Continuing the learning expectation - Uses conventions of speech while expressing ideas, the next performance indicator is: Understands and uses colloquial expressions in daily conversation. While people from other cultures may struggle greatly with picking up colloquial expressions when learning English as a second language. Children in America usually have no issue with this. Proper grammar proves much more difficult. In fact, our colloquial expressions often hinder the instruction of proper grammar. Maybe that is why children pick this up so easily. Many adults tend to use colloquial expressions in their daily speech rather than proper grammar.
The next performance indicator is: Talks in more complete and more complex sentences; sentences are related to each other and fit together in thought. Most children by the time they are 5 years old will conquer this one to some respect. The complexity of the children's sentences may vary wildly according to whether or not a language delay has come into play. However, even those with language delays will be putting together complete thoughts using their limited vocabulary unless a moderate to severe developmental delay exists. Five year olds that have not conquered this particular performance indicator should be tested for developmental delays and/or autism.
Now, we will move on to the learning expectation: Participates in conversations. The first performance indicator is: Takes turns in conversation and interrupts less frequently. It has been my experience in the last several years that interrupting by 4 year olds has gotten considerably worse. It may be that the language delays many 4 year olds have been manifesting slow down the development of conversational skills. However, I blame the overindulgence of American children. Learning not to interrupt requires that a child develop patience. Patience does not develop when a child is not corrected. Children today are hardly ever corrected. They are redirected. They have their environments micromanaged in order to avoid power struggles. They are allowed free rein to do whatever the heck they want to do. Correction to today's children is a foreign concept. Therefore, today's children do not develop the patience necessary to have good conversational skills.
The next performance indicator for this learning expectation is: Engages in "give and take" conversations with friends on topics of interest. I have seen a few children in the last several years conquer this performance indicator. However, most children I have observed recently tend to talk "at" each other instead of "with" each other. I have seen the same trend in adults recently as well. Americans are becoming very guilty of talking about what they want to talk about without any sense of carrying on a conversation. The children are picking this trait up from the adults. Cohesive conversations might be on the verge of extinction. I blame this on the disappearing of the family dinner table. Children of the past learned their conversational skills from listening to the adults carry on conversations at the dinner table with family and guests. We have become a society that talks "at" each other instead of "with" each other.
We will now switch to the component - Speech. The learning expectation for this one is: Speaks clearly enough to be understood. The first performance indicator is: Generally produces all sounds of language accurately and is easily understood by others. Most 4 year olds usually speak well enough to be understood by those that spend time with them. However, I am definitely seeing an uptick in speech problems. I call the new trend "lazy tongue" because most of the problems deal with the placement of the tongue. I have worked more in the last two years helping children develop their tongue muscles than ever before. Children are having problems with more than just a few of the consonant sounds nowadays. It is becoming necessary to do activities where the children strengthen their tongue muscles. I blame the sippee cups, and I now have the evidence in which I have been looking for a long time. I recently started a new two year old child that could not drink from a regular cup. He had exclusively drunk from a sippee cup since being weaned from the bottle. It took us a couple of months to conquer drinking from a regular cup. Therefore, I have watched this child for the "lazy tongue" problems I have seen in other children. Lo and behold, he has developed every single one of the issues I have been encountering. It may take us until this child is 5 years old to straighten out all these issues. He is the worst case of lazy tongue I have encountered. People, please teach children to use regular cups and only use sippee cups sparingly.
The second performance indicator for this one is: Learns to say new words easily, even those with 4 or 5 syllables. With all the speech problems I have been encountering many children are not conquering this one at all. A lot of children attempt these words but leave out or jumble middle sounds. At this age it is the middle sounds I have to work on so hard. With 3 year olds I work on the onset sounds at the beginning of a word only to have to work on the same sound in the middle and end of words at 4 years old. If I ever go back to school for a second masters, I do believe I will get my degree in speech pathology because I do that job already.
I am going to combine the last two performance indicators for this one. They are: Uses a dialect that matches peers and adults in family, neighborhood and part of county in which he lives. Uses dialect that patterns the rhythm, pitches, stress and intonation of geographic area and cultural background. Dialect tends to be something children do pick up easily. If a child has not picked up the dialect of at least their family by 4 years old, I immediately look for developmental delays or other issues. That is a definite red flag.
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