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Language Function

Language Function

An Introduction to Pragmatic Assessment and Intervention for Higher Order Thinking and Better Literacy

Ellyn Lucas Arwood

Hardback: £55.00 / $85.00

2010, 254mm x 177.8mm / 10in x 7in, 416pp
ISBN: 978-1-84905-800-1, BIC 2: JM CFDC MMZL

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Literacy teaching tends to take a structural approach to language, focusing on auditory products or skills such as sounds, morphemes, words, sentences, and vocabulary. However, new research suggests that the majority of English speakers actually think and learn in visual concepts, and that there is a cultural and linguistic mismatch between auditory teaching methods and the way students think and learn. This has important implications for all educators including those who work with students with neurogenic disabilities, such as autism spectrum disorders and ADHD.

In her new book, Dr. Ellyn Lucas Arwood outlines a revolutionary four-tiered model of how a learner acquires language, and suggests ways to impose visual language functions onto an auditory language like English in order to improve learning for both neurotypical learners and those with neurogenic disabilities. Dr. Arwood provides tried-and-tested intervention strategies that work with all levels of ability, giving readers the knowledge and confidence to teach learners to become more literate in a way that raises learners' abilities to think and problem solve.

This book takes a fresh look at how language and literacy interact, and will be of interest to educators and special educators, speech and language pathologists, and other professionals who support language learning and development.

Blog posts

Stop by the JKP stand for Author Booksignings at the 42nd Autism Society Conference!

4 July 2011

This week JKP is excited to be attending the  42nd Autism Society National Conference and Exposition this week in Orlando, Florida. Visit the JKP stand (#301-303) to browse new and popular titles on Autism, Asperger Syndrome and related conditions, and to meet our fabulous authors! Booksigning Schedule: Shana Nichols and Samara Pulver Tetenbaum, authors of Girls Growing...

A New Take on Language Function and Literacy: An Interview with Dr. Ellyn Lucas Arwood

17 December 2010

"The bottom-line, is that the programs, materials, and curricula that are sound-based do not match with the way the children think to learn. So, teachers work harder but don't always receive the positive success they deserve. Older students work harder to produce the sound-based patterns for tests, homework, and so forth without the conceptual learning. Working harder but not smarter stresses everyone--students, families, and teachers."