which involve making infer- Neilly, Nelson, & Olsen, 1995; Kavale & For- ences regarding the actions, beliefs, and inten- ness, 1996; Ladd & Price, 1987; Pearl et tions of others and to adapt based on those in- al., 1998; Vaughn, Hogan, Kouzekanani, & ferences (Carruthers & Smith, 1996; McTear Shapiro, 1990). These attributes are thought & Conti-Ramsden, 1991). In other words, to be the result of difficulties perceiving and how much a student presupposes about a interpreting social cues, which are frequently reader’s prior knowledge in written text is linguistically coded (Pearl, Donahue, & Bryan, predicated on his or her inferences about 1986; Weiner, 1980, 2004). However, the what the reader believes, knows, and wants. severity of language difficulty does not nec- Children with LLD tend either to presuppose essarily predict social competence, and when too much shared knowledge between them- the linguistic demands of social contexts are selves and their readers, rendering communi- minimized, children with LLD may continue cation ineffective because the reader is left to exhibit less sociable behaviors (Brinton & to ponder what has been unstated, or to Fujiki, 2004). Thus, the causal mechanisms be- presuppose too little shared knowledge, ren- tween specific pragmatic skills and social in- dering a text cumbersome and laden with Copyright © 2011 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. Unauthorized reproduction of this article is prohibited. LWW/TLD TLD200065 January 27, 2011 15:40 Char Count= 0 42 TOPICS IN LANGUAGE DISORDERS/JANUARY–MARCH 2011 unnecessary information. Likewise, children tion. Consequently, and because the reader’s with LLD may be unskilled at employing the response to written text is often not available Gricean conversational maxims of truthful- during the production of that text, students ness, relevance, informativeness, and direct- with LLD are likely to produce short pieces of ness (Grice, 1975), as required by written writing bereft of detail and lacking polished task demands, audience needs, and personal organization that fail to adequately attend to rhetorical goals (e.g., Bliss, 1992; Noel, 1980; genre conventions and reader needs. Spekman, 1981). For instance, a student with A final aspect of pragmatics with which LLD might erroneously present personal opin- children with LLD may struggle is figurative ions as facts to support an argument in an language. Figurative language comprehension opinion essay or fail to use polite forms when and use is important for communication suc- making a request in writing. A student with cess because nearly two thirds of spoken En- LLD also may have difficulty correctly using glish is figurative in nature (Arnold & Hornett, deictic terms that mark noun relationships 1990). In addition, approximately a third of (e.g., I versus you, a vs. the), spatial relation- teachers’ utterances contain multiple mean- ships (e.g., here vs. there, this vs. that), and ing words (the foundation of figurative ex- temporal relationships (e.g., before vs. after, pressions) or idiomatic expressions and about now vs. then) because of poor presupposition 7% of reading materials used in elementary (e.g., Bishop, 1997). schools contains idioms (Lazar, Warr-Leeper, Children and adolescents with LLD fre- Beel-Nicholson, & Johnson, 1989). Figurative quently exhibit
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